Rory Linden belatedly realized that she had been so lost in thought about her mother the entire way that she hadn’t said a single word to him.
"I wasn’t intentionally hiding it from you," Rory Linden explained. "It’s just that I don’t want to rely on you for every little thing. I want to accomplish sothing on my own."
The matter with Gary Sinclair had already caused Sean Harrison enough trouble.
She couldn’t trouble him again with her mother’s affairs.
Most importantly...
Charlotte Rhodes had said her mother had an affair with his father.
This was sothing she had to investigate alone.
"Do you rember what I told you? What seems like a big deal to you might be a small matter for . There’s no need to force yourself to handle it all alone."
Sean Harrison leaned in to kiss her forehead.
His posture made it clear he wasn’t going to let her leave until she told him.
Rory Linden gently shook her head. "This is different. I have to do this myself."
"Is it related to the Harrington Family?"
"No."
"..."
As if his patience had reached its limit, Sean Harrison swept her up into his arms.
He carried her to the living room sofa, sat down, and settled her onto his lap.
"Am I going to have to guess every possibility one by one, or are you just going to tell ?"
Sean Harrison’s arm circled her slender waist.
His ink-black eyes stared at her face, waiting for an answer.
Rory Linden lowered her gaze and thought for a long mont before shaking her head. "It’s... about so unpleasant things said about my mother. I don’t want to talk about it."
After all, the subjects of this rumor were Sean Harrison’s parents.
’The truth can’t be what Charlotte Rhodes said.’
’It was probably just a false rumor.’_
Beyond that, Rory Linden had an even worse suspicion.
’I hope I’m just overthinking it.’_
Seeing things had co to this, Sean Harrison didn’t press her further. "Then tell , who are you eting tomorrow?"
"His na is Ivan Lowell. He was the Harrington Family’s butler twenty years ago, and he resigned a few months after my mother passed away."
Rory Linden explained.
Sean Harrison continued, "You’re eting at four. Are you taking the day off tomorrow, or do you plan to leave work early?"
"I have two surgeries tomorrow. If they go smoothly, I should be done by two. I’ll have just enough ti to change and rush over."
Rory Linden briefly laid out her schedule.
Sean Harrison went along with her plan. "Alright, then I’ll pick you up from the hospital at three tomorrow."
"You!?"
"Don’t worry, I won’t interfere. I’ll just be your driver." Sean Harrison paused before adding, "I won’t go into the coffee shop with you. I’ll just wait outside."
"You’re so busy with work. You don’t need to bother with a small thing like this."
Rory Linden said earnestly.
Henry Lancaster had already run the numbers for her on how fast Sean Harrison made money.
Her trivial little problem was hardly worth his ti.
Besides...
’Sotis, Rory Linden couldn’t figure out what she had done to deserve him treating her so well.’_
"Option one: I’ll be your driver and wait for you outside. Option two: I’ll have a chauffeur drive, and I’ll go into the coffee shop with you." Sean Harrison held up two fingers. "Pick one."
This was his habit.
Whenever she rejected his suggestions, he would present her with a limited set of choices.
"Then... I choose you to be the driver."
Rory Linden chose the first option.
’She didn’t want to bring him to et Ivan Lowell.’_
’What if one of Sean Harrison’s parents really was the villain back then?’_
’She was afraid his powerful presence would intimidate Ivan Lowell into silence.’_
"Alright." Sean Harrison cupped the back of her head with one hand and touched his nose to hers. "Tomorrow is settled. Now, how about we get started on tonight..."
His voice was full of allure.
He pushed her down onto the wide leather sofa behind them.
His wet kisses traveled from the corner of her lips to her ear.
They had only done this a few tis, yet his movents were growing increasingly skilled.
Just as Rory Linden was growing dizzy and weak, she rembered sothing else...
"Wait, there’s one more thing." She gently pushed against his shoulder.
"Hm?"
Sean Harrison looked up.
"Um... I have an important surgery on Saturday, and I’ll have to monitor the patient’s condition afterward, so I might not make it to the banquet on ti..." Afraid he would be disappointed, Rory Linden quickly added, "I’ll be a little late, but I’ll definitely be there."
"Alright... Don’t rush. I’ll wait for you."
This ti, his mouth descended upon hers.
Little by little, he covered familiar territory.
Unhurried and deliberate.
Like an experienced fisherman.
The fish had clearly taken the bait, but he wasn’t in a hurry to reel it in, patiently controlling the rhythm instead.
And Rory Linden was that poor fish.
He had changed his strategy today. It was like a fine sumr drizzle, falling drop by drop, but a downpour never ca...
"Sean Harrison..."
Rory Linden’s voice was incredibly soft.
She was a little surprised when she spoke.
She couldn’t believe the voice that had just called his na was her own.
"Hn..." Sean Harrison brushed her long hair aside, his ink-black eyes cast downward. "Let’s make a deal, and I’ll give you what you want."
?!!!
Rory Linden’s mind went blank for a few seconds.
’Who negotiates at a ti like this?!’_
’That’s playing dirty!’_
"No deal... I don’t want it anymore..." Rory Linden tried to roll away, feigning an escape.
Sean Harrison imdiately dragged her back, pinning her firmly to the sofa. "Just hear out first."
"I won’t."
Rory Linden deliberately turned her face away.
"It’s a simple thing," the man said. "You just have to nod or shake your head."
The difference in strength between them was imnse.
Rory Linden couldn’t move an inch, so she could only nod.
"Good girl." Sean Harrison leaned down, his forehead touching hers. "This thing you’re investigating... no matter what you find, in the end... you have to tell ."
Rory Linden was surprised. "Just that?"
Sean Harrison nodded. "Yes."
"I would have told you that if you’d just asked," Rory Linden said, a little exasperated. "Now that you’ve brought it up like this, I’m not in the mood anymore."
"That’s fine. We can just start over from the top."
-
The next day, Rory Linden didn’t get out of the hospital until a little after three.
She arrived at the designated coffee shop ten minutes before their scheduled eting.
She opened the passenger door and looked at her "driver," who hadn’t moved from his seat. "Why don’t you... co inside with ?"
’Making a multi-billionaire CEO act as her chauffeur and wait for her by the door.’_
’Rory Linden really couldn’t bring herself to do it.’_
"I’m not going." Sean Harrison’s refusal was blunt. "I’m a man of principle. I don’t go back on my word."
Since Rory Linden couldn’t persuade him, she had no choice but to head into the coffee shop alone.
Ivan Lowell arrived a few minutes late.
The mont Ivan Lowell walked into the coffee shop, he spotted Rory Linden and ca straight over to her table.
After getting a closer look, he studied Rory Linden carefully and couldn’t help but remark, "Starry, you look so much like your mother did when she was young."
"Really?" Rory Linden smiled. "Auntie Irving used to say the sa thing, that I look like my mother."
When Quinn Linden passed away, she left almost no photographs behind.
Rory Linden had been too young at the ti, and after so many years, her mother’s face was just a vague outline in her mory.
"Auntie Irving? You an Evelyn Irving?" Ivan Lowell frowned. "Are you still in contact with the Harrington Family?"
"Yes. After my father took the money and ran off, the Harrington Family paid for my education."
Rory Linden briefly recounted the events of the past several years.
Ivan Lowell was silent for a mont before asking, "Then... has the Harrington Family been good to you?"
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