Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85: I Prefer to Hear You Call Me Husband
"Only two women have ever stayed here. One is my sister, and the other is you."
Sophie Shaw was stunned, her round almond eyes wide as she stared at Alaric Blackwood.
"She stayed over before because there were a lot of reporters camped outside her house. Don’t believe the fabricated stories you see online."
The man calmly blew out a smoke ring. "And what you saw when you came home from work yesterday... Miss Kane was the one who initiated it. Nothing happened between us."
Sophie placed her bag and coat on a nearby chair, slowly processing Alaric Blackwood’s words.
Realizing the man was explaining himself to her, she nodded. "I understand."
"We’ve already consummated our marriage, and the agreement has been destroyed. I said I’d be responsible for you, and I will be. Remember my words."
The man’s expression was unusually serious.
Just as she was about to nod, Alaric Blackwood added, "And don’t run off like you did last night, drinking with another man. It’s dangerous."
’Drunken one-night stands... even if Sophie wouldn’t, that didn’t mean those hot-blooded guys in their early twenties wouldn’t. My wife is so beautiful, with such a perfect figure; it’s only natural for other men to get ideas. Take Anne’s brother, Ethan Austin, for example. The way that kid looks at Sophie... that’s not how a younger brother looks at an older sister. He’s probably had his eye on her for a while.’
"Mr. Blackwood..."
"I’d prefer it if you called me your husband," Alaric Blackwood said with a very serious expression.
Stared at by his deep, captivating eyes, Sophie’s face felt like it was on fire, and her gaze began to dart away. "Excuse me, last night... did we...?"
Alaric Blackwood’s serious demeanor vanished, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "We did! And you were very enthusiastic."
"..."
Sophie’s heart pounded wildly. Even though she avoided the man’s burning gaze, she could still feel him looking at her.
The heat of his gaze was like a laser, threatening to burn right through her.
"I look forward to you being just as enthusiastic next time, when you’re sober."
A cigarette between his fingers, Alaric Blackwood stood up. He grabbed his overcoat and strode out of the dining room.
"Since you’re awake, I’ll head back to the office now."
With a face so red it could bleed, Sophie sat rigidly on the chair.
Hearing the sound of the door closing behind him, she let out a long sigh, and her tense shoulders instantly slumped.
She patted her burning cheeks, unable to believe she’d done it again—slept with Alaric Blackwood while barely conscious.
The loud ringing of the phone in her bag pulled her wandering thoughts back to reality.
She opened her bag, took out her phone, and saw it was a call from Anne.
"Girl, are you okay?" Anne’s voice was filled with anxiety and concern.
She asked in confusion, "I’m fine. What’s wrong?"
"Ethan Austin said you drank too much last night."
"Yeah, I had quite a bit."
"He also said Alaric Blackwood hit him. Is that true?"
"I think so."
"What gives him the right to hit someone?"
"Ethan Austin said something he shouldn’t have."
"What did he say?"
"He said your boss is Alaric Blackwood’s mistress."
"Well, isn’t she?"
"No. Your boss and Alaric Blackwood are his actual sister."
"..."
A silence lasting a full two minutes came from the receiver, followed by a deafening shriek: "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
Sophie held the phone away from her ear, placed it on the table, turned on the speakerphone, and picked up a spoon to quietly eat her congee.
Following Alaric Blackwood’s instructions, Lawson had specially prepared a stomach-soothing congee for Sophie. It was slow-cooked with japonica rice, Chinese yam, jujubes, Job’s tears, and lotus seeds—ingredients known to replenish qi, strengthen the spleen, and stimulate the appetite.
Sophie had eaten about half a small bowl of congee when Anne, on the other end of the line, finally composed herself and asked, "My boss is really Alaric Blackwood’s sister?"
"Mhm."
"Then the rumors about her and the chairman of the Blackwood Group..."
"Just stuff people made up online."
"Why doesn’t she clarify it?"
"Maybe she contacted her lawyers privately. You wouldn’t know."
Anne nodded emphatically. "You’re right. It’s my fault. I hear one thing and assume the worst. I misunderstood my boss."
Sophie smiled. "Why don’t you explain it to Ethan Austin? He has a pretty bad impression of Nina Halloway. Maybe if you clear up the misunderstanding, he’ll change his mind and agree to your proposal to be Nina Halloway’s bodyguard. That would take a lot of pressure off you."
Anne excitedly slapped her thigh. "You’re always the quick-thinking one! I can’t talk anymore, I’m calling Ethan Austin right now."
「At the same time.」
「Mansion No. 9.」
Ethan Austin was still asleep.
He was sprawled out on his stomach, arms and legs outstretched, while another person was lying on the floor. In the living room outside, several more people were sleeping in disarray.
After Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw left, Ethan Austin and his friends drank a lot more. The eight of them finished an entire case of beer and ate noodles freshly pulled by a ramen chef. Although they ended up throwing up everything they ate and drank and were all dead drunk, Ethan Austin, numbed by the alcohol, managed to get a relatively peaceful night’s sleep.
Ever since Sophie got married, he’d been suffering from insomnia. He couldn’t fall asleep at all unless he drank himself into a light buzz.
A phone was ringing incessantly near his head. He frowned, waking from his hungover state.
Glancing at the caller ID, he answered the phone. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Anne spoke at lightning speed: "Big news! Nina Halloway and Alaric Blackwood aren’t lovers! They’re siblings, actual siblings!"
Ethan Austin was stunned for a moment, his brain still trying to catch up, when he heard Anne say, "Little bro, when are you going to listen to your big sis and come be Nina Halloway’s bodyguard?"
"Why do you keep bringing that up?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Honestly, if you ignore all the gossip, she’s a nice person. She only has one bodyguard left now; she fired several last month. I think she needs a personal bodyguard like you—all muscle and a great fighter."
Ethan Austin rolled his eyes and was about to hang up, but Anne, as if predicting his next move, said urgently, "Don’t hang up! Listen to me! Nina Halloway has received two anonymous packages in the last few days. They had threatening letters inside."
"So? What does that have to do with me!"
"What do you mean, ’what does it have to do with you’? If something happens to Nina Halloway, your sister here will be unemployed! If I lose my job, we can’t keep the big apartment! We’ll end up homeless, begging on the streets..."
"Stop!"
Ethan Austin scratched his bed head and climbed out of bed.
He rubbed his throbbing temples and said irritably, "I told you a long time ago, there was no need to buy such an expensive, huge apartment. It’s just the two of us. What do we need such a big place for?"
"I was thinking of you! You’re going to get married someday."
Hearing Anne say that, Ethan Austin sighed. His heart softened, and so did his tone. "Even if you were thinking of me, you should have acted within our means. This apartment is too expensive. It was never something we could afford."
"If you’re willing to be Nina Halloway’s bodyguard, then we *can* afford it! Nina Halloway is very generous to people she trusts. She gives out cash-filled envelopes and bonuses on holidays. Ethan Austin, I’m begging you. Stop wasting your time working at that boxing gym and do something serious."
"Isn’t being a bodyguard just working for someone else, too?"
"But the pay and benefits are different! Besides, we misunderstood Nina Halloway. She’s usually really nice to me. Anyway, I feel guilty. And didn’t you run your mouth off to her brother last night, saying they were lovers? Don’t you feel guilty at all?"
Seeing that she couldn’t persuade her simple-minded but well-built brother, Anne resorted to a full-on guilt trip.
