Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 242: Don’t Struggle, Let Me Hold You for a Moment, Just for a Moment
Sean Harrison finally surrendered to himself.
He’d never been truly drunk before. Not even the time he thought Rory Linden had a son with another man—he had just been exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.
He couldn’t bring himself to get drunk in front of her, partly because he wasn’t sure what he’d be like;
but ultimately, it was because he couldn’t bring himself to give up on her completely.
"Sean Harrison, no one can make me stay unless I want to," Rory Linden said, forcefully pulling her hand from his grip. "You should get some rest. I have to work tomorrow."
She stood up and glanced at the table littered with bottles. "Don’t drink anymore after I leave. Otherwise, there’ll be no one here to take care of you."
Rory got up and walked toward the door.
Just as she was about to bend down and change her shoes, he strode over and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
His arms were incredibly tight, as if he were afraid she might vanish into thin air.
He hunched over slightly, his cheek resting against the side of her forehead. The thick scent of alcohol filled the air as he spoke. "Don’t struggle. Just let me hold you for a bit. Just for a little while."
Rory didn’t move.
Her back was to him, so she couldn’t see his face, only hear the heaviness of his breathing.
"Rory Linden, no matter what, I’m still Leo’s father. If you ever run into any trouble and need help, you have to contact me first."
Sean’s large hand gently enveloped hers. This time, however, his fingers didn’t squeeze; their touch was exceptionally gentle.
Rory nodded slowly. "Okay, I know."
The man still didn’t move.
The air in the entryway seemed to freeze.
After an unknown amount of time, Sean Harrison finally let go. "Alright, you can go. The driver is downstairs. I won’t see you out."
’He was afraid. Afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from trying to make her stay.’
’Even more, he didn’t want to be rejected by her again.’
-
After leaving Sean’s apartment, Rory Linden noticed she had two missed calls from Sherry Walsh.
She had just called back when Sherry picked up immediately.
"Girl, where are you?"
Sherry’s tone was anxious.
"I took Sean Harrison home. He hadn’t eaten, so I made him some millet porridge."
Afraid Sherry would get the wrong idea, Rory explained the situation with the foundation Sean had started. "I was originally supposed to have meals with him for three years, but now it’s just for one day. So doing this is no big deal."
"Oh, I know," Sherry said. "I actually have something to tell you, too."
Then, Sherry told her about her arrangement with Noah Sterling.
"Ugh, my dad’s been hounding me to go on blind dates every day. With this excuse, I can at least buy some time," Sherry sighed quietly. "But honestly, I’m starting to regret it a little."
"Why?"
"At Henry Lancaster’s wedding banquet just now, we sat at the same table as Noah Sterling. You should have seen the look on my dad’s face. It was like he’d already accepted him as his son-in-law. If he finds out we’re faking it, do you think he’ll skin me alive?"
The more Sherry spoke, the more terrified she became.
Her dad was a lawyer who dealt with people for a living. Some clients loved to hide the truth, but her dad could always see right through them.
Sherry knew she could get away with the lie for a little while, but it would definitely fall apart eventually.
Rory still remembered how Sherry had looked years ago, when she first learned that Noah Sterling was the lawyer responsible for Rory’s father’s case.
She tentatively suggested, "Well... why don’t you try getting to know Lawyer Sterling properly? Maybe..."
"No way! You have no idea, lawyers have a million tricks up their sleeves." Sherry cut her off immediately. "A brilliant criminal defense attorney like Noah Sterling? Marrying him? Do I have a death wish?"
"...Are lawyers really that scary?"
"What do you think!" Sherry couldn’t be bothered to talk about him anymore. "Anyway, my godson’s birthday is next month. How are you planning to celebrate?"
Leo’s birthday was August 8th.
Rory, of course, remembered her son’s birthday and had already started planning his gift.
"Let’s go to the aquarium during the day, and then we can all go out for dinner at night."
Rory briefly explained her plan.
"Huh? I thought you were going to take him to the amusement park. But the aquarium is a good idea too. It’s too hot during the day right now; we’d roast alive if we went to an amusement park."
Sherry readily agreed. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Rory told her the truth. "I just took Leo to the amusement park not long ago. It’s a bit too much activity for him. He fell asleep before it was even time for dinner."
"You guys went?"
"Yeah." Rory didn’t hide it from Sherry. "We went with the instructor who’s teaching Leo how to skateboard. His name is Ryan Sterling. He’s Lawyer Sterling’s nephew."
As she spoke, Rory got into the car Sean had arranged for her.
"So you’re already at the ’taking Leo to the amusement park together’ stage of your relationship?!"
Sherry shrieked into the phone!
Her thinking had been the same as Noah’s before—she also thought Rory would never fall for a kid so much younger than her.
She never expected the two of them would have already gone to an amusement park together!
How was that any different from a date!
"No, it’s just that Leo suddenly wanted to go, and Ryan happened to be there. He wanted to go, and Leo wanted him to come along too..."
As Rory explained, she felt like she was only making things sound worse.
Sherry immediately seized on the main point. "So you’re saying Leo was happy to go to the park with him? Isn’t that great?"
"Sherry..."
"Oh, relax, I know you’re not interested in him."
Sherry and Rory were very close; she knew exactly what her friend’s boundaries were.
She knew when to stop teasing.
The car drove smoothly to the gates of Jade Court Residences.
Rory walked into the residential complex. As she reached the entrance to her building, she could faintly make out the figure of someone smoking in the shadows, illuminated by the dim light.
The person was tall—clearly a man.
The cherry of the cigarette glowed and faded in the darkness.
Rory had only given a casual glance, but as she got closer, she realized the person smoking was Ryan Sterling!
He froze for a second when he saw her, then hastily threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out before running over. "Ms. Rory, you’re finally back."
Probably because the cigarette had just been extinguished, a heavy smell of smoke still clung to Ryan as he ran up to her.
Rory disliked the smell of smoke and couldn’t help but frown just from smelling it.
’In that instant, she suddenly understood why she didn’t dislike Sean Harrison.’
The man would drink for social obligations, but he never smoked.
She almost never smelled smoke on him. Even on the rare occasion she did, it was just a faint trace that had rubbed off from someone else.
It was faint, within a range she could tolerate.
"Yes, I had something to do."
Rory didn’t answer in detail.
As she walked into the building, Ryan followed her.
At first, Rory had thought running into Ryan here was a coincidence.
But that changed once they were standing in the elevator lobby.
Ryan broke the silence.
"My uncle told me that you went to a friend’s wedding with Sean Harrison tonight, as his date. Is that true?"
