Fearing that Ethan's men would lay their hands on her, Evelyn quickly got to her feet. She shouted, "Don't come over!" as she quietly whipped out her phone to call Theodore for help.

However, as soon as she took her phone out, Charlotte slapped her hand and the phone fell onto the ground. At the same time, Charlotte slapped her face and her face burned with pain.

She had never been through this kind of misery before, had she?

She felt so angry that she instinctively raised her hand to fight back, but was too slow. Daniel Brooks and Liam Brooks—Ethan's twin bodyguards—caught her hands, but she raised her leg and tried to kick Charlotte's stomach.

"If you don't offend me, I won't offend you. But if you offend me, I'll give you a taste of your own medicine." She always remembered what Brother Martin had taught her.

However, things didn't go her way. Once she raised her leg, the twins saw through her tactics and quickly dragged her two steps back.

The panic-stricken Charlotte glanced at her with pride. Looking like a weakling who overpowered an authority's might, she ordered the twins, "Hurry up and throw that bitch out!"

Evelyn became even angrier and shot them a 'you can't do anything to me' look. Evelyn struggled with all her might and shouted at the twins, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Noticing that the twins were ignoring her, she suddenly remembered that Theodore and her were a lawfully wedded couple. She quickly screamed, "This is my house! You have no right to kick me out! Theodore—"

"Wow, you really think that you're the mistress of the house?" Charlotte mocked. "You shameless bitch, are you even worthy?"

"Charlotte."

"Yes?" Charlotte turned around instinctively when someone called her name from behind her. Then, she was given a tight slap. Her face paled when she saw that it was Theodore. He was extremely angry and had hit her. She didn't even dare to whimper in pain.

Theodore didn't show a hint of sympathy as he cast a side-eye at her and asked her in a cold tone, "Who are you calling a bitch?"

Charlotte didn't dare to answer. She covered her face with her hand and looked at Ethan.

"Fox Kingsley!"

Evelyn was so excited when she saw Theodore. While the twins were distracted, she quickly broke free of their captivity and ran toward Theodore at the speed of light, hiding herself behind him.

She did everything in a single breath and she didn't notice the fleeting expression in Theodore's eyes when she called him 'Fox Kingsley'.

Theodore pulled her into his arms and said gently, "I'm here. No one will harm you again. Don't be afraid."

"Kick her out!" Ethan's voice boomed with power.

"Yes." The twins moved forward.

Theodore protected Evelyn. In the meantime, Emerson, Avery Wentworth, and Noah Hawthorne rushed over and boldly blocked the twins.

Ethan was enraged by the scene before him. He banged his walking stick against the ground and bellowed, "Are you trying to go against me? Are you going to get out of the way?"

Emerson and the others stood still and fixed their eyes on the twins. Theodore was their boss and the one they needed to protect.

"Grandpa, there's something I need to tell you about." Theodore waved his hand and waited for Emerson and the others to move back. He took out the marriage certificate from his pocket and showed it to Ethan, before saying calmly, "Evelyn is now my lawful wife. You should give her the respect she deserves."

"What?"

When he saw the photos and the names on the marriage certificate, Ethan was shocked. He raised his hand, trying to grab and tear it. However, he didn't get his wish as his grandson had slipped the marriage certificate back into his pocket. He was instantly furious. "This is absolutely absurd! Who allowed you to get married? Do you still care about me?"

Charlotte was equally shocked. She repeatedly said in disbelief, "Impossible! Impossible! This marriage certificate must be fake! The both of you cannot get married!"

"If Theodore and Evelyn were really married, wouldn't her dream shatter then?" Charlotte was furious.

She couldn't believe it.

Theodore treated Charlotte like she was mere air. Without too much expression on his face, Theodore said lightly, "Since you don't like Evelyn and insist on kicking her out, then I will leave with her."

After he finished, he hugged Evelyn's shoulders and gave her a warm smile, before saying softly, "Let's go." Then, he turned around with her.

"Theodore, you're too presumptuous! Stop there!" Ethan was so exasperated that he banged his walking stick even louder. "If you walk out of this door today, you must give up the position of CEO of the SkyForge Group!"

Evelyn's heart clenched at those words. She instinctively pulled the corner of Theodore's shirt and looked at him nervously, her legs firmly pinned to the ground.

Theodore's expression didn't change. He didn't even look back. He applied slight pressure on Evelyn's hand, hinting for her to keep walking.

Evelyn had always been a passive character in this game. She didn't know what she should or shouldn't do, so she lowered her head and obeyed Theodore's wish. When they were nearly at the door, Ethan's angry shouts turned into painful moans, followed by a loud 'ouch'.

"Boss!"

"Senior Master!"

"Grandpa, are you alright?"

At the same time, Theodore turned his head around. His calm face turned nervous when he saw his grandfather fall into a sitting position on the ground. He started to walk over, but then stopped after only a few steps.

"I'm so mad! I'm so mad!" The twins helped Ethan back onto his feet. Ethan's angry eyes were locked on Theodore.

"Grandpa, don't be angry. It'll affect your health." Charlotte stepped forward and held Ethan's arm. Then, she whispered into his ears.

"Go and help him," Evelyn prompted Theodore softly.

