Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 21: "If the Harrington Family fell, her life would be difficult after marrying Miles Harrison.
Rory Linden never paid attention to the economy, Celestria’s list of wealthiest people, or who the nation’s top entrepreneurs were.
Sherry Walsh’s father was a nationally renowned non-litigation lawyer, so he only dealt with the country’s upper echelon—the rich and powerful.
Having grown up around it, Sherry knew about the legendary figures in that circle.
And the most legendary of them all was Sean Harrison.
Rory Linden didn’t understand what Sherry meant by "being scammed." "What is there to scam me out of...?"
"He sounds like a scammer. Are you sure he’s *really* Miles Harrison’s uncle? Did Miles confirm it? Or did you just believe him because he said so?"
Sherry Walsh barraged her with a string of questions.
To put it bluntly, she didn’t believe that man was the real Sean Harrison.
According to the rumors, while Sean Harrison wasn’t exactly a man devoid of all emotion and desire, he certainly didn’t seem like the type to just casually give someone a ride home.
"He’s been staying with me at the Harrington family’s old residence these past few days. And... he signed the consent forms for his mother’s surgery today. How could that be a mistake?"
Rory Linden had been about to mention what Miles Harrison did last night.
But the words died on her lips.
’Forget it.’
’I’m already trying to draw a clear line with the Harrington Family. I shouldn’t go around talking about this.’
"So it really was him?" Sherry Walsh sounded surprised. "Why did he give you a ride back?"
"Well... he found out I was looking for a place to rent and said he was worried I’d get ripped off by an agent or a landlord, so he went with me. Then we had dinner together afterward."
Rory Linden gave her a brief summary of the evening’s events.
The more Sherry heard, the more puzzled her expression became.
The things this man did today made him sound like a completely different person from the Sean Harrison she’d heard about!
"He doesn’t... like you, does he?"
"No way. He likes someone else."
Rory Linden’s tone was firm.
She didn’t know Sean Harrison well, but from the few times Miles Harrison had mentioned him, she knew he was an all-around talent who excelled in every field.
Sherry was still confused. "But he’s being way too nice to you. It’s not normal."
Rory could only try to explain further. "About what happened to my mother back then... I always felt the Harrington Family had already paid compensation and done everything they were supposed to. But Sean Harrison feels that since their family’s actions caused me to lose my mother, they have a duty to treat me well."
"If you put it that way... I guess that makes sense."
Sherry found this explanation acceptable.
She then asked Rory what kind of apartment she had rented.
Rory just gave a vague answer.
Sherry had a carefree personality and figured that with the money she had lent Rory, Rory wouldn’t settle for a bad place, so she didn’t press the issue.
That night, she told Rory a few things she knew about Sean Harrison.
It was only then that Rory Linden realized the young man who had sat across from her at dinner was the legendary figure spoken of by Veridia’s entrepreneurs.
Sean Harrison had studied abroad for many years. He made his first fortune through investments on Goldspire Avenue before returning to Celestria to found Panda Tech Corporation. His company focused on electronics. It not only developed its own proprietary chips but, after several iterations, also created a highly sophisticated closed-source operating system for phones, computers, and other devices.
As Sherry explained all this, Rory couldn’t help but ask, "Did the Harrington Family have anything to do with him making all that money?"
"Not a thing." Sherry couldn’t help but vent. "Even my dad says the Harringtons are a bunch of useless layabouts. When Sean Harrison’s older brother died, they discovered the family was billions in debt. The only option left was bankruptcy and liquidation. Sean had been abroad the whole time, and everyone thought he wouldn’t touch that mess with a ten-foot pole."
"But he took it on..."
Rory Linden knew this because the result was plain to see.
Sean Harrison was now the Family Head of the Harringtons.
After Evelyn Irving had berated him yesterday, she still had to come back and apologize.
"Exactly. My dad said that at the time, all the high-level executives and shareholders at his own company were against it. Sean Harrison used his own money to save the Harrington Family. My dad calls it the single greatest mystery about Sean—why he would save a family that had always been so indifferent to him." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Sherry spoke almost as if she were mimicking her father’s tone.
The two girls were lying on the bed together. Rory, playing on her phone while lying on her stomach, looked at Sherry and asked, "Could it be that the Harrington Family was actually good to him, and outsiders just didn’t know?"
"Good? Not a chance. His father’s first wife died young. Marrying his mother was basically a marriage of convenience between older people with no real affection involved. His mom was almost forty when she had Sean. Not long after he was born, mother and son went abroad and rarely came back."
Sherry leaned her head closer to Rory and whispered, "I heard Sean Harrison used to have some mental health issues. He tried to kill himself several times while he was abroad. Someone’s kid went to the same middle school as him, and that’s how the rumor got out."
"Him? Suicide?"
Rory couldn’t help but think of the deep and shallow scars on the man’s back.
’How did he get those scars?’
’Could he have been bullied by his classmates at school?’
That was all Sherry knew about Sean Harrison, so she changed the subject. "Rory, you have Sunday off, right?"
After getting an affirmative answer, the two made plans to go shopping together.
-
「The next day.」
Henry Lancaster was completely baffled that the plan to rent the apartment to Rory Linden had failed.
He stormed into Sean Harrison’s office and started complaining, "Boss! I don’t get it. It was a total steal! Why would she refuse?"
"She took one look and immediately guessed I was the one who found the apartment for her." Sean Harrison put down the file in his hands. "She said she doesn’t believe good luck would just fall into her lap."
"Bro, this woman is playing on a whole other level. It totally looks like she’s playing the long game to reel you in."
Henry Lancaster sat on the two-seater sofa in the office, his feet just about to go up on the coffee table.
A single glance from Sean Harrison opposite him made him quickly pull his legs back.
"I don’t care what the women you hang around are like. Don’t you dare judge her by your pathetic standards."
Sean Harrison picked up the file in front of him again, glanced over it, and signed his name with a pen.
Henry Lancaster crossed his legs and settled into a more comfortable position before saying, "Yeah, yeah, you’re right. If our ’sister-in-law’ wanted to catch a big fish like you, she wouldn’t even need to cast a line, let alone buy a rod. You’d just leap out of the water and into her arms yourself."
Henry Lancaster hadn’t understood the nature of Sean Harrison’s feelings for Rory Linden before.
Not until a few years ago, when Sean had risked everything to save the Harrington Family, who had been so cruel and unjust to him.
As an outsider, even Henry thought Sean was a complete and utter idiot for spending so much money to help that pack of ungrateful bastards.
He’d chewed Sean out for a whole month.
Then one day, the two of them were drinking, and something Sean said while drunk completely won Henry over.
That night, Sean Harrison had said, "If the Harrington Family falls, her life will be difficult if she marries Miles Harrison."
It was then Henry realized that fate was fair after all.
It had given Sean Harrison a genius mind, but it hadn’t forgotten to also give him the brain of a hopeless romantic.
