Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: I Will Not Attack Unless I Am Attacked

Alaric Blackwood was woken by the pain.

The family doctor was already there, treating and bandaging the wounds on his back.

He was lying on his stomach on a pillow, watching a hand with a towel wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

His gaze followed the hand to its owner—Mandy Halloway, whose eyes were red as she wiped away tears. A pang went through his heart, and he immediately grabbed his mother’s hand. With a faint smile, he said, "Mom, what are you crying about? It’s no big deal."

Mandy Halloway was so choked with tears she could barely speak. "And you’re still smiling like nothing’s wrong."

"You’d rather I cry for you?"

’I’m not a kid anymore.’

"Should I call Sophie and have her come over?"

Alaric Blackwood shook his head.

"Are you going back to your place in this state?"

"I don’t think so."

"Then what will you tell Sophie?"

"Just tell her you guys missed me and made me stay at the family home for the night."

Hearing Alaric Blackwood speak so calmly, Mandy Halloway couldn’t help but start crying again. "You silly boy, why are you so impulsive? When Sophie was taken by the Kane Family, you could have just called your uncle."

"There was no need to get him involved."

"Don’t be so reckless in the future."

Alaric Blackwood admitted he had been rash this time, but he had also considered the consequences.

His bodyguards were well-trained and knew how to pull their punches. They wouldn’t inflict serious harm; the resulting injuries wouldn’t even be severe enough to be legally classified as minor assault. Damian Morgan had three broken ribs, and having two to six broken ribs is legally considered a slight injury. As for Bianca Kane, it was an even lesser issue; she was only slapped.

His actions warranted administrative penalties, but they didn’t constitute a criminal offense, meaning he wouldn’t have to bear criminal liability.

However, if Mason Kane were to get involved and start pulling strings to manipulate public opinion, the fallout would be unavoidable.

In the current age of social media, where everyone is a reporter and a broadcaster, once a narrative takes hold, the truth behind it hardly matters. A story about the son of a wealthy businessman breaking into a private residence and assaulting people would undoubtedly cast the Kanes as the victims and the underdogs.

Public opinion always sides with the underdog.

Alaric Blackwood didn’t want things to escalate to that. He had two uncles on his mother’s side: one had taken over from his grandfather and was a senior judge, and the other was a deputy police chief. A media frenzy would put immense pressure on them. Even if they showed their nephew no favoritism at all, they would be accused of it, and his parents would face a public crucifixion.

By accepting the punishment, he was putting the matter to rest.

For a family as powerful and influential as his, it was crucial to know one’s limits, to understand when to advance and when to retreat. Any mistake, no matter how trivial, could easily be blown out of proportion by the public.

Besides, he really had trespassed and hurt people...

"I’m sorry. I was too impulsive this time."

The moment Alaric Blackwood admitted he was wrong, Mandy Halloway’s tears began to flow uncontrollably.

How could she not know the character of the son she had raised with her own hands?

If he hadn’t been pushed to his limit, would he ever have done something like break into a private home and violently assault people?

He wouldn’t attack unless provoked.

Although Alaric Blackwood might seem like a devil-may-care playboy on the surface, he would never use his status to bully others. Raised with solid values, a son of an exemplary family, he had always been the pride of his parents.

Mandy Halloway wiped away a tear. "You little brat."

Alaric Blackwood let out a soft chuckle, which was immediately followed by a loud yelp. "Ow, ow, ow..."

His shout made the family doctor’s hand tremble.

"Stop faking it!"

Mandy Halloway shot him a glare.

The man who hadn’t made a single sound while being struck a hundred times with a cane was now howling as ointment was being applied.

Alaric Blackwood buried his face in his pillow, his voice muffled. "Dr. Cole, take it easy."

Dr. Cole sighed. "I’m being as gentle as I can."

...

「Meanwhile.」

Nina Halloway, Anne, and Ethan Austin arrived at Maplewood Estate.

Sophie Shaw opened the door and welcomed the three of them inside.

