After Betrayal - I Married a Handsome Tycoon-Chapter 47: The Brother’s Blade, A Treasured Blade
The accusation hit Moira Sloan so unexpectedly it left her reeling.
Even for someone as silver-tongued as her, she found herself at a loss for words.
Her delicate brows were knitted, all her usual charm gone, replaced by the quiet fury of being wrongfully accused.
Their eyes met. Moira Sloan gritted her teeth. "It was an accident."
Connor Quinn’s expression was impassive as he stared right at her, his emotions unreadable.
Moira felt he didn’t believe her and added fiercely, "I’m not stupid enough to throw away my first time just to get revenge on a man who betrayed me."
Connor Quinn asked in a low voice, "Is that so?"
Moira shot back, "What else?"
Her retort brought the topic to a close, and Connor Quinn chose that moment to release his grip on the back of her neck.
With her neck free, Moira inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
After about four or five seconds, Moira raised an eyebrow at Connor Quinn, seeking confirmation. "You and Shane Jennings are actual first cousins?"
Connor Quinn took out a pack of cigarettes, stuck one between his lips, and said, "Yeah."
Moira stared at him, certain pieces of information flashing through her mind.
She remembered Flora Rhodes texting her about this a couple of days ago. Flora had said that if Shane Jennings didn’t get married, the Jennings Family was going to name a new heir.
At the time, she’d dismissed it as a joke and hadn’t given it a second thought.
She never expected...
’So, the new heir the Jennings Family was threatening to name... was Connor Quinn?’
’No wonder Laura Cheney had that expression on her face when she saw him earlier.’
’A mixture of fear and revulsion.’
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Moira’s expression grew complicated as she looked at Connor Quinn.
Connor took the cigarette from his lips and flicked the ash. He glanced at her sideways, as if he could see right through her, and asked in a husky voice, "What else do you want to know?"
Moira said, "I dated Shane Jennings for seven years. How come I never knew the Jennings Family had someone like you?"
Connor’s well-defined fingers rested on the open window as he flicked his ash outside. "I’ve always been around."
Moira gave a humorless smile. "Is that so?"
Connor turned his head, his gaze falling to the scattered ash outside the window. He said leisurely, "The fact that you don’t know just means the Jennings Family never planned on accepting you."
Moira choked. The words hit a nerve, and a dull ache spread through her chest.
Connor turned back to look at her. "You’re not losing out by sleeping with me."
Moira didn’t know where this man got his confidence from. She scoffed, "Is that so?"
Connor said, "At the very least, when Shane Jennings gets married, you can sit at the head table as his sister-in-law."
"..."
’Like hell I’d be his sister-in-law at the main table.’
After that little episode, they didn’t exchange another word on the drive back to Everwood County.
When they arrived at Moira’s apartment complex, she pushed the door open and got out. Connor Quinn remained in the car, unmoving.
It was as if the two of them had a tacit understanding that they both needed to cool down.
Moira walked away in her high heels, her slender waist swaying, without a single glance back.
Connor sat in the car and watched until she disappeared from sight, then took out his phone and sent a text: What was Laura Cheney doing in the city today?
The reply came instantly: Seems like she was negotiating a mall acquisition. Why, did you run into her?
Connor: Yeah.
The other person: Are you afraid of her? She acts like a mouse that’s seen a cat whenever you’re around.
Connor: Moira Sloan was there when she spoke to me.
The other person: !!!
Connor: It’s fine. She would have found out one day, anyway.
The other person: I’m dying to know how Moira Sloan reacted.
Connor: She explained that she didn’t approach me intentionally, that it was just an accident.
The other person: Tsk, the poor girl. Someone as naive as her, how could she ever win against a cunning old fox like you.
「Meanwhile.」
After Moira got home, she went straight to the fridge, grabbed a can of beer, and took a couple of gulps. Leaning against the refrigerator door, she picked up her phone and dialed Flora Rhodes.
It was time to vent to her best friend, focusing on the most shocking details.
After she finished describing the day’s theatrical turn of events to Flora Rhodes, she clearly heard the CLATTER of a dropped spoon on the other end of the line.
"What??"
"You mean to tell me the mystery man you’ve been fooling around with is Shane Jennings’s cousin!!"
Flora Rhodes’s voice was so loud it made Moira’s ears ring.
Moira furrowed her brow and held the phone away from her ear. In a languid, flat voice, she said, "Those are the facts."
Flora said, "This plot is just too..."
Moira, fingertips pinching the beer can, walked back to the sofa, sat cross-legged, and finished her sentence for her, "Dramatic."
Flora slapped the table on her end. "How can you call this dramatic? This is thrilling!"
Moira muttered, "You’ve got a twisted idea of fun."
Flora gave a mischievous laugh and asked slyly, "So what was the mystery man’s reaction when he found out about your connection?"
Speaking of Connor Quinn’s reaction, Moira couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "He suspects I approached him on purpose to get revenge on Shane Jennings."
Upon hearing this, Flora slapped the table again. "Forget him, even I suspected that!!"
Moira scoffed. "Am I that kind of person?"
Just as Moira finished speaking, Flora’s voice suddenly turned suggestive and lewd. "Moira, let’s say you two... you know... do it again. And you think about how he almost became your..."
Before Flora could finish her outrageous comment, Moira abruptly hung up the phone.
