Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 22: "He Must Go Through With This Marriage.
After that day, the only thing Henry Lancaster prayed for was that Miles Harrison and Rory Linden’s relationship would go smoothly.
Fall in love, get married.
And finally walk down the aisle.
If that day ever came, even if he wasn’t invited, he’d still send a massive cash gift.
Not for any other reason, just to pray that Sean Harrison’s love-addled brain wouldn’t be reawakened.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
Henry Lancaster’s mind had just started to wander when he heard Sean Harrison ask from his desk, "How’s the investigation into the bar incident going?"
On the day Sean Harrison got injured, Henry had invited him out to dinner. On the way, their car’s tire suddenly blew out. Two vans cornered them, trying to kidnap Sean Harrison. Sean got out of the car and was injured in the ensuing fight, forcing him to take temporary refuge in a crowded, chaotic bar nearby.
"I interrogated them. Used every trick in the book. Those guys really don’t know anything. The payment was routed through an overseas account, leaving no trace. The most suspicious person is the curly-haired man on the security footage. We don’t even know if it was a wig. No other cameras caught him." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Henry Lancaster poured out everything he had found in his investigation.
To avoid having his boss accuse him of incompetence, he added something else. "According to the surveillance footage the owner provided, your nephew spent an hour with Lucy Shaw in a private room upstairs that night. He’s a real piece of work."
Henry Lancaster had a lot of girlfriends.
But he was a man of principle: one girlfriend at a time, never cheated.
"That’s great. If he likes her, I’ll have them get engaged."
As Sean Harrison spoke of this, his tone was noticeably lighter than before.
His mood had improved considerably as well.
Henry Lancaster was curious. "You’re forcing them into this engagement so aggressively. Hasn’t anyone else in the Harrington Family said anything to you?"
"They said a few things. Originally, there might have been room to call off the engagement, but yesterday, Miles Harrison did something stupid himself. No one will take his side anymore." Sean Harrison put down his pen and gazed out the massive floor-to-ceiling window. "He has no choice but to go through with this marriage."
Henry Lancaster was curious and about to ask what had happened.
But the moment he opened his mouth, he read the look in his boss’s eyes and immediately shut up.
He couldn’t help but bad-mouth Miles Harrison. "That’s not surprising. Miles Harrison is a brainless, arrogant idiot to begin with. If it weren’t for you, the Harrington Family would have collapsed long ago. What does he even count for?!"
Sean Harrison called his secretary in to get some documents.
Just as the secretary finished organizing the files and was about to leave, Sean Harrison stopped her. "Right, schedule a health check-up for all employees next month. The location will be Elysian Hospital. Make sure to stagger everyone’s appointments."
After the secretary left, Henry Lancaster couldn’t help but tease him, "Bro, your intentions are written all over your face."
"Mmm, I acted too late last time. I can’t be late again."
Sean Harrison admitted frankly.
Henry Lancaster then realized that his boss treated romance no differently than a business opportunity.
He would strike the moment he spotted an opening.
For instance, the second Miles Harrison cheated with Lucy Shaw, he immediately started arranging their engagement.
-
The very next day, Rory Linden started moving.
She didn’t have many belongings to begin with, mostly just medical textbooks.
This was the first time in a long while that she would be living alone.
She thought she could just clean up, organize a bit, and move right in.
But when she actually started getting ready, she realized there were so many things she needed to buy.
Besides the bedding she had already thought of, she had to buy daily necessities like a mop, a broom, drinking glasses, cleaning rags, and so on.
On Sunday, she and Sherry Walsh made plans to go shopping together.
Rory Linden made a long shopping list.
When they had bought most of the items, Sherry Walsh had her driver take the things to Rory’s new home first.
With that taken care of, Sherry Walsh said she wanted to shop for some new clothes.
Sherry Walsh’s father was a top lawyer who charged by the minute.
As a rich man’s daughter, Sherry Walsh naturally shopped on Veridia’s most exclusive luxury shopping street.
The street was lined with flagship stores for all sorts of luxury brands.
Sherry Walsh hadn’t decided which store to visit yet...
...when a familiar car pulled up in front of a famous luxury boutique.
Miles Harrison and Lucy Shaw got out of the car.
Lucy Shaw affectionately linked her arm with the man’s, and they walked into the luxury store in front of them.
"That Miles Harrison! He was so stingy with you, and now he’s buying luxury goods for Lucy Shaw? I’m going in to see what they’re buying!"
Sherry Walsh grabbed Rory Linden and started dragging her toward the store.
"Let’s not. Back then, I was the one who refused his gifts."
Growing up, Rory Linden had refused Miles Harrison’s gifts many times. Aside from birthday presents, she rarely accepted anything from him.
The reason was simple: she couldn’t afford to give him a gift in return.
She couldn’t even afford a return gift that cost a tenth of what he gave her.
Over time, Miles Harrison came to an unspoken agreement not to give her presents, except on her birthday.
"Well, I just happen to want to shop at that exact store!"
Sherry Walsh’s temper flared for no apparent reason, and she insisted on going inside to see what was happening.
Rory Linden couldn’t hold her back.
When the two of them entered the luxury boutique, there was no sign of Miles Harrison and Lucy Shaw in the spacious store.
Rory Linden was wondering where they went when Sherry Walsh pointed to a few pairs of shoes and some beautiful dresses.
Then she said to the sales associate following them, "I want to look in the VIP room."
The associate politely agreed and led the two of them to a VIP room off to the side.
At first, the room was very quiet.
Until...
"It’s me. Go ahead."
Miles Harrison’s voice came from the hallway.
The associate quickly apologized. "I’m sorry, the soundproofing between the hallway and the VIP rooms isn’t very good."
In other words, if everyone was in their own VIP room, they wouldn’t be able to hear each other.
But it was a different story if someone was in the hallway.
Miles Harrison didn’t seem to expect the hallway to have such poor soundproofing. He continued his phone call, "Where did you hear this news? Is it accurate?"
"If their family is really like that, how could my uncle not know? If my uncle knew, he definitely wouldn’t let us get engaged."
"I get it. I’ll go ask him tomorrow."
While the man was on the phone, Sherry Walsh and Rory Linden both fell silent in a tacit understanding.
Sherry Walsh tried on a pair of shoes, showing them to Rory Linden and asking with her eyes if they looked good.
After seeing Rory Linden nod, she turned to the sales associate and mouthed a single word: "Buy!"
The associate understood.
"Honey," came Lucy Shaw’s voice. "Come help me decide which dress to wear for the engagement party..."
"You’re so beautiful and you have a great figure. You’d look good in any of them."
Miles Harrison’s voice was gentle, but it held an unmistakable hint of perfunctoriness.
"This might be my only chance to look this beautiful. Last time, your mom said she hoped we’d have a baby soon. What if I get pregnant before the wedding? I might not be able to fit into a beautiful wedding dress..."
Lucy Shaw’s voice was saccharine sweet, enough to make one’s skin crawl.
"Don’t worry. After the baby is born, I’ll make it up to you with another wedding. You can wear a beautiful wedding dress then."
"Honey..."
The two of them were being all lovey-dovey outside.
Inside the VIP room, Sherry Walsh made countless gagging motions.
Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up. "I’d advise the lady outside to open her eyes. If a man has a record of cheating once, he’ll do it again—a dog always returns to its vomit."
