He Proposed to His First Love, So I Married His Archenemy

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Provoked

In Wyatt Shaw’s words, David Sutton just has periodic fits. You don’t need to pay him any mind.

Afraid she would overthink it, Mrs. Miller also hurried over to explain that David Sutton was a bachelor, and his mood always soured whenever he heard someone was getting married. In short, there was no need to worry about him; he would get over it on his own.

When they left Chad Miller’s small diner, Wyatt Shaw brought along all the winter jujubes he had picked.

Back home, the two of them sat back-to-back in the second-floor sunroom, reading and quietly enjoying the last rays of light before sunset.

They had planned to make dinner together, but Wyatt Shaw had a last-minute appointment.

"It’s about a potential partnership. I’m deciding whether or not to give them the chance."

Since it was work-related, Yvonne Sutton didn’t ask any more questions. A short while after Wyatt Shaw left, Claire Lawrence called, inviting her for a drink at Joshua Hale’s tavern.

"You stood me up last time," she huffed.

"I drank too much last time, forgot I had called you, and then left by myself," Claire Lawrence explained.

"I’m actually a little tired today."

"I miss you."

"Alright, I’ll come find you."

When she arrived at the tavern, it wasn’t open for business. She walked in and saw that the lights in the private rooms were all dark, except for one that was lit. Someone must have been in there.

"Yvonne, over here!" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Claire Lawrence waved to her from the bar. Yvonne Sutton nodded back. "Why aren’t you open today?"

Claire Lawrence pointed to the only lit private room. "Joshua Hale said he was hosting an important guest tonight, so he couldn’t open for regular business."

Yvonne Sutton sat down next to Claire Lawrence. "Is Joshua Hale in the room too?"

"It’s not just him. Leo Flynn is there too." Claire Lawrence paused. "And so is Vincent Reed."

Yvonne Sutton’s brow furrowed at the mention of his name.

"I didn’t know he was going to be here beforehand," Claire Lawrence said quickly.

"Forget it. It’s fine."

Yvonne Sutton saw that Claire Lawrence’s face was a bit flushed and guessed she had already had a fair bit to drink.

"Is everything going well on set?" she asked.

Claire Lawrence sighed. "I’ve been moved to the A-unit."

"Is Monica Lynch giving you a hard time?"

"It’s fine, I can handle her. It’s just that Director Sherman’s standards are high. Whenever it’s my scene, we have to do it over and over again. The pressure is immense."

Yvonne Sutton patted Claire Lawrence’s arm. "You haven’t acted in so many years. There’s bound to be an adjustment period."

"Ms. Shaw has been looking out for me. She even gives me acting tips sometimes. Oh, right, do you know Ms. Shaw?"

"I guess you could say that, but we’re not close."

Claire Lawrence turned and hugged Yvonne Sutton. "Ms. Shaw is only looking out for me because of you."

"Is that so?"

"She’s always bringing you up and asking things about you. I’m starting to suspect she wants you to be her daughter-in-law."

Yvonne Sutton laughed. "Does Ms. Shaw have a son?"

"I think so, but..." Claire Lawrence thought for a moment. "I think he passed away."

"I remember reading a report about it. It said there was a car accident, and her son’s fiancée was with him at the time."

Yvonne Sutton froze for a moment. ’So Daisy Shaw has such a sad story in her past.’ Although Yvonne was a fan of her movies, she never paid much attention to the actress’s private life, so she had no idea.

Just then, Chef Lynch ran out from the kitchen and asked Yvonne Sutton for a favor: to deliver a freshly cooked dish to the private room.

"We’re closed today, so no one else came in to work. It’s just me in the kitchen, and I’m about to go up in smoke!" With that, Chef Lynch rushed back inside.

"I’ll go," Claire Lawrence said.

"No, I should go," Yvonne Sutton said, steadying her. "You’ve had too much to drink."

"Fine, you go. Just try not to dump it on Vincent Reed’s head."

"I just wish I didn’t know him at all."

Yvonne Sutton carried the dish toward the private room. As she reached the door, she could hear the lively chatter from inside. She pushed the door open, was about to step in, and then froze completely.

Sitting in the seat directly opposite the door, slouching and smoking a cigarette, was none other than Wyatt Shaw. He was clearly taken aback as well and immediately sat up straight.

He was about to speak, but Vincent Reed spoke first.

"Who says all the girls in school liked you? Some of them liked me, you know." Vincent Reed looked at Wyatt Shaw, then pointed at Yvonne Sutton. "She loves me. Madly. Even though I wouldn’t marry her, she still followed me around for eight years."

The group had been joking around, but hearing him say that, both Joshua Hale and Leo Flynn frowned.

"Vincent, don’t talk nonsense. You’re about to get married," Joshua Hale reminded him.

It was unclear what set Vincent Reed off, but he continued, "I am getting married. But she still loves me. She’d rather be my mistress than leave me."

"Vincent, you’re drunk."

Leo Flynn tried to take Vincent Reed’s glass, but he shoved Leo’s hand away and put the glass down on the table.

"Yvonne Sutton, pour me a drink."

Yvonne Sutton took a deep breath, placed the dish on the table, then picked up the liquor bottle and poured it directly over Vincent Reed’s head.

For a moment, everyone else in the room was stunned. But Wyatt Shaw was the first to react, clapping his hands and bursting into laughter.

Humiliated, Vincent Reed roared at Yvonne Sutton.

"Are you crazy?!"

Before Yvonne could say a word, Wyatt Shaw grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the table and threw it at Vincent Reed.

"Cut the tough-guy bullshit!"

Vincent Reed’s eyes widened, and he seethed, breathing heavily. Joshua Hale and Leo Flynn quickly tried to smooth things over; one started wiping the liquor from Vincent’s face while the other urged Yvonne Sutton not to be angry.

"Vincent Reed, we go way back. Regarding this collaboration, I’m willing to do you a favor, but..." Wyatt Shaw took a long drag from his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and then jerked his chin at Vincent. "Let’s have a drinking contest. If you beat me, you can go to The Rhodes Group tomorrow and sign the contract."

Vincent Reed shot to his feet. "Forget the collaboration! Tonight, I’m drinking you under the table!"

Wyatt Shaw scoffed, then looked at Yvonne Sutton. "Would this beautiful lady mind getting us some more drinks?"

Yvonne Sutton frowned, about to say something, but Wyatt Shaw shot her a quick wink.

"Don’t worry. He’s the one who’s going to end up on the floor."

Leo Flynn went with Yvonne Sutton to get more liquor, explaining the history between Wyatt Shaw and Vincent Reed on the way.

"They were basically childhood friends. Their families’ older generations knew each other, so they were always playing together. From kindergarten through high school, they were always in the same class and were super tight. But in middle school, something happened to Wyatt. He was out of school for a long time, and when he came back, he had to repeat a grade. Later, in high school, we got to know Wyatt through Vincent, since we were close with him. Wyatt wasn’t just a good student and good-looking; he was also a top-notch fighter. He was loyal and fun to be around, so he had a lot of friends. For some reason, he and Vincent got into a fight... uh, well, to be precise, Vincent got beaten up by him. Do you know how bad it was? Vincent’s head was split open, and he was rushed into surgery. After that, the two of them stopped hanging out. We drifted apart from Wyatt too. We just heard he went abroad to study later on."

’Wyatt Shaw and Vincent Reed were childhood friends?’ Yvonne Sutton suddenly felt a headache coming on.