Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Don’t Look Down on People

The elevator was just across the hall from the hospital room.

DING—

The elevator doors slid open with the sound.

Sophie Shaw instinctively glanced toward the elevator and saw Jaden rushing out with the crowd.

"Where’s Nina Halloway?"

She pointed to the room not far behind her.

Jaden strode forward, his long legs carrying him, and nearly collided with Alaric Blackwood at the door to the room.

Not giving him a chance to enter, Alaric Blackwood pushed him back and shut the door. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? Your sister is in trouble. Of course I’d come."

"She’s fine."

"I’ll see for myself if she’s fine or not."

Jaden tried to get around him and barge into the room. Just as he reached the door, he looked through the small window and was shocked to see Nina Halloway resting in another man’s arms.

His mind went blank. He recognized the man as Nina Halloway’s newly hired bodyguard. He froze, and an indescribable rage began to surge through his chest.

He immediately shoved the door open and stormed in.

"Nina Halloway, have you completely lost your standards?"

First, it was hitting on male models at the club, ten at a time, and now you’re getting cozy with a bodyguard.

It was bad enough that no one had told him about the incident. He only found out Nina Halloway had been kidnapped when the police came to his door and warned him to be careful.

"You’ve really stooped low, Nina Halloway."

Hearing his bitter words, the woman in question didn’t move from Ethan Austin’s arms. She just lazily lifted her gaze to glance at him.

Seeing her ignore him, Jaden’s anger flared. He strode forward, grabbed her by the arm, and yanked her away from Ethan Austin.

"What are you doing?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

His grip hurt Nina Halloway’s arm. She violently shook his hand off, furious. "Are you insane?"

"You’re the one who’s insane! It was just a breakup. How long are you going to keep acting out like this?"

"How am I acting out?"

Jaden pointed at Ethan Austin, who was sitting by the bed, his voice full of aggression. "He’s just a bodyguard! How could you be all over him like that? Have you no shame? When did your standards get so low? You’d even stoop to a bodyguard?"

Before Nina Halloway could react, Ethan Austin’s temper flared.

Jaden’s words had offended him.

He stood up to face Jaden. At six-foot-three, his sheer size and presence completely dwarfed the other man.

A rare, sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "What’s wrong with being a bodyguard?"

"Do you pay my salary? What gives you the right to attack me personally? What gives you the right to look down on me?"

Jaden refused to back down. He’d been holding a grudge ever since Ethan Austin knocked him out with a single punch at the boxing gym.

He raised his hand and pointed a finger right at Ethan Austin’s nose. "Don’t you know your own place? How much money do you have in your pocket, huh? Don’t even think about social climbing. You’re not worthy of her."

Even though he and Nina Halloway had broken up, he would never allow some nobody like Ethan Austin to have designs on her.

She should at least find someone of equal social standing, someone who could give her a lifetime of happiness. Only then would he not feel so guilty toward her.

He had thought he didn’t have deep feelings for Nina Halloway, but when he heard she was picking up male models, when he heard she’d been kidnapped, he had truly panicked—panicked to the point of losing his mind.

"So you’re a lawyer, big deal. A prestigious profession, is it? Makes you too good to look at a bodyguard? Let me tell you, I also graduated from a top university. I’m not a bit inferior to you. Don’t think you can look down on people just because you have some stinking money."

Ethan Austin shot back, incensed.

Previously, Anne had coaxed and rushed him into becoming Nina Halloway’s bodyguard. He had felt resentful about it and held a prejudice against Nina, assuming she was Alaric Blackwood’s mistress.

In reality, he was willing to help ease his sister’s financial burden. So, even though he disliked Nina Halloway, he had still taken the job.

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, and with Nina Halloway’s sudden crisis, he realized he couldn’t be half-hearted anymore. Since he had accepted the job of a bodyguard, he had to take the responsibility seriously.

On the way to the hospital, Anne had scolded him, saying, "Ethan, you’re twenty-two years old now. You’re an adult. As a man, you can’t refuse to grow up forever. You have to learn what responsibility means."

That one word, responsibility, was so heavy.

He truly couldn’t keep relying on his sister for everything, like he did when he was a child.

"So what if you graduated from a top university? Without connections, you still end up as someone’s bodyguard."

Jaden sneered, his tone condescending.

Nina Halloway couldn’t listen anymore. She cut Jaden off. "Have you said enough?"

"Fire him. Fire him right now. You were kidnapped, wasn’t that because your bodyguard failed to do his job? Why are you keeping him around? Tell him to leave!"

"Who are you to me? In what capacity are you ordering me around?"

Jaden was speechless.

"I’ve already told my parents we broke up. They respect you, and they respect me. They’re not forcing us to be together. But you... after we broke up, you started showing up in front of me for no reason. Didn’t you want to avoid me? Didn’t you want to never see me again? What are you doing now?"

"I..."

"Get out."

"Nina..."

"Leave!"

Nina Halloway snapped.

Jaden stared at her in disbelief. "You’re yelling at me for a bodyguard? He failed at his job. I’m not wrong about that, am I?"

"I told you to leave. Can’t you hear me?"

Jaden still had more to say, but Ethan Austin shoved him out without a moment’s hesitation.

Alaric Blackwood was standing outside the room, arms crossed, a look on his face as if he were enjoying a good show.

It was rare to see Jaden get shot down by his sister, and for some reason, he found it incredibly satisfying.

SLAM—

Ethan Austin slammed the door shut. A moment later, with a quick RATTLE, he pulled the privacy curtain over the window, completely shutting Jaden out.

Furious, he tried to push the door open and barge back in, but Alaric Blackwood easily held him back.

"Alright, that’s enough. Stop making a fool of yourself."

Jaden shook his hand off, feeling both indignant and helpless. "What is wrong with you? Didn’t you see your sister all over that bodyguard?"

"I saw."

"And you’re not going to do anything?"

"She’s just looking for some comfort. After all, the person who was supposed to be comforting her cheated during your engagement, brought his so-called girlfriend to her door to break up with her, and hurt her badly."

Jaden: "..."

"You successfully got rid of my sister, so why don’t you look happy? I thought you’d be setting off firecrackers to celebrate."

Alaric Blackwood’s tone was cool, laced with sarcasm. freёwebnoѵel.com

He knew he was the one in the wrong, so he didn’t argue with Alaric Blackwood. Instead, he changed the subject. "Why didn’t you contact me when your sister was kidnapped?"

"Why would I contact you?"

"We’re friends, aren’t we? Even if your sister and I couldn’t be husband and wife, we don’t have to be enemies."

"It’ll be hard for you two to be friends again, either. You already broke her heart."

A wave of sadness suddenly washed over Jaden.

"Be careful these days. If the masked man kidnaps you, I’m not coming to save you," Alaric Blackwood said teasingly, clapping him hard on the shoulder.

With that, Alaric walked over to Sophie Shaw, hooked an arm around her waist, and led her back into the room.

Anne happily trotted in after them.

In the blink of an eye, Jaden was the only one left in the empty hallway.

He walked dejectedly toward the elevator, mulling over Alaric Blackwood’s question: why wasn’t he happy now that he was free of Nina Halloway?

The truth was, he didn’t know either.