As soon as Nina Halloway saw her, she immediately placed a hand on Sophie’s forehead. "Your fever’s gone."

"I’m fine now."

"Alaric said you had a fever last night."

"Yeah."

"Good, as long as the fever’s gone."

Nina Halloway slipped into a pair of guest slippers in the foyer, then linked her arm through Sophie Shaw’s, pulling her over to the living room sofa. "So, listen to this. Leon Grant asked me out for coffee this afternoon, and I couldn’t really say no. Want to come with me?"

"Would I be intruding?"

"You and Anne can come along and help me size him up."

"Size him up?"

"The Grant Family came to my house with a marriage proposal. I haven’t accepted, but I did promise my mom I’d at least try to get to know him."

Nina Halloway did not like Leon Grant. She felt he wasn’t just stubborn; he was completely fixated in a way that defied common sense.

Back in their school days, Leon Grant had pursued her relentlessly. Even after she told him she had her heart set on someone else, he refused to give up. He was a master of public confessions of love, coming up with an endless variety of them at a moment’s notice, with no regard for the occasion or her feelings.

Once, she got so angry that she told Leon Grant to get lost, and he actually did—by leaving the country.

Their next meeting was on a film set, where Leon Grant had transformed into the male lead acting opposite her.

He couldn’t act, hadn’t even read the script beforehand, and was only there to get her attention. Filming was a disaster because of him, with one bad take after another. She eventually lost her temper on set and humiliated him in front of everyone.

Afterward, Leon Grant announced he was quitting showbiz, and the role was recast.

Their most recent encounter was when she was kidnapped. She was on a small boat drifting down a river when Leon Grant, who was fishing on the bank with his grandfather, heard her cries for help and called the police.

So Leon Grant used the pretense of being her "savior" to have his family come and propose marriage.

’But Leon Grant didn’t save my life,’ she mused. ’He just found me by the river and made a phone call...’

"I don’t know if agreeing to see him was the right call. I’m wondering if I should just find an opportunity to reject him flat out."

Nina Halloway was torn.

Sophie Shaw thought for a moment. "Well, regardless," she said, "since you’ve already agreed to meet him, you should go."

At noon, Anne made a lavish lunch at Maplewood Estate. The four of them ate together, and as three in the afternoon approached, they got ready to leave for the café.

Before heading out, Sophie Shaw dialed Alaric Blackwood’s number.

It rang for a long time, but no one answered.

"Strange."

Sophie felt a little unsettled.

Alaric Blackwood had never missed one of her calls before. This was a first.

"Who are you calling?" Anne asked curiously.

"Mr. Blackwood."

"Still calling him Mr. Blackwood? Shouldn’t you be calling him ’Hubby’ by now?"

Sophie pursed her lips in a smile. "I’m just used to calling him Mr. Blackwood."

"I’m sure Mr. Blackwood would much rather you call him Hubby."

Sophie’s cheeks flushed slightly. She grabbed Anne’s arm, a little embarrassed. "Come on, let’s go."

"Here, a mask for each of you."

Nina Halloway pulled two new masks from her bag and handed them to Sophie and Anne. "In a little while, you two are going to sit at the next table and pretend to be customers. Help me pick apart Leon Grant’s flaws."

Sophie couldn’t help but laugh. "Pick apart his flaws?"

"If he has flaws, I’ll have a reason to reject him, won’t I?"

"...Fair point."

The four of them left the house. Ethan Austin drove, with Nina Halloway in the car, and led the way.

Sophie drove her Cayenne with Anne, following Nina’s car.

Considering Nina Halloway was a huge, popular star, Leon Grant had chosen a chic but secluded café for their meeting.

When she got there, Nina Halloway saw that Leon Grant had already arrived.

The man was sitting in an inconspicuous corner, holding a small, exquisite mirror. He was fixing his hair, narcissistically practicing a devil-may-care smirk at his own reflection, clearly thinking he was the most handsome man alive.