Although the nervousness on Theodore's face had disappeared and he seemed like he didn't care about his grandfather's fall, Evelyn knew that his indifference was feigned. If he hadn't cared about his grandfather's illness, he wouldn't have needed this fake marriage with her.

Of course, she didn't fully understand why he did it. After all, she didn't know him very well.

Seeing his grandfather on his feet again, Theodore remained silent. He hugged Evelyn and turned around again.

At this moment, Ethan's voice rang once again behind him. "Since you two have registered your marriage, then just stay here."

"Hey!" Evelyn was surprised. She pulled on Theodore's shirt.

Theodore stopped on his heels. Holding her in his arms, he turned around slowly and said faintly, "Thank you, grandpa."

Ethan didn't say another word. He allowed Charlotte to support him as they walked past Theodore and Evelyn.

Charlotte met Evelyn's eyes as she walked past, and Evelyn rolled her anger-filled eyes at her.

In her home, her mother was the strict one whereas her father was the lenient one. Although her mother was usually strict with her, it was only with speech. She had never lay a hand on Evelyn, and that was why Evelyn felt so upset at getting slapped today. Although Theodore had helped her by slapping Charlotte back, she still felt unsatisfied.

Charlotte obviously didn't care about her. With Theodore behind her, she turned around and gave Evelyn a provocative look.

After Ethan and the rest had left the room, Theodore ordered Emerson and his men to leave with a wave of his hand, "You may leave."

"Yes." Avery and Noah turned around and left the room. However, Emerson's footsteps were a little hesitant.

Theodore understood his concern and said, "Wait for me in the study room."

"Okay." Only then did Emerson pick up his pace and closed the door behind him.

Now that Theodore and herself were alone in the big room, Evelyn was a little nervous. She subconsciously took a few steps toward a corner, then she smiled at him and said, "Thank you for just now."

"Come here."

"Just tell me if you have something to say. I can hear you well." She always felt endangered whenever she got too close to him. Therefore, she didn't move.

Her behavior made Theodore very unhappy. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms without another word.

"Hey! What are you doing? Don't you dare! We agreed to be a fake couple..."

"Shut up!"

Seeing Theodore's hand cupping over her face, Evelyn instantly panicked. She grabbed his hand, placed her other hand on his chest, and anxiously reminded him, "You promised not to take advantage of me. You..."

"If you don't shut up, I'll kiss you." With that, Theodore's thumb and forefinger pinched her chin as he lowered his head.

The next moment, Evelyn shut her mouth tightly.

However, she was still worried. With high alert, she stared closely at his lips as fear gnawed at her, wondering how to react if he suddenly took advantage of her.

Luckily, Theodore tilted her face toward himself and asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt a lot? I'll get you some ice."

It turned out that he was concerned about this.

Evelyn took a long breath in relief. Then, she shook her head and touched her face. "There's no need. It doesn't hurt much."

She would be lying if she claimed that it didn't hurt at all— Charlotte had put a lot of force into that slap after all. What she resisted was the proximity to Fox Kingsley.

Theodore saw right through her thoughts and pretended to go in for a hug. She jumped violently and instinctively moved backward until she hit a desk and there was no more space to retreat. Then, she gave a dry laugh and asked, "What are you doing?"

Theodore put his hands on the edge of the desk and caged her between his arms. Leaning forward slowly, he asked dubiously, "What do you think?"

The strong and manly scent made Evelyn nervous and she worried that he would kiss her anytime. She pressed her hand on his chest and leaned as far back as she could. At the same time, she trembled and reminded him, "Didn't you say that you are a man of your word? If you continue on like this, you will be violating our fake-marriage agreement!"

"What did we agree on?"

"There can be an acceptable amount of intimacy in public, but we cannot cross the line when we're alone! You're—"

"Is calling me 'Fox Kingsley' considered being intimate?"

Evelyn was momentarily stunned. She gritted her teeth and argued, "Don't you know what a nickname is? It's like you calling me 'Little Evade'!"

"So you like me calling you 'Little Evade'?"

"No! Um... Okay, call me whatever you please. Can you please stand up straight? I'm almost... Ouch."

Before Evelyn could finish her sentence, she could no longer hold her own weight and ended up sprawling on the table. Her hands were still pressed against Theodore's chest and she had unconsciously grabbed his shoulder, causing his body to crash heavily into her. The worst part was that his lips fell shamelessly onto hers!

She was shocked, but at the same time embarrassed and annoyed. She wanted to turn her face to escape his lips. However, it was as if his lips were glued to hers—she couldn't shake them off. She caught sight of the playful glint in his eyes and realized that this was his intention all along. Instantly furious, she bit his lips hard.

"Tsk!"

The next moment, his lips and body left her. Before she could open her mouth to threaten him, he said, "If you ever mention the word 'fake marriage', or forget to call me 'Theo' or 'husband' from now on, this will be your punishment."

"You..."

"I don't mind either if you call me 'dear'."

Evelyn stood on her feet and rubbed her back lightly. It was sore from leaning against the edge of the desk. She couldn't help but huffed at the sound of his words.

"Hmm?"

Evelyn quickly jumped away and said, "I know."

Theodore was finally satisfied and didn't continue to make things difficult for her. Then, he took from his briefcase a stack of documents and handed them over to her.

It was an agreement of their fake marriage. Evelyn quickly took it and read through the details. After reading a few lines, she jumped with shock and screamed a string of 'no----'s.