Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 34: "Is It That Embarrassing for Me to Be Your Boyfriend?

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: "Is It That Embarrassing for Me to Be Your Boyfriend?

Rory Linden had heard about extortion from the news.

The sentences usually weren’t severe for smaller amounts.

However, knowing Gary Sinclair’s personality, he would definitely demand an exorbitant amount.

"He probably... doesn’t have the guts to extort the Harrington Family, or you. He’ll only come for me..."

Rory Linden knew that Gary Sinclair would do crazy things for money.

But he wouldn’t be crazy enough to provoke the Harrisons directly. He’d only pressure her.

He wasn’t the type to bang his head against a brick wall.

"He doesn’t have much going for him, but his creditors are trying to collect, so they’ve probably been looking for information about you. It’s simple to get him to extort me directly—we just have to make him think you’re my girlfriend."

He turned his head to look at her, his tone and expression exceptionally serious.

Rory Linden hadn’t dared to let her eyes wander, so she could only stare at his face.

At his words, she stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Even if I went around telling everyone, no one would believe me."

"Let me protect you. I’ll post bodyguards at the hospital, and I’ll personally drive you to and from work. We just need to act a little intimate. With how fast gossip spreads in a place like the hospital, everyone will soon believe I’m your boyfriend. Then..."

"Wait a minute." Rory cut him off, finding this all a bit terrifying. "You want everyone at the hospital to think you’re my boyfriend?! Does it really have to involve the *entire* hospital?"

"What’s wrong? Is it that embarrassing for people to know I’m your boyfriend?"

His dark eyes were deep, fixed intently on her.

The room was unnervingly quiet.

The only sound was his faint breathing as he waited for her answer.

Rory Linden’s heart began to beat a little faster.

His tone didn’t sound like he was just making a suggestion; he seemed to be genuinely pressing the issue.

Still, Rory knew he just wanted to help her resolve the situation with Gary Sinclair once and for all.

"Of course it’s not embarrassing. It’s just... the hospital has patients, not just staff. And at Elysian, the patients are almost all rich or powerful. Gossip spreads fast. If this really got out..." Rory trailed off before finally voicing her main concern. "After all, I used to be Miles Harrison’s girlfriend. The rumors wouldn’t be good for you..."

"That kind of talk won’t affect me, but you’re right, it might be unfair to you. My apologies, I wasn’t thinking it through."

Sean Harrison lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, and then simply shrugged the shirt off his shoulders.

The shirt landed on the bed behind him, revealing his lean, perfect torso.

Rory was standing, and from her close vantage point, she looked down at his well-defined muscles and the line of his abs disappearing into his waistband. The sight was so pleasing it felt unreal.

She was still trying to figure out why he’d suddenly taken his shirt off...

Sean Harrison said, "Could you take a look at my wound?"

"Oh, right!"

Rory quickly sat down beside him and carefully peeled the gauze from his wound.

After so many days of careful cleaning, his wound was healing nicely.

There was almost no discharge anymore.

Rory dabbed the wound with a cotton swab, then opened a sterile adhesive bandage and applied it.

As he saw her putting her things away, Sean Harrison turned and asked, "All done?"

"Mhm, the wound is healing very well. From now on, I’ll just need to check it for you every three days or so. It should be mostly healed in another ten days. If you’re concerned, you can just change this sterile bandage yourself."

Rory pressed a few new sterile bandages into his hand. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Sean Harrison handed them back, stating firmly, "I don’t know how."

"Then I’ll come help you change it when I have time." Rory took the bandages back and said earnestly, "By the way, the landlord messaged me and said he’s returning the money. Thank you."

She’d wanted to bring this up the moment she saw him.

But she was only just now getting around to it.

As she spoke, she picked up his discarded shirt. "What top are you going to wear? I can get it for you."

"I’ll get it."

Sean Harrison took the shirt, draped it over his shoulders again, and walked toward the closet.

He put on a casual top and, while buttoning it, walked back toward the bed. He looked down at the woman sitting there. "About the landlord... I just had someone from the company’s legal department contact him. He was in the wrong, so as soon as our legal team said a few words, he immediately apologized and admitted fault."

"Oh, I see. Well, thank you."

Besides "thank you," Rory didn’t know what else to say.

"Two ’thank yous’. Noted."

"Huh?!"

Rory was dumbfounded.

She remembered what he’d said before. ’He didn’t bring this up again just to trick another "thank you" out of me, did he?!’

"I’m telling you this because I want you to know that problems and people that seem unsolvable to you are trivial matters to me. So..."

Sean Harrison lowered his gaze, his eyes slowly taking in the sight of the woman sitting on his bed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

After a brief pause, he continued, "You can ask me for help with anything you feel you can’t handle. I’m happy to help. What might be a huge headache for you is something I can solve with just a few words. You only graduated a year ago, but I believe you’ll become an excellent doctor. It won’t be too late to repay me then."

He spoke one deliberate, persuasive word after another.

He was telling her that she could, and should, ask him for help.

Rory gently bit her lip, feeling conflicted.

She wasn’t used to asking others for help, but she also knew very well...

...that asking Sean Harrison for help with Gary Sinclair was the fastest, simplest, and probably best solution.

Sean Harrison saw her hesitation and continued, "By the way, Gary Sinclair has been married four times in the last twenty years. His last wife had a twelve-year-old daughter. He repeatedly molested the little girl and beat his wife so badly she went deaf in one ear."

"What?!" Rory could hardly believe her ears. "Did they call the police?"

"Not enough evidence. After that, Gary Sinclair skipped town," Sean Harrison said. "If he can’t get what he wants from you, it’s very likely..."

"Help me! Sean Harrison, please, help me! Let’s put Gary Sinclair in prison!" Rory shot to her feet. "Let’s do what you said. You pretend to be my boyfriend, and I’ll play my part perfectly. We’ll make Gary Sinclair believe it, let him come to you for money, and then we’ll put him in prison together!"

Rory didn’t doubt Sean Harrison’s words for a second.

Gary Sinclair was exactly the kind of person who would do something like that.

Putting him away wouldn’t just be for her own sake; it would also ensure he couldn’t harm anyone else.

Before Sean Harrison could answer, Rory’s phone rang.

An unsaved number flashed on the screen.

Rory knew the number well. It was Miles Harrison’s work phone.

Sean Harrison recognized the number too.

He looked at her and asked, "It’s Miles. Are you going to answer?"