Married at First Sight (Serenity and Zachary) novel Chapter 4543

Chapter 4543 
Serenity knew coming here to propose marriage wouldn’t lead to anything today. 
River knew it too—he was doing it on purpose. And of course, Serenity could see that River did have some feelings for Romina. 
After all the tension and friction between them, maybe River really did want to marry her. 
Serenity looked at her brother-in-law, forced a smile, and said, “Mr. Lafond, Mrs. Lafond, I know it’s a bit sudden to show up today with a marriage proposal, but Romina really has damaged River’s reputation. This isn’t something that can just be settled with a little compensation for emotional distress. River has stayed chaste for years, and now, Romina’s actions have tainted that. If he wants to date someone in the future, people will talk.” 
“He’s thirty-one and still single. The elders in our family are anxious about his love life. I came to Eaglioncile this time mainly for tourism, yes—but I also came with a mission from the family: help River find a good woman.” 
“He works here in Eaglioncile. It’s not practical for him to fly back to Wiltspoon just for blind dates. Even if he met someone, it’d end up a long-distance relationship and likely fall apart. So the family’s intention is for River to date locally and settle down here.” 
“But after what happened last night? If that gets out, who would even consider going on a date with him? I’ve even drafted a marriage profile for River and was planning to submit it to major dating agencies here in Eaglioncile.” 
She stopped there. 
River quietly praised his sister-in-law in his heart. 
The Lafayette family exchanged glances. 
They thought Serenity was just being diplomatic, but none of them could argue with her. 
It was true—River was thirty-one, had no girlfriend, and had never been linked to any scandals. He was a serious workaholic. The only woman he ever clashed with publicly was Romina—his long-time rival. 
Now, all eyes turned to Romina. 
The Lafayettes didn’t dislike River, even though his company, Yantail, was a rival to the Lafayette Group and he’d clashed with Romina for years. Maybe it was because he was just too competent—and too attractive. 

Instead of disliking River, they actually respected him. 
They had no objection to River becoming a son-in-law. Of course, they were open-minded and would support whatever choice Romina made. Her happiness was their priority. 
Romina was clearly in the wrong here. It was up to her how to fix things and clean up the mess. 
Under the pressure of everyone’s eyes, Romina slowly calmed down. She said to Serenity and River, “Sister Seren, River… I was wrong last night. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of him, but I was drunk and not thinking straight. I don’t hold my liquor well. When I drink, I have a bad habit—I flirt with attractive guys. I know it’s wrong, and I take full responsibility.” 
“I’m willing to make amends. But there’s no love between River and me. If I married him just to take responsibility, I wouldn’t be happy—and that would be unfair to both of us. It’d ruin our lives.” 
“I’ll make sure no word of last night gets out. No matter how much it costs, I’ll silence anyone who saw what happened. I’ll protect River’s reputation.” “I’ll compensate him for the emotional toll, and if I still owe him a meal, I’ll double it next time. And if he’s open to dating, I’ll help him find someone. I promise I’ll only introduce the best.” Serenity replied, “In our York family, when it comes to marriage, we care about character and family background.”