Rory Linden hailed a cab and went straight to the bar.
She had never once rebelled growing up and rarely went to places like bars.
The mont she stepped inside, the noisy environnt made her a little uncomfortable.
It was so loud she felt like her ears were going to explode.
A band was playing music with a distinct rhythm nearby, and the lights flashed relentlessly.
The deeper Rory Linden walked in, the more she wondered if she had really reached the point of needing to drink her sorrows away.
Before she could hesitate...
"Over here!"
Sherry Walsh was waving at her from a distance.
Their small booth was in a corner, much quieter than the main area.
They could hear each other if they spoke up close.
"What’s wrong?"
Sherry Walsh said, pouring a drink for Rory Linden.
She hadn’t ordered any hard liquor, just a few bottles of beer.
Rory Linden recounted what had happened over their al that afternoon, then took a few large gulps of her drink and laughed. "Isn’t it hilarious? After all these years of suffering, it turns out it wasn’t cancer, or a drug addiction... it was suspected schizophrenia!"
Over the past few years, Rory Linden’s wild speculations had basically cursed Sean Harrison with every affliction imaginable.
She had imagined he might have cancer;
or HIV;
or ALS;
or that he was frad for drug use, and so on.
She had never imagined that the reason they broke up was sothing like schizophrenia—a disease that could be managed with dication!
Sherry Walsh found it just as incredible. "Is it really that illness? He told you himself? You don’t think he’s lying, do you?"
"He’s probably not lying. He only told today because he wanted to lay his cards on the table."
Rory Linden had always thought that if he ever told her the real reason they broke up, she might actually be swayed.
But now, not only was she unmoved, she never wanted to see him again for the rest of her life.
"Fuck! Is that man a fucking idiot or what!"
Sherry Walsh swore outright.
"Yeah, a fucking idiot."
Probably because she’d been drinking, Rory Linden copied her.
"Let’s not get angry over a fucking idiot." Sherry Walsh poured Rory Linden another drink. "A three-legged toad is hard to find, but there are plenty of two-legged n in this world!"
Rory Linden shook her head. "No, I’m not looking anymore. I just want to focus on my work and watch Leo grow up healthy and happy."
She had nad her son Leo because she hoped he would live a life of peace and safety.
She took a sip of her drink, leaned back against the sofa, and murmured, "I just don’t get it. I’ve tried so hard, so why is my life still like this..."
"It’s not your fault! It’s all that bastard Sean Harrison’s fault!"
"Yeah, you’re right! It’s all his fault!"
"We’re not going to hurt ourselves over so bastard!"
"Right!"
The two friends drank and cursed n together.
Sherry Walsh raised her beer and suggested, "Oh, by the way, at this bar, if you get a private room, you can order male escorts. Let’s go! Let’s really let loose tonight!"
"Male escorts?"
Rory Linden wasn’t familiar with the term.
She vaguely rembered hearing Rachel Lancaster ntion it before.
Sherry Walsh slung an arm around her shoulder and said mysteriously, "You’ll find out in a bit."
Sherry Walsh called over a server and said she wanted to pay extra for a private room.
The server checked on his walkie-talkie before replying, "Sorry, all the small private rooms are taken. We only have one dium-sized room left."
"We’ll take that one!"
Sherry Walsh made the decision with a grand wave of her hand.
Rory Linden was getting tipsy, but she wasn’t totally out of it. She made a point of saying, "I’ll pay for the room, and I’ll pay for the drinks. Don’t you pay for it..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know."
Sherry Walsh agreed for the ti being.
Led by the server, the two of them got up and went to the private room.
Even though it was a dium-sized room, it was still very spacious. Seven or eight people could sit comfortably.
The lighting in the room was dim, and music videos were playing on the large screen in front of them.
A senior manager was assigned to serve the private room.
Sherry Walsh took the drink nu, ordered an expensive bottle of liquor, and then said to the manager, "Bring all your male escorts in here. Let us take a look."
