Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 60: "Strip Away the Perfect Disguise, and You’re Just a Madman.
’Why is he standing here?’
’Why isn’t he home?’
’Is he planning to wait here until midnight before going back?’
Rory Linden walked forward, pulling her suitcase. The rumble of its wheels on the pavement was especially loud in the quiet night.
She stared straight ahead, but as she was about to pass the man, her heart couldn’t help but beat faster.
’Will he call out to me?’
’If he does, what should I say?’
In the end, they brushed past each other.
It was like some kind of unspoken agreement.
The man didn’t call out to her, and she didn’t look at him.
Rory Linden had only walked a few meters away, still pulling her suitcase...
...when a dull thud sounded from behind her, accompanied by the sharp crack of glass hitting stone.
Rory Linden instinctively turned around.
Sean Harrison, who had just been standing there, was now collapsed on the ground!
"Mr. Harrison!"
Rory Linden rushed over without a second thought.
The man was lying on his side, his eyes tightly shut, completely still.
"Mr. Harrison!"
Rory Linden was about to pry open his eyelids to check his condition when she realized the hand she was holding was burning hot.
She quickly pressed her palm to his forehead!
Sean Harrison was running a fever.
A high one!
Without hesitation, Rory Linden immediately pulled out her phone to call 911.
Just as she was about to dial, the man’s hand twitched, and his mouth opened as if to say something.
"Mr. Harrison, are you awake? You have a fever. I’m calling 911 to take you to the hospital."
Seeing his thin lips part as if he wanted to speak, she leaned in closer.
Listening closely, she could just make out his words. "Don’t. Have security take me home. You can go."
"Mr. Harrison, as the patient here, you’re in no position to be giving me orders."
Rory Linden frowned.
Regardless of their relationship, as a doctor, she simply couldn’t abandon a patient and walk away.
Especially when Sean Harrison’s fever was at least 39 degrees, possibly even higher.
If she left him like this, the consequences of delaying treatment would be unthinkable.
"I... I don’t need to go to the hospital."
The man’s voice was weak, but his intention was clear.
Rory Linden’s brow furrowed slightly.
She wanted to persuade him to get treatment at a hospital, but in his current state, he needed rest more than anything and shouldn’t talk any more.
"I understand. I won’t take you to the hospital. Just close your eyes and don’t worry about a thing. I’ll call building management and have security come take you home."
Rory Linden could only placate Sean Harrison for now and go along with his wishes.
As it happened, two patrolling security guards passed by. After they understood the situation, they brought a stretcher, carried the man up to the top floor, and helped him into bed in the bedroom.
After the guards left, Rory Linden changed his clothes, applied a cooling patch to his forehead, and then took a taxi to the hospital to get blood-drawing equipment.
After drawing his blood at home, she rushed back to the hospital to run the tests. Once the results were in, she got a prescription for medication and an IV drip, then returned to the apartment with everything.
Sean Harrison was now in a deep sleep.
But his temperature hadn’t dropped at all.
The IV bag needed to be hung somewhere. There was a lamp by the bed, but the bag couldn’t be hung directly on it; it needed to be tied on with a string or something similar.
Everything in Sean Harrison’s home was expensive.
Just as Rory Linden was wondering what to do... she suddenly remembered the silk scarf she had seen in the wardrobe when she was changing his clothes.
It was the one she had used to bandage his wound when they first met.
She had assumed he’d thrown away something so inexpensive, but to her surprise, it had been washed and placed in the small wardrobe in the bedroom.
Without hesitation, Rory Linden took out the silk scarf and used it to hang the IV bag.
Once the IV bag was hung, Rory Linden inserted the needle.
He needed two bags for the IV drip.
Rory Linden didn’t dare to sleep. She stayed by the bedside, watching until both bags had emptied, and only felt at ease after she had removed the needle.
---
During his night of sickness, Sean Harrison dreamed of recent events.
He had just landed at Austrell Airport and saw Nadia Willow waiting for him as he deplaned.
They hadn’t arranged to meet.
She was waiting for him.
Nadia Willow walked slowly to his side and smiled. "President Harrison, I hear that girl you’ve been longing for is now your girlfriend? I also hear that even though she was with your nephew for years, she’s still an untouched gem. A double blessing, truly."
The him in the dream wanted to leave, but couldn’t.
He could only let Nadia Willow stand beside him and speak. "You have to agree to my terms on that matter. I promise I won’t interfere with you and her, or anything else."
"Get out."
Sean Harrison squeezed two words from between his teeth.
"You can refuse me, of course."
Nadia Willow’s smile was bewitching and cruel.
Although her face was about fifty percent similar to Rory Linden’s, her entire aura was completely different.
Especially when she smiled, the resemblance between them vanished entirely.
"You hate it when I smile, don’t you? Because when I smile, I don’t look like her anymore." Nadia Willow’s smile widened. "So, would you like her to see those former classmates of yours at the private sanatorium? Everyone knows you were bullied in middle school, but no one cares what happened to the bullies in the end."
"That’s enough!"
Sean Harrison’s eyes turned red as his large hand clamped around Nadia Willow’s neck.
"You see, this is the real you. No one else knows. Only I know. You pretend to be so noble and elegant in front of others, and you must put on the same act of a perfect man for that woman, right?" Nadia Willow’s smile grew even wider, filled with glee. "But so what? Tear away that perfect disguise, and you’re just a madman who locked up his bullies and tortured them for a month."
Nadia Willow stared at his face and asked, "What do you think Rory Linden would do if she knew about your past?"
She answered her own question. "She’d run as far away as possible. She’d never want to see you again."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Sean Harrison was on the verge of collapse.
When he opened his eyes, he realized it was all a dream.
The woman from his dream was now slumped over his bedside, her hand tightly gripping his.
Sean Harrison glanced around, guessing that Rory Linden must have been taking care of him all night.
’If she knew... that this whole illness was just a calculated ploy to keep her here, that he’d deliberately gotten sick because he suspected she was going to leave... ’
Everything he had done for her before had been from the heart.
He wanted to be good to her, wanted to be perfect in her eyes. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
He hoped she would fall in love with him quickly, that she would become unable to leave him.
So that if one day his ugly past was exposed, there would still be a chance she might choose to stay by his side.
Perhaps roused by his stirring as he woke, Rory Linden also startled awake.
Rory Linden looked at the man before her and rubbed her eyes. "You’re awake?"
Sean Harrison lowered his gaze to his clothes, his dark eyes filled with a gentle light. "I’m sorry for all the trouble yesterday. I remember you were leaving, weren’t you? I’m much better now. You should get some rest before you go."
Though he said this, his hand remained tightly clasped around hers, showing no intention of letting go.
