Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Stand on My Side, Be a Little Biased Toward Me

Sophie’s heart clenched.

Under Damian Morgan’s management, Heart of the Ocean had become a soulless, empty shell. It had no good designers, no decent factories, no brand promotion, and employee morale was at rock bottom.

She had to make some changes to revive this lifeless company.

And that would take time.

She never expected that while she was busy with all this, Joseph Shaw would not only deceive her but also ’sell’ her mother’s designs.

"You monopolize Mom’s designs, and now you have the nerve to blame me for not being fast enough, for letting you get the jump on me?"

After a moment of silence on the other end, Joseph Shaw’s resigned voice came through. "This is business. If I hadn’t done this, you would have monopolized the designs yourself. Heart of the Ocean is just a small company. Your mother’s designs are useless in your hands. It’s better for me to turn them into a top luxury brand."

"Then why didn’t you credit them to my mother?"

The new product promotion for Wynn Jade Jewelry listed the designer not as Lynn, but as Lana Rhodes—a veteran jewelry designer heavily promoted by the Kane Group, who already had a certain reputation in the industry.

"That’s all just for show. Your mother is gone."

"For show? It’s about basic respect, isn’t it?"

Sophie was seething. "Do you not even have a shred of respect for Mom anymore? Why have you become like this? What did Mom ever mean to you?"

"Sophie, calm down."

"I can’t calm down."

"Sophie, listen to me..."

Sophie hung up, not wanting to hear any more of Joseph Shaw’s excuses.

She threw her phone back on the desk. Looking at the unfinished design sketches, she angrily grabbed the few manuscripts and fed them directly into the shredder.

The thought that her mother’s final works had been handed over to the Kane Group by Joseph Shaw made her so angry she could barely breathe. She put her hands on her hips and paced back and forth in her office, but she still couldn’t shake the oppressive feeling in her chest.

Even by the end of the workday, she hadn’t managed to quell her inner rage and bitterness.

Hannah Sutton knocked on the office door, but Sophie didn’t answer. Facing the floor-to-ceiling window, she stared at the gloomy sky outside, her eyes vacant, her mind completely blank.

Hannah Sutton knocked several more times. When she still heard no response from Sophie Shaw, she turned to Alaric Blackwood behind her and said, "Mr. Blackwood, why don’t you go right in? President Shaw is in there."

"Alright."

Hannah Sutton stepped back to make way for Alaric Blackwood.

The man pushed open the door and walked straight into the office.

He found Sophie Shaw standing by the window with her arms crossed. It was clear she had heard the knocking but chose to ignore it. He walked up, took her arm, and turned her around to face him.

Their eyes met, and he sensed a low-pressure aura around Sophie he had never felt before.

"What happened?"

Sophie shook her head and glanced at her watch. "It’s after work. Let’s go home."

She shook off Alaric Blackwood’s hand, walked to the coat rack to get her coat and put it on. Grabbing her bag, she said to Alaric Blackwood, "Let’s go."

The man followed, taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm. They walked out of the office and into the elevator together.

"No matter what happens, you can tell me."

Alaric Blackwood broke the silence.

Sophie forced a smile. "It’s beyond saving now."

Just as Joseph Shaw had said, they were both first-in-line heirs. If her mother’s manuscripts were considered an inheritance, they had equal rights to it.

The important thing was that Joseph Shaw had the original manuscripts. The new products were being launched under the name of Wynn Jade Jewelry’s exclusive designer, Lana Rhodes, which meant Joseph Shaw had given up on crediting her mother.

Even if she prepared for the worst and took Joseph Shaw to court, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t turn the tables on her and deny that the original designs for the new products came from her mother.

The manuscripts were in his hands; he could destroy them at any time.

Even if he didn’t want to, Bianca Kane would force him to. That woman would never let her family’s or her company’s reputation be damaged over a few design sketches.

"My own father played me."

She smiled at Alaric Blackwood, but as she smiled, her eyes reddened.

"It’s like he’s never on my side, time and time again..."

Sophie was completely disappointed.

Her heart died a little.

As the elevator descended slowly, she watched Alaric Blackwood with red-rimmed eyes. Thinking of his kindness, she suddenly smiled and asked, "If I said that no matter what happens in the future, as my husband, I hope you’ll stand by my side, and be a little biased toward me... would you think that’s an unreasonable or excessive demand?"

"Not unreasonable, and not excessive."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You really do see me as your wife, don’t you?"

"I do."

The man’s expression was serious and earnest when he answered her.

She stared at him intently, unable to suppress the fluttering in her heart for this man. Decisively, she took a step forward, placed her hands on his shoulders, stood on her toes, and gently pressed her lips against his.

The soft, cool touch sent a thrill through every cell in his body.

He wanted to deepen the kiss, but just then, the elevator reached the first floor. With a DING, the doors slid open.

"Let’s go home first."

He led Sophie Shaw out of the elevator. Once they were outside the office building, Sophie’s Cayenne was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s your car parked?"

The question caught Sophie off guard. She had assumed he had driven to pick her up. "My car was in a fender bender this morning. It’s at the shop."

Alaric Blackwood: "..."

’In order to get a ride in his wife’s car and have some alone time with her, he’d had his driver drop him off and leave.’

He pulled out his phone and dialed his driver’s number. "Come back."

The driver, who thought his day was over, received the call from his boss, made a sharp U-turn, and headed back the way he came.

A few minutes later, he successfully picked up Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw. The driver drove anxiously, occasionally glancing at the couple in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

The atmosphere in the car was heavier than ever.

The two people in the back sat bolt upright, looking stiff, their faces expressionless. The driver felt an intense pressure and didn’t dare to breathe too loudly, wishing he could just attach a pair of wings to the car and fly.

They were caught in rush-hour traffic. The driver’s forehead beaded with sweat; this was torture.

Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw were a hundred times more tormented than he was.

Especially Alaric Blackwood.

’Sophie had finally made a move on him, and he was dying to pull her into his arms, to kiss her fiercely, to possess her...’

He restrained himself the entire way. By the time the sky was completely dark, the Maybach finally pulled into Maplewood Estate.

The moment the car entered the villa’s courtyard, Alaric Blackwood immediately dismissed the driver.

"You don’t need to pick me up tomorrow."

As if granted a pardon, the driver turned off the engine, got out of the car, and scurried away faster than a rabbit.

Sophie was just about to open her door when an arm wrapped around her waist. A powerful force suddenly pulled her over. Alaric Blackwood lifted her with one arm, setting her on his lap and clamping both his hands firmly around her waist.

The man couldn’t wait to get out of the car and into the house. He tilted his head up and captured her lips in a kiss that was as fierce and urgent as a sudden storm.