The manager smiled. "Of course. But I should ntion, our male escorts are only for drinking companionship. They don’t provide other services."
"I know. What, are you afraid we’re going to eat them alive?"
Sherry Walsh shot the manager a look.
It seed Rory Linden was also starting to rember what "male escorts" ant.
Soon, the manager returned, and a dozen or so n filed in through the door.
None of them looked very old, maybe in their twenties or thirties.
A few of them, whether because they looked young for their age or were actually that young, had the air of students.
In terms of looks, they couldn’t compare to celebrities, but they were easy on the eyes.
Moreover, aside from a few who were going for a pure, innocent look in sweatshirts, the others wore shirts or T-shirts that clearly showed off their muscular physiques.
Sherry Walsh was getting excited. "Rory, which one do you like? You can pick one to stay."
Rory Linden tilted her head, looking them over before saying with a disappointed expression, "They’re just average."
Sherry Walsh asked the manager, "Are there any others?"
"Well... this is everyone," the manager explained. "Young lady, I’ll be honest with you, our establishnt has the best quality male escorts in all of Veridia. If you’re not satisfied with these guys, you definitely won’t find anyone to your liking at another place."
Sherry Walsh looked to Rory Linden, waiting for her to make a choice.
Just then, soone spoke through the manager’s walkie-talkie, and he turned to step out.
The door to the private room was left slightly ajar...
Sherry Walsh was trying to persuade Rory Linden. Her voice was already quite distinctive, and with the alcohol, it had gotten a bit loud.
Her voice drifted out through the crack in the door and was recognized by Noah Sterling, who happened to be passing by.
At first, the man just thought the voice sounded familiar.
He glanced casually toward the private room and, through the rows of male escorts, imdiately spotted the two won sitting on the sofa.
One was the chattering Sherry Walsh.
And the other was, to his surprise, Rory Linden!
Noah Sterling’s brow furrowed, and he quickly returned to his own private room.
Two people were sitting in the room.
One was Henry Lancaster, and the other was Sean Harrison.
The reason they were here was that this bar was one of Henry Lancaster’s properties.
Henry Lancaster owned several such clubs. The others were high-end, mbers-only establishnts where the clientele was exclusively rich or powerful. The hallways were brightly lit, and bumping into acquaintances was inevitable.
In comparison, this bar wasn’t as high-class, and many people wouldn’t even recognize them if they saw them.
Henry Lancaster was getting married soon, and for the past few months, he had been gathering them together every so often.
His reason was that he felt he was suffering from pre-wedding jitters.
Sean Harrison usually didn’t co.
Who knows what brought him here today.
Seeing Noah Sterling hesitating as if he wanted to say sothing, Henry Lancaster picked up a glass for him.
"What’s the matter? If you have sothing to say but can’t get it out, have another drink. *In vino veritas*."
Noah Sterling couldn’t be bothered with Henry Lancaster and said directly to Sean Harrison, "Rory Linden and Sherry Walsh are in the room next door."
Sean Harrison hadn’t said more than a few words all evening and had been sitting in the corner, drinking sullenly.
Hearing Noah Sterling’s words, his eyes finally moved, but he still didn’t say anything.
Noah Sterling then added, "There are a dozen or so male escorts standing in the room. Looks like they haven’t picked one yet."
Henry Lancaster, who had thought this had nothing to do with him, turned pale when he heard that.
He shot to his feet. "I’ll have the manager call the escorts out right now."
Seeing Sean Harrison’s lack of reaction, Noah Sterling couldn’t hold back any longer and asked directly, "Aren’t you going to go over there and do sothing? You two haven’t made up yet?"
Henry Lancaster stood frozen in place, not daring to make a sound, his eyes glued to Sean Harrison’s changing expression.
The room was silent for a good ten seconds.
Finally, Sean Harrison said, "Call that nephew of yours. Tell him to co pick her up."
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