After Betrayal - I Married a Handsome Tycoon-Chapter 44: Beautiful, Kind-hearted, and Principled
Moira Sloan wasn’t the least bit surprised to see the message.
In fact, she’d been expecting it.
A sneer touched Moira’s lips. Without replying to Flora Rhodes, she turned and casually placed her phone on the cash register.
Shauna Duane returned from seeing the girl out, an indignant look on her face.
She glanced at the composed Moira Sloan, then pouted. "I can’t stand that woman."
Moira glanced up, a smile playing on her lips as she feigned ignorance. "Why is that?"
Shauna said indignantly, "How can she say foreign things are better than what our ancestors left us? Our culture has thousands of years of history, and how many do other countries have? And then she had the nerve to say the air is freer abroad..."
Moira chuckled. "You know why the air is freer abroad?"
Shauna stared blankly, lost for words.
Moira crossed her arms, a smile spreading across her face. "We have five thousand years of history, five thousand years of civilization. We’re a nation built on etiquette, with refinement passed down through generations. How much history do some of those other countries have? The evolution from monkey to human is a long process. Tell me, which is freer: a monkey or a person?"
At these words, Shauna’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Moira scoffed. "Monkeys don’t even have to wear clothes."
"Moira, that was perfectly said," Shauna gushed.
Moira smiled, her expression bewitching. "What can I say? I’m beautiful, kind, and my values are impeccable."
Perhaps it was this elevated sense of patriotism that completely changed Shauna Duane’s opinion of Moira Sloan.
That afternoon, Shauna Duane even bought her a milk tea.
Friendships between women often only need a single spark. Once that spark is lit, the rest follows naturally.
The afternoon sun cast a warm glow as they sat side by side at the floor-to-ceiling window, sipping their milk tea. Shauna asked Moira, "What made you decide to get into lacquerware?"
Moira bit her straw. "Because I love it."
"Just because you love it?" Shauna asked.
Moira squinted into the sun. "I love anything beautiful. I can’t stand the thought of these things disappearing into the mists of time. I believe this art is beautiful and brilliant enough that it deserves to be passed on."
Shauna was so stunned by Moira’s words that she was speechless. After a moment, she fumbled, "You’re not what I expected. I... I thought..."
Moira turned to her, her gaze sultry. "You thought I was shallow? Materialistic?"
Too embarrassed to admit it, Shauna just gave a sudden smile, which was as good as a confession.
Moira said, "Appearances are just that—appearances. Someone who seems cold as ice on the outside might be passionate to the core. And someone who acts all warm and friendly might be hiding a cesspool of sordid secrets."
Shauna was silent.
That evening, Moira and Shauna left work together.
As they stepped outside, they ran right into Connor Quinn, who was standing by the entrance having a smoke.
Moira’s expression was neutral. She gave him a slight nod, a silent acknowledgment.
Connor was just as detached. No one watching them would have ever guessed at the nature of their relationship.
Shauna, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
From the moment she saw Connor, the girl had been a bundle of nerves—not from fear, but from a bashful crush.
She would steal a glance at Connor, and her own face would turn beet red.
Moira watched from the side, feeling mostly calm, but she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.
’She felt like Connor was leading the poor girl on.’
The corner of her mouth twitched. She was about to say something to rip off Connor’s hypocritical mask when Shauna shuffled closer to him and asked in a small voice, "Why didn’t you reply to my message?"
Connor’s expression was cold and distant. "We barely know each other."
Shauna pressed, "Are you still mad that I slapped you the other day?"
Connor’s brow twitched. "No."
Shauna began, "Connor, I..."
Moira couldn’t bear to watch such a pathetic display of begging for affection. "Our ride is here," she cut in.
Without waiting for Shauna to respond, she pulled the younger woman into the taxi and slid in after her.
Once the car had driven a short distance, Moira pulled out her phone and texted Connor: *If you’re not interested, just turn her down. Is that so hard to understand?*
His reply was blunt: *Would that even work?*
Moira texted back: *You could at least be clear about it.*
Connor didn’t reply. Instead, Shauna, sitting beside her, propped her chin in her hands and sighed like a classic case of lovesickness. "I wonder what kind of woman Connor actually likes."
Moira said nothing.
Shauna added, "I really do like him."
She paused for a moment before suddenly perking up as if possessed, her eyes gleaming. "Even if I can’t be his girlfriend, I’d be willing to be his simp."
Moira was speechless.
’Well, there’s no saving a lost cause.’
After dropping Shauna off, Moira had the driver take her back to her own apartment complex.
Just as the car was approaching her building, Moira thought of something. She picked up her phone and sent another text to Connor: *Come with me to Atheria in four days for a wedding.*
After sending it, she thought for a moment and added: *Do you even own anything presentable?*
