Raina Reddington needed this sanctuary for now. The blast of cold air after getting out of the car had cleared her head. She knew she wouldn’t gain anything by going against Ethan Lancaster.
But this man was dark and scheming. He had known what she did all along, yet he hadn’t tipped his hand in the slightest, showing no sign of it in her presence. It was clear that his cunning and thods were not sothing she could easily challenge.
’It’s best to stay as far away from this kind of person as possible.’
「Two days later.」
Seth Sinclair knocked on the office door. Without waiting for a "co in," he pushed the door open and strode inside.
"Fourth Master, the water conservancy charity project is a go."
Ethan Lancaster, who was in the middle of signing sothing, paused his pen. Seth Sinclair handed over the docunts in his hand. "All the papers have co through."
The man took them and glanced over the papers. The project had progressed much more smoothly than he had expected, partly thanks to the contributions of others.
"But the Lynch Family is being a real nuisance. They want to take over the promotional campaign for the later stages. I heard they’re pulling strings..."
Ethan Lancaster’s brow furrowed, but he said nothing. Seth Sinclair saw that their opponents had been defeated but were still putting up a desperate struggle. "If the Lynch Family really does take over the promotional work, it will be a huge disadvantage for us. The way they’re clawing their way into this has to be connected to Miles Hawthorne."
"Then let’s turn up the heat and start a fire in the Lynch family’s own backyard."
Seth Sinclair had followed Ethan Lancaster for many years. With just that one sentence, he knew exactly what to do.
After work, Raina Reddington was heading to the parking garage to get her car when she heard a horn honk.
Ethan Lancaster’s car had already pulled up beside her. The window slowly rolled down, revealing an exquisitely handso face. "Let’s go have dinner together."
"No, thank you."
"Get in the car."
"Ethan Lancaster, are you really that free lately?"
The man tapped his fingers lightly on his leg. "I’ve secured the water conservancy charity project. Co on, I’ll take you out to celebrate."
Raina found this increasingly ironic. "Then I should really congratulate you, Fourth Master."
"Congratulations to us both. Don’t make wait too long. Get in."
Raina walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door, and got in. When they arrived at the restaurant, Raina wondered if Ethan Lancaster had lost his mind. On such a cold day, he had actually chosen an outdoor table. It was right by a lake with no shelter around them. Before she even sat down, her nose was already red from the cold.
"Are you cold?"
’Duh.’
Raina looked into the distance and saw a light show happening in the middle of the lake. She knew how domineering Ethan Lancaster was; since he had chosen the spot, he was unlikely to change it. She could only try to make the best of a bad situation.
Ethan Lancaster went ahead and ordered for them. Raina didn’t notice that soone else had also co up to the second floor and sat down not far behind her.
She shoved her hands into her coat pockets. Seeing this, Ethan Lancaster made a call and had Seth Sinclair bring up so clothes.
A man ca upstairs carrying a bag, passing by Miles Hawthorne and Hannah Lynch’s table. Hannah’s gaze followed him, and she saw Raina Reddington.
"Fourth Master." Seth Sinclair handed the bag to Ethan Lancaster.
The man took a coat out of the bag, got up, walked over to Raina Reddington, and draped it over her shoulders. "This should be warr, right?"
Raina looked down and felt the coat was sowhat familiar. But when Miles Hawthorne had draped it over her that day, she hadn’t looked at it closely, so she didn’t recognize it right away.
But Miss Lynch’s eyes instantly widened. She glanced at Miles Hawthorne in disbelief. With her arrogant nature and inability to restrain herself, she imdiately stood up and walked over.
Miles Hawthorne looked back, his expression changing slightly. He tried to grab her, but it was too late.
Hannah Lynch stord over to Raina Reddington’s table. Catching a figure in her peripheral vision, Raina t Miss Lynch’s gaze and understood the situation in a flash.
Hannah Lynch’s lips parted, just as she was about to speak.
Raina sneezed and quickly pulled the coat tighter around herself. She beat Hannah to the punch, asking Ethan Lancaster, "Is this a new coat you bought? I’ve never seen you wear it before. It’s quite warm."
The man saw Miles Hawthorne stand up and start walking toward them as well.
"I have no idea. It was just in the trunk of the car. I thought you bought it for ."
Raina’s expression faltered. Miss Lynch saw Miles Hawthorne arrive by her side, and she secretly clenched the hand hanging by her side. "Miles, after we left the Wallace Family’s ho that day, your coat went missing, didn’t it?"
"It’s just a coat. If it’s lost, it’s lost."
Hannah Lynch was relentless. "The one Mrs. Lancaster is wearing looks very familiar."
"Be careful what you say, Miss Lynch."
’This man is utterly terrifying,’ Raina thought as she listened to Ethan. ’Every single thing he does is steeped in calculation.’
Hannah Lynch reached out, yanked the coat from Raina’s shoulders, and found the label at the hem. She sneered, holding the label up for Ethan Lancaster to see. "Fourth Master, why don’t you open your eyes and take a look?"
Raina saw it was embroidered with a character—the first from Miles’s given na. Hannah Lynch then shoved the coat in front of Raina again. "See this? I embroidered it myself!"
"My husband gave this coat. I knew nothing about this, so there’s no point in asking , Miss Lynch."
Hannah Lynch bit her lip. A woman’s sixth sense was always accurate. "You knew Miles before, didn’t you?"
Fearing a repeat of what happened the other day, Ethan Lancaster stood up, pulled Hannah Lynch away, and stood protectively in front of Raina.
"Fourth Master, does this not bother you at all?"
"You should control your man. He can’t just provoke whover he wants."
Hannah Lynch stared daggers at Raina, wishing she could bore a hole through her with her gaze. Miles Hawthorne grabbed Hannah’s wrist. "Co with ."
"What are you doing? Can’t bear to leave? Are you afraid I’ll do sothing to her?"
Miles Hawthorne tightened his grip, dragging Hannah Lynch away quickly. A corner of the coat dragged on the ground, a miserable sight.
Seth Sinclair also took the hint and left. Raina saw that Ethan Lancaster was still standing in front of her. "Fourth Master, is the show over?"
He turned to look at her. Raina sat back down in her chair just as a waiter ca over with their food.
She picked up the nearby pitcher and poured herself a glass of lemonade. "This al you so carefully arranged must have been expensive, Fourth Master. It would be a sha not to eat it."
Ethan Lancaster didn’t sit back down across from her. He sat directly on the edge of the table. Raina picked up her chopsticks, plucked a shrimp, and put it in her mouth.
"So, the Fourth Master has a hobby of picking up things that don’t belong to him. Is it exciting, sneaking around behind people?"
"Raina, there’s no need to provoke ."
Raina’s face was full of contempt. "The water conservancy project... I could say you defeated your opponent by using a woman, right? And this ti? Using a woman again, what ulterior motive are you trying to achieve?"
"Raina, don’t push it!"
"How am I pushing it?"
Thinking about the potentially ambiguous past between Raina and Miles Hawthorne, Ethan felt an inexplicable surge of anger, but he managed to suppress it. "The past incident... can we just call it even?"
"You made Miss Lynch believe there’s sothing going on between Mr. Hawthorne and . Do you think I’ll have any peaceful days ahead of now?"
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