Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Crying Her Heart Out in His Arms

’Afraid her maternal grandparents would take her away?’

’He actually cared about her that much?’

’But where was she in his eyes now?’

All he cared about was whether Joel Kane could become the heir to the Kane family. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"You don’t love Mom anymore, and you don’t love me anymore."

She wasn’t asking a question; it was a statement.

Joseph Shaw raised a hand to wipe the corner of his eye. "How could I not love your mother? How could I not love you?"

"If you really loved her, you wouldn’t have let her hold on to that grudge. You should have contacted the Fords, not just let her condition worsen day by day." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"She told me not to go."

Sophie Shaw gave a bitter laugh. "So you see, that isn’t love. Deep down, you probably didn’t want to bow your head to the Fords either. If you really loved Mom, why did you abandon the company after she passed away? Wasn’t that the company she worked so hard to build with you?"

Joseph Shaw gritted his teeth. "Because Mandy Halloway told me that the money we borrowed to start the company actually came from your grandmother. Do you understand that kind of despair?"

He had boasted that he didn’t need the Ford Family’s help, yet the startup capital for his company had come from them, funneled through Mandy Halloway.

It was deeply ironic.

Back then, he had made a bold declaration to the Fords, vowing to make a name for himself and show them he had the ability to give Mina Ford a happy, prosperous life.

But in the end, the ones who had lent him a hand were none other than the Fords themselves.

It was a huge slap in the face. Just as Mr. Ford had said, he wasn’t capable enough to give Mina a better life. On top of that, Mina, who had a brilliant future ahead of her, had given up a promising career as a jewelry designer to help him. She had devoted herself completely to supporting him, but in the end, they lost both the person and the money.

"In the end, you just couldn’t let go of your pathetic pride. You acted so tough in front of the Fords, refusing their help. In that case, why did you become a live-in son-in-law? Weren’t you supposed to have so much integrity?"

Sophie’s sarcastic words were like a sharp blade, stabbing Joseph Shaw until he was riddled with wounds.

He had indeed been young and full of pride once. But for all the bravado he’d shown, the bankruptcy of his company had left him utterly beaten and broken by reality.

He had to support Sophie through school and keep up with the monthly mortgage payments on the house he and Mina had bought together. At over thirty years old, he struggled to find work, and the pressure was immense.

Gradually, he shed his old pride. To find a job that would simply put food on the table, he pulled connections, treated people to meals, and gave gifts. He finally managed to get into the Kane Group, landing an assistant position in the human resources department.

He never expected Bianca Kane to take an interest in him. She had him transferred to be her personal assistant.

For two years, Bianca Kane used every trick in the book, from overt flirtation to subtle seduction. He was a man with normal physical needs, and in the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation.

After that, he just gave up and let things slide. He became Bianca Kane’s second husband. Although life felt suffocating at times, at least he no longer had to worry about Sophie’s living expenses and tuition. Bianca also gave him a son, which gave him a small sense of belonging in the Kane family.

"Facts have proven that having integrity is a good thing, but you can’t eat it. That’s reality."

"Your explanation is pathetic."

Sophie grabbed her bag and turned, her hand resting on the doorknob. She said, word by word, "Don’t ever say you loved my mother again. The necklace she personally designed is missing, and you don’t even seem to care. It’s clear how little she actually meant to you."

’Just like how she, his own daughter, had also become insignificant to him.’

Her expression was filled with disappointment. She gave Joseph Shaw one last look, pulled open the door to the tea room, and strode out.

At the corner of the hallway, she bumped hard into Damian Morgan.

The man was tall. Though he didn’t seem to be a gym enthusiast like Alaric Blackwood and wasn’t rippling with muscle, at well over six feet, he had a solid stance. The unexpected collision sent Sophie stumbling back several steps, and she almost fell to the floor.

Damian Morgan subconsciously reached out to catch her, but she slapped his hand away. She steadied herself against the nearby wall, shot a cold glance at his face, and then walked off, bag in hand.

The moment she was outside, Sophie’s composure shattered, and tears began to fall again.

Wiping at her tears, she descended the steps and hurried out of the courtyard, desperate to escape the suffocating place.

Her vision was blurry with tears, and she was still lost in her grief, completely unaware of the black Maybach parked in the shadows.

Alaric Blackwood sat in the driver’s seat, his eyes fixed on her. He watched as her pace suddenly slowed. She leaned one hand against a large tree and bent over, gagging.

He started the engine and drove over to her.

Sophie’s stomach was empty, so nothing came up. It was just waves of nausea and dry heaves that made her stomach ache.

Alaric Blackwood quickly got out of the car, walked straight to her side, and began to pat her back.

She had thought it was Joseph Shaw who had followed her out, but it was Alaric Blackwood.

"You... you didn’t leave?"

Alaric Blackwood hummed in response, his large hand gently rubbing her back. "Feeling awful?"

"I’m fine."

Sophie said stubbornly.

But a wave of sorrow she couldn’t suppress washed over her. The image of her mother on her deathbed, haggard and rail-thin, came to mind, and Sophie’s tears flowed like an open faucet.

Her mother had been such a gentle, beautiful person. She had given up everything, flying toward the flame like a moth, only to end up suffering on her sickbed. And the man who claimed to love his wife so much refused to bow his head to her family, even blaming a dying woman for it.

He called it ’respecting his wife’s wishes.’ Her life was on the line—was respect really more important?

’Mom could have been saved. She clearly had a chance to survive...’

Seeing her crying uncontrollably, Alaric Blackwood took her handbag, slung it over his own shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

He gently stroked her back, letting her cry on his shoulder.

Sophie cried her heart out, as if she’d been abandoned by the entire world. Her suppressed sobs turned into gasps, then into outright wails.

He could feel the warmth and dampness spreading on his shoulder as her tears soaked a patch of his shirt.

’She must have had a bad conversation with Joseph Shaw,’ he thought. ’Why else would she be crying like this...’

He patted her back comfortingly, but it was no use. The woman in his arms was crying like a child, and her arms came up instinctively to wrap around his neck.

He decisively lifted her into his arms and turned towards the Maybach parked by the road.

The hand supporting the bend of Sophie’s knees hooked the rear door handle. He kicked the door open, then sat inside with Sophie in his arms, placing her directly onto his lap. He then closed the door, letting her cry her heart out in his embrace.

The scene of the two of them embracing by the roadside, and of Alaric Blackwood carrying Sophie into the Maybach, was all witnessed by Damian Morgan, who had returned to his room on the second floor and was now smoking on the balcony.

He couldn’t believe it. Alaric Blackwood, the notorious playboy who was never short of female company, was actually this intimate with Sophie Shaw.

And judging by Sophie’s reaction, she clearly didn’t mind his closeness.