Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 83: "Found a New Sponsor So Soon?

Wayne Lloyd held his glass, not putting it down. "Rory Linden, you seem to have changed the least out of all our classmates. And you’re even more beautiful than when we graduated."

Wayne Lloyd was a rather introverted person, and his background made him insecure.

In college, he had always secretly worshipped Rory Linden as a goddess—beautiful, divine, and utterly unattainable.

He wasn’t even angry when she got a boyfriend.

’It was perfectly normal for a goddess to have a boyfriend.’

’He had always firmly believed that his goddess’s boyfriend had to be an outstanding man as well.’

This belief hadn’t changed, even a year after graduation.

During the first half of the dinner, he sat two seats away from Rory Linden. He hadn’t said a single word to her, only stealing a few glances.

But after hearing what Mia Dempsey just said, it felt as though his entire belief system had shattered.

’The goddess who had captivated him throughout college was, after all, no different from those other shallow women, hoping to change her destiny by marrying into a wealthy family.’

To confirm this, he had just questioned Mia Dempsey in the hallway.

Mia had looked at him with pity. "You’re the only one who still thinks of her as a goddess. Just think about it. If she didn’t have such ambitions, why would she have gone to work at Elysian Hospital? Every single patient there pays a membership fee of hundreds of thousands a year. A normal family couldn’t earn that in several years."

Wayne Lloyd was instantly convinced.

’She was right.’

’If Rory Linden truly loved medicine, if she really wanted to treat the sick and save lives, she would have joined a public hospital.’

’She must have joined a private hospital just to get access to more rich people.’

"Even though she and Miles Harrison hadn’t broken up by graduation, the Harrington Family would never have approved of her. She knew she couldn’t land that prize catch, so she went to Elysian Hospital to find the next one," Mia Dempsey had sneered. "Don’t get any ideas about her. She’ll never give you a second glance."

Wayne Lloyd thought back to the dinner.

Rory Linden had barely spoken a word to him.

’In the end, it was all because she thought he was poor!’

"If I had known she was a gold digger, I wouldn’t have been interested in her in the first place."

Wayne Lloyd’s voice had been filled with obvious anger.

"Oh, come on. Women are all the same. It’ll be easy to get her," Mia Dempsey had laughed. "Rory Linden can’t hold her liquor. I’ll order a Long Island Iced Tea in a bit. You get her drunk, take her back to the hotel..."

Mia Dempsey didn’t have to say any more.

And Wayne Lloyd understood.

An image of Rory Linden’s beautiful face, graceful figure, and lovely voice suddenly flashed through his mind.

’Tomorrow, he’ll fly back to Austrell. He’ll just block all her contact info.’

’If Rory Linden comes after him, he’ll just say she came on to him.’

’And what if Rory Linden wanted to be his girlfriend...’

Unable to contain his excitement, Wayne Lloyd went back into the private room and sat down right next to Rory Linden.

Rory Linden had no idea a classmate she hadn’t seen in a year harbored such malice toward her.

The three of them—she, Stella Yates, and Wayne Lloyd—sat there, reminiscing about their eight years of university.

Absorbed in the conversation, Rory Linden didn’t pay much attention and finished her drink.

By the time she had finished her drink, Stella Yates was already on her second.

"You should slow down,"

Rory Linden advised Stella.

"Oh..." Stella Yates’s body went limp, and her head drooped onto Rory’s shoulder. "It’s fine. This stuff is pretty tasty."

The moment Rory Linden heard the slurring in Stella’s voice, she knew she was drunk.

Very drunk.

She shook her own head, only then realizing that she was feeling a bit dizzy herself.

She just hadn’t noticed because she’d been sitting still and the lights in the room were so dim.

"You’re drunk. Let me get you home."

Rory Linden said, helping Stella Yates up.

Seeing this, Wayne Lloyd immediately offered, "Here, let me help."

But the moment Wayne Lloyd’s hand touched Stella’s arm, she yanked it away. "Hey! Don’t touch me! I’m not drunk."

"I can manage her on my own."

