Free Web NovelChapter 41: Chapter 41: I’m a Man, How Can I Let My Wife Freeze?
Alaric Blackwood hesitated for barely a second before looking up, a smile curling on his lips as he looked at Sophie Shaw. "My wife has a very good point."
"I’ll listen to my wife."
He stood up, smoothly wrapping an arm around Sophie Shaw’s waist. He ignored the drunk Jaden and said only to Evan Ford, "You take the two-timer home."
"Who are you calling a two-timer?"
Jaden immediately bristled, shoving Evan Ford with brute force.
His words were slurred and indistinct. After pushing Evan Ford aside, he staggered step by unsteady step toward Alaric Blackwood, stumbling around like he was doing drunken boxing.
"Who did you just call a two-timer!"
"You."
"Alaric Blackwood, I dare you to say that again."
"I’m talking about you, Jaden, Counsel Garland. You have a fiancée, but you’re still messing around. You’re a two-timer, you hear me? If that’s not clear enough, I’ll have Evan Ford go to the mall and buy a bullhorn with 360-degree surround sound, hang it around your neck, and let you listen to it until you get it."
Evan Ford thought the two were about to get into another fight, but instead, Jaden grabbed Alaric Blackwood by the collar, buried his face in Alaric’s chest, and had just started to curse, "Alaric Blackwood, is that mouth of yours pure poison...? so toxic—" when the next second, with a loud GAG, he threw up.
A sour, putrid stench mixed with alcohol quickly filled the air.
Sophie Shaw took half a step back.
Alaric Blackwood held his breath, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing the urge to beat Jaden to death.
’I can’t be too violent in front of my wife.’
’I have to remain a gentleman...’
Just then, the four men from the alley all clambered to their feet. Bruised and swollen, they helped each other out of the dark alley.
The underling who had somersaulted twice and was playing dead on the ground saw his boss and brothers emerge, and he immediately leaped up to swagger about.
In the blink of an eye, the five men, clearly courting death, had surrounded Alaric Blackwood again.
As luck would have it, the wail of a police siren suddenly cut through the air.
Two police cars sped over and stopped outside the barbecue restaurant.
The restaurant owner heard the noise and ran out of his shop. As soon as he saw the officers getting out of the police cars, he immediately shouted, "I’m the one who called the police!"
Then he pointed a finger at the buzzcut guys, as well as at Alaric Blackwood, who was surrounded by them. "They were fighting! They nearly wrecked my shop..."
The owner rambled on, exaggerating and embellishing the story.
Everyone present, without exception, was taken to the police station.
Alaric Blackwood had already taken off the jacket that Jaden had soiled. He casually balled it up and, before getting into the police car, tossed it directly into a roadside trash can.
The police station was in an uproar. The few buzzcut guys who had been beaten up were tearfully telling their side of the story to the police.
"We were just having a nice meal, and they started a fight and flipped our table over."
"Yeah! They caused trouble, tried to leave without paying for the damages, and even started a fight with us."
...
Listening to the buzzcut guys all talking over each other, a police officer frowned. "What kind of crap are you spouting? We’ve already reviewed the security footage from the restaurant. Weren’t you the one who told him to lick your shoe?"
The buzzcut guy they called "boss" instantly fell silent, his face dropping.
He knew there were cameras, but he hadn’t expected that with so many noisy patrons in the restaurant, his words would have been recorded so clearly.
"He hit us first." The buzzcut guy made one last desperate attempt, pointing a finger at Alaric Blackwood. "It was him! He’s the one who beat us up like this."
Alaric Blackwood didn’t deny it. "I threw the first punch. Officer, you heard it yourself. He insulted me. Was I supposed to just take that?"
The owner chimed in, "Officer, I can testify. They said they’d compensate me double, and they also offered to pay the bill for the two tables that got knocked over."
The owner had seen them take the fight outside and had worried someone might get seriously hurt. Since the conflict started in his restaurant, after much thought, he decided to call the police.
Sophie Shaw, who had been silent for a long time, now spoke to the officer. "They call him ’boss.’ They acted like a gang, ganging up on my husband, bullying him with their numbers."
The scene she described was exactly what the police had witnessed upon their arrival.
"How do you two parties want to resolve this?"
Faced with the officer’s question, Alaric Blackwood said nothing.
The buzzcut crew spoke up first. "He beat us up like this. He’s definitely got to pay our medical bills and for our emotional distress."
The officer looked at their faces, swollen like pigs’ heads, and asked Alaric Blackwood, "And what’s your take on this?"
"Fine. Ask them how much they want."
The officer suddenly found himself playing messenger. He asked the buzzcut guys, "How much?"
The buzzcut boss sized up Alaric Blackwood. Seeing that he was decked out in luxury brands from head to toe, and that the Patek Philippe on his wrist alone was worth millions, he decided to ask for an outrageous sum. "There are five of us, so how about 200,000 each?"
Alaric Blackwood raised an eyebrow and smirked, telling the officer, "You can tell them I can have my lawyer sue them for extortion."
The officer rolled his eyes. "Can you guys stop making me pass messages? Just talk to each other face-to-face."
The buzzcut guy snorted. "Officer, you tell him. 200,000 each. Not a penny less."
Alaric Blackwood didn’t waste any more words. He pulled out his phone and called Preston Chase. "Get down to the Oakhaven East Police Station."
After speaking, he glanced at Jaden, who was already fast asleep and snoring on a nearby table, and added, "Contact a lawyer from the legal department to come with you."
Preston Chase never imagined that on his first day of work—after spending the day getting familiar with the office—he’d spend the evening bailing his own boss out of a police station.
Upon seeing Alaric Blackwood, he first bowed respectfully, then gave the lawyer behind him a meaningful look.
The lawyer immediately stepped forward to get the details of the situation.
The lawyer handled the rest. Alaric Blackwood led Sophie Shaw out, with Preston Chase following close behind.
As for the completely plastered Jaden, he was carried out of the police station directly by Evan Ford.
Evan Ford’s face was as black as a piece of burnt charcoal. As he carried Jaden toward the street, he complained, "All I wanted was a meal. What did I do to deserve this?"
He didn’t even get to finish his meal, he wasn’t involved in the fight, yet he still got hauled to the police station. And to top it all off, he had to take the drunk home.
No one had it worse than him.
He hailed a cab, threw the drunk into the back seat, and then got in himself. He said to Alaric Blackwood, "I’m heading out."
Alaric Blackwood nodded, not forgetting to remind Evan Ford, "Tell the two-timer to be at the boxing gym waiting for me at noon tomorrow. Sharp."
Evan Ford helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose. "I’m so done with you two."
The taxi drove away.
Alaric Blackwood turned, about to ask Preston Chase where he had parked the car, when a weight suddenly settled on his shoulders. A jacket, warm and carrying a faint, pleasant scent, had been draped over him.
He turned his head and saw that Sophie Shaw had taken off her own jacket. Due to their height difference, she had to stand on her tiptoes to drape it over him.
"Weren’t you cold? Don’t catch a cold."
A wave of warmth flowed through his heart as he looked at her with surprise.
She was only wearing a thin base layer and a long skirt underneath. Having given him her jacket, she shivered from the cold.
He didn’t hesitate for half a second, immediately pulling the jacket off and putting it back on her. freēwebnovel.com
"I’m the man here. How could I let my wife freeze?"
After putting the jacket back on Sophie Shaw properly, he looked at Preston Chase. "Give me your jacket."
Preston Chase: "..."
