Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 26: "I Said It Was a Chance Encounter, Do You Believe Me?
Rory Linden looked up, her face filled with terror. She froze when she saw Sean Harrison standing before her.
A faint light shone from the streetlight on the side of the road.
Sean Harrison could finally see the injuries on Rory Linden’s face.
They were worse than he had imagined.
Rory Linden swallowed the chocolate in her mouth and wiped fiercely at her tears.
But she had held them back for too long. There were too many, and they couldn’t be stopped with just a few wipes.
She wiped at them again, three or four times, and finally managed to stop them from falling before asking, "Mr.... Mr. Harrison, what are you doing here...?"
This was the very edge of the Veridia Suburbs.
There were hardly any houses around.
On the wide road before her, hardly any cars passed by.
This was why Rory Linden was breaking down.
She didn’t know how she was going to get back.
Calling for a rideshare would be too expensive.
Sean Harrison placed his handkerchief in her hand and asked in a deliberately light tone, "If I said this was a coincidence, would you believe me?"
Rory Linden knew he was lying.
He was trying to lighten her mood.
But her heart was too heavy right now. A joke or two wasn’t going to fix it.
Sean Harrison sat down beside Rory Linden.
When she didn’t speak, he had no choice but to tell the truth. "I’ve been following you for five hours. At first, I was just worried your father would give you trouble on your way home. When I saw you get on a bus, I had my driver trail it. We... accidentally followed you all the way here."
He explained, "I don’t have any other intentions. I was just worried about you."
Rory Linden held the chocolate in one hand and clutched the handkerchief in the other.
The handkerchief was incredibly soft. It definitely wasn’t ordinary cotton.
Nothing Sean Harrison used was ever cheap.
Rory Linden just held it, not daring to use it.
She wanted to say something grand and eloquent to thank him for his kindness...
But her stomach betrayed her with a loud RUMBLE.
Rory Linden picked up the chocolate bar and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth.
Sean Harrison waved to his car, which was parked a few yards away.
The driver pulled the car over to them.
Sean Harrison said, "The last bus has probably already left for the night. Get in the car."
Rory Linden looked at the car a few yards away, hesitated for a moment, then thanked him. "Okay. Thank you, Mr. Harrison."
Sean Harrison walked to the rear of the sedan and opened the door for her.
Rory Linden thanked him again before getting in.
After getting in the car, Sean Harrison asked her, "Home?"
’Home?’
In truth, Rory Linden didn’t have the courage to go home right now.
She was afraid of Gary Sinclair harassing her, and terrified he would go to the Harrington Family to demand money.
If that day ever came, she could never tell the Harrington Family that she couldn’t control her own father.
An old man like him—with no job, no home, and no savings—would only be detained for a few days at most. He’d eventually be released, and the authorities would just urge his children to take him in.
’But where else could she go?’
"Yes. Thank you."
Rory Linden gave a difficult nod.
The car had just started moving. They hadn’t gone even a kilometer before the phone in Rory Linden’s bag began to ring.
A melodious ringtone echoed through the car.
Rory Linden reached into her bag and gripped the phone, but she couldn’t even summon the courage to look at it.
Only when she felt Sean Harrison’s questioning gaze did Rory Linden finally pull out her phone. Seeing the caller ID said "Landlord," she breathed a small sigh of relief.
The moment she answered, her landlord’s furious voice burst from the phone. "What is wrong with you? Why didn’t you open the door when your dad was knocking in the middle of the night? The neighbors ended up calling the police, who then called me! I was already asleep, and you woke me up!"
Rory Linden’s heart sank. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
The luxury sedan was well soundproofed.
The cabin was perfectly silent.
The landlord’s furious voice echoed through the car.
Rory couldn’t worry about that now. She replied in a small voice, "I’m so sorry to have troubled you. I’m not home yet. I’m on my way back to deal with it now. I promise I’ll take care of it immediately."
The landlord grumbled, "What kind of person are you? You have a Ph.D., you’re a doctor, and you won’t even take care of your own father?"
"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please, could you tell the neighbors for me? I’ll be home in about half an hour. I swear I’ll take care of this."
The last thing Rory Linden ever wanted was to be a bother to others.
That included her neighbors and her landlord.
She didn’t know how Gary Sinclair had found her address, but things had come to a head. She couldn’t run anymore; she had to face it.
The landlord couldn’t stop himself from lecturing her. "I only agreed to let you move in with one month’s rent and a deposit because you’re a young woman with a good education and a good job. I never expected all this trouble just two days in. You know what? Just forget it. I’ll give you back your rent and deposit. I want you out by tomorrow!"
"What?" Rory Linden was stunned. "Sir, please, just listen to me! I promise I’ll fix this!"
"Look, I’ll be honest with you. The neighbors told me everything, including how they reported your father to the police. Your father worked so hard to put you through school, and this is how you treat him? I’m not renting my place to someone who treats her own father so poorly! I’m transferring the money to you now. Get out!"
After the call ended, the landlord immediately sent the money transfer.
It wasn’t the full amount she had paid.
The landlord immediately sent a voice message. "You’ve already stayed here, and now I have to find a new tenant. I’m deducting half a month’s rent and returning the other half. I’ve been more than fair."
Rory Linden stared blankly at the refunded amount, a storm of emotions raging in her chest.
’How can being a father be so easy?’
’He’s done almost nothing, yet just by having the title of ’father,’ he can so easily claim the moral high ground.’
Sean Harrison looked at the young woman beside him, her head hung low. "The ’sale does not break the lease’ principle applies here. Even if he owns the property, he has no right to evict you for this. I can have my company’s legal team..."
"No, it’s fine." Rory Linden refused, forcing her emotions down. "Just take me back, please."
"Rory."
"It’s fine, it’s fine, really! Worst comes to worst, I’ll just run away. To some village, or a small town. Celestria is a huge country; there has to be somewhere I can go. In any case, I will not support the man who abused my mother."
"Yes, Celestria is huge, but..."
"I’m a doctor. Even villages need doctors, right?"
Rory Linden knew Sean Harrison wanted to help her.
For someone of Sean Harrison’s status, a monumental problem like hers wasn’t even a problem at all.
The sedan drove on slowly.
They were getting closer and closer to her apartment.
Rory Linden felt her body grow heavier, her head sinking lower and lower.
The car grew quieter and quieter.
The sound of a woman’s quiet sobbing was faintly audible.
"Rory." Sean Harrison looked at the woman beside him. "When I was a teenager, a young girl once told me that everyone has the right to be vulnerable."
The man’s voice was very soft.
Each word pulled a memory of a summer night, more than a decade ago, from the depths of her mind.
Rory Linden hunched over, bit by bit.
Her shoulders trembled as she instinctively stifled her sobs.
Then, she felt a heavy suit jacket drape over her, covering her head. The small, semi-enclosed space it created felt like a safe fortress.
Even though the car was moving.
Even though the soft suit jacket wasn’t soundproof.
Rory Linden, as if she had found her own small world, finally let herself break down and cry.