Rory Linden quickly texted Sean Harrison, telling him her friend was drunk and asking if he could come get her soon.

He replied almost instantly: [I’m just nearby. I can be there in ten minutes.]

It was just a short line of text, but reading it warmed Rory Linden’s heart.

’Sean Harrison must have been waiting nearby just to pick her up.’

’For someone so busy to be willing to spend so much time on her...’

Mia Dempsey watched from the side. "I didn’t realize Stella was such a lightweight."

Rory Linden glanced at her, then at the drinks on the table, a suspicion forming that Mia had done this on purpose.

’This was just a normal class reunion. They had already been drinking at dinner, and now she orders such strong drinks for the second round...’

She had no proof, and she couldn’t be bothered to argue about it.

’Besides, they probably wouldn’t see each other again after today anyway.’

Rory Linden picked up a glass of ice water from the table and handed it to Stella. "Here, drink some water. Sober up a little. I’ll help you out."

"Ugh... I told you, I’m not drunk! I can walk myself."

Stella staggered to her feet, and before she could even take a step, she started to pitch forward.

"Careful!"

Rory Linden lunged forward and caught her.

Stella shook her head, her full weight leaning against Rory. "Okay... maybe I’m a little drunk."

Wayne Lloyd just stood there, watching.

Seeing her chance, Mia Dempsey quickly said, "Well, it’s getting late. Let’s call it a night. We can always get together again."

’When she’d spoken to Wayne Lloyd earlier, she had clearly sensed that her words had gotten to him.’

Her hatred for Rory Linden wasn’t a new development.

As for the reasons, there were too many to count from their eight years of university.

Rory supported Stella as they made their way out.

The other classmates were still gathering their things, so they trickled out more slowly.

Once on the ground floor, Rory helped Stella over to the lobby’s cashier counter and asked for the bill for their room.

Then, she transferred her share of the bill to Mia Dempsey through a payment app.

Mia Dempsey saw the transfer notification immediately. Holding up her phone, she exclaimed, "Rory Linden, what’s this? I said this round was on me, and you’re sending me money? What’s wrong? Did you land a new sugar daddy so soon after starting at that private hospital?"

Rory had always been busy with her studies.

She never realized Mia harbored such intense animosity toward her!

"First of all, we agreed from the start to split the bill for this reunion." Rory Linden looked at Mia, her voice calm and steady. "Secondly, you’re spending your husband’s money. I’ve had to live in someone else’s home before, so I know what it’s like to have no financial independence and ask for handouts. That’s why I believe I should pay my own way."

By this time, the other classmates had all come downstairs.

Hearing Rory, one of them whispered, "Maybe I should pay my share, too?"

Mia Dempsey had come to the reunion to show off, and she never expected that the image she had so carefully maintained all evening would be shattered by a few words from Rory Linden!

Just as she was about to retort, her phone rang.

"Honey," Mia cooed into the phone, her voice suddenly saccharine sweet. "Are you at the door already? Okay, I’m coming right out."

Hanging up, Mia smirked. "See, Rory Linden? My husband dotes on me. He loves me, and he’s willing to spend his money on me."

"Is that so? Congratulations, then."

Rory’s reply was perfectly level.

Mia sauntered over to her. "How about I give you two a ride home? Then again, my husband drives a luxury car. If someone were to throw up in it, the cleaning fee would be quite expensive."

"That won’t be necessary. Someone is coming to get me."

Rory was drunk, her head swimming.

The only reason she was fighting to stay coherent was because she sensed Mia’s ill intentions and felt obligated to get Stella home safely.

"Oh? And who might that be?" Mia sneered. "Don’t tell me I was right. You really do have a new sugar daddy?"

"Is it because your husband is your sugar daddy that you assume my boyfriend and I have the same kind of relationship?"

With that one sharp retort, Rory helped Stella walk quickly toward the exit.

Mia was left speechless.

Fuming, she stormed outside.

The moment she stepped outside, she saw her husband’s Maybach parked at the entrance, but only the chauffeur was inside.

Mia glanced around and spotted her husband standing off to the right of the main doors, chatting with a young man in a suit.