Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 37: "Single for Thirty-Something Years, He Finally Found a Girlfriend.

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: "Single for Thirty-Something Years, He Finally Found a Girlfriend.

Rory Linden and the man walked hand in hand to the elevator bank.

On the way, everyone from the gastrointestinal surgery department to the nurses stared at them with curiosity.

Once they were in the elevator, Rory could feel her face burning as if she had a fever.

The moment the elevator doors slid shut, Rory immediately snatched her hand back.

Sean Harrison looked at her and said, "Go change your clothes. I’ll wait for you in the car."

"Okay, okay."

Rory kept her gaze lowered, not mustering the courage to look up at Sean.

But she didn’t blame him.

After all, she was the one who had asked him last night to help her put Gary Sinclair in prison.

Even if they were just pretending to be a couple, Evelyn Irving and Miles Harrison would find out sooner or later.

Rory got off the elevator on the 6th floor. On the way to her office, she didn’t dare make eye contact with any of her colleagues, terrified they already knew and would start asking questions.

She wouldn’t know what to say.

By the time Rory had changed and made her way to the parking garage, she saw Sean standing by his car on the phone. He spotted her approaching and gave her a wave.

Sean watched her walk over. Her cheeks were still flushed, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.

When she reached him, he pocketed his phone. Instead of immediately opening the car door, he spoke first. "I’m sorry."

Rory looked up.

"Given the situation, I believed you were going to reject Miles’s proposition. The engagement is the day after tomorrow, and I’ve been footing the bill and organizing everything. It’s not something he can just cancel on a whim." Sean paused, then added, "Miles is twenty-six. He needs to learn to be responsible for his actions."

"Mmm, I was going to turn him down."

Rory knew, with absolute certainty, that she was completely over her relationship with Miles.

But he seemed to think he knew her so well, still treating her like a backup plan.

He seemed to believe that even if he didn’t get engaged to Lucy Shaw, she’d always be waiting in the wings for him.

From that perspective, Sean using their fake relationship to shut Miles down might be a more permanent solution.

Even if Miles found out later that their relationship was fake, he wouldn’t dare bother her again.

"However..." Sean’s gaze fell to the woman before him. "I won’t deny I had my own reasons for doing that. But if you come to regret this, just tell me. There are very few regrets I can’t help you fix."

’Rory understood what he meant by his own reasons.’

’If she had poured her heart and soul into planning an event for someone, only for them to want to cancel it, she’d be angry too.’

’Besides, as Evelyn Irving had just mentioned, all the guests Sean had invited were influential people.’

’If the engagement party were canceled, it would be a huge loss of face for Sean.’

"I don’t regret it." Rory shook her head firmly. "My mother used to be a housekeeper for the Harrington family. After what happened back then... regardless of who owes what, after all these years and everything that’s occurred, it’s time to untangle this mess. Even if I’m the one who owes the Harringtons more, it’s not enough to make me sacrifice the rest of my life for it."

A faint smile played on Sean’s lips.

He turned, opened the passenger door, and gestured for her to get in.

Once they were both settled in the car, Sean asked, "Are you free on Saturday?"

"What for?"

"Given how things have turned out, I may need you to accompany me to Miles’s engagement party." He paused before adding, "But if you’re busy, you don’t have to."

Rory didn’t answer right away.

She had already rejected Miles to his face that day.

But...

In the span of a single week, the situation had changed completely.

She’d gone from being Miles’s ex-girlfriend to his uncle Sean’s girlfriend, in name only.

’Sean had only suggested this to help her out of a tight spot...’

After careful consideration, Rory finally nodded. "Okay. I was supposed to work that day, but I can swap shifts with a colleague."

The private hospital wasn’t very busy, so taking time off wasn’t difficult.

Sean then asked, "I just got off the phone with a friend. If you’re not too tired, we could go to a place he recommended to pick out a gown. They can do alterations in two days."

"I... Okay, I’m not tired. Let’s go now."

’Rory’s first instinct was to refuse.’

’It was Miles’s engagement party, after all. Why would she need a gown for that?’

’But on second thought, almost all the guests were attending out of respect for Sean.’

’From another perspective, that made him a central figure of the event.’

’As Sean’s ’temporary’ girlfriend, dressing too plainly would only embarrass him.’

’He was doing so much to help her... ’

’She couldn’t embarrass him.’

-

The car pulled up in front of an old villa in Veridia Old Town.

An inconspicuous wooden sign hanging by the entrance read, "Clara Chapman Cheongsams."

Sean didn’t get out of the car immediately. Instead, he pointed to the sign. "The owner here specializes in cheongsams. Do you like them? If not, we can head to the next stop. It’s a shop that carries more conventional gowns."

"I... I’ve never worn a cheongsam."

In her entire life, Rory had never worn anything that could be considered a formal gown.

Her old international school used to hold dances, and all the students who attended would wear beautiful, expensive gowns.

Sherry Walsh had told her that some students even wore haute couture gowns worth a fortune.

Rory had never attended. She always went to the library by herself, books in tow.

It wasn’t that she disliked pretty dresses; she was just a realist.

She and these wealthy kids were not from the same world. Her being there was just a temporary fluke.

"Then let’s try it."

Sean opened his door and got out. He waited for her, making a gentlemanly gesture of invitation.

The pair walked to the entrance, where they were greeted by a woman in her forties, presumably the owner. She led them to the second floor and invited Rory to browse the styles first.

A cheongsam, from choosing the fabric to custom tailoring to the finished product, takes at least two to three months.

The engagement party was the day after tomorrow.

Her only option was to choose from the ready-to-wear pieces and have the size adjusted over the next two days.

Rory stared at the two racks of cheongsams, which came in all sorts of colors and lengths. Feeling overwhelmed, she didn’t know how to choose and could only admit, "I... I don’t really know how to pick one."

The owner proactively suggested, "How about this? I’ll have my mom come and choose for you. She’s the best at picking cheongsams for people."

Once Rory agreed, the owner opened the door and left.

About five or six minutes later, the door to the room opened again.

The person who came in was an old lady who looked to be in her sixties or seventies, with a slightly hunched back.

Sean took a step forward and said respectfully, "Ms. Chapman, hello. I’m a friend of Old Mr. Chandler’s. He’s the one who sent me."

"I know, he just gave me a call." Clara Chapman looked at Sean with a cheerful smile. "He made a point of telling me that his dear young friend, after being single for over thirty years, has finally found himself a girlfriend, and that I was to pick out something wonderful for her."