Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

As he stepped out of the restroom, a figure in champagne collided with him.

Alaric Blackwood was still in a daze when the figure threw herself at him, her pale arms wrapping tightly around his waist.

"Alaric, long time no see."

A voice, soft and cloying, rang out.

It was a voice he vaguely recognized.

He looked down to see a woman in a champagne-colored gown looking up at him with a smile.

"Shayla Zane?"

He quickly grabbed her arms and pulled her off him.

Shayla Zane seemed momentarily stunned, then smiled at him again. "Alaric, I’m back. Surprise!"

Alaric Blackwood took half a step back. "When did you get back?"

"Not long ago."

"What are you doing here?"

"To see the fashion show, but I was late. It was already over."

After receiving a message from Yuri that Alaric Blackwood had been spotted at the fashion show, she had immediately changed into a gown, done her makeup, and rushed over.

’Luckily, Alaric hasn’t left yet.’

As she spoke, the woman tried to take the man’s arm, but Alaric Blackwood stepped back again, putting distance between them. "We should maintain a proper distance."

"Alaric, why are you being so reserved?"

"Shayla, I’m married."

"I know you’re married. I saw it trending online."

She took a step forward, and Alaric Blackwood’s reaction was still to retreat. "Don’t get too close."

"Fine, I won’t get close."

Shayla Zane stopped in her tracks and said with a smile, "I brought Daniel back with me this time. We’re not leaving."

"Oh."

Shayla Zane sensed Alaric Blackwood’s cold attitude and looked at him, puzzled. "Do you want to see Daniel?"

"No."

"Alaric, have you forgotten? You said you would be a father to Daniel."

"When did I say that?"

"When we were in Unisia..."

"I don’t remember."

"You were drunk that day. I was afraid you wouldn’t admit it, so I recorded what you said."

As she spoke, the woman took out her phone and played a recording for him.

It began with the sound of Shayla Zane sobbing. "That damn scumbag, he won’t acknowledge Daniel! What am I going to do about my Daniel? To be born without a father... Daniel is so pitiful."

"Alaric, should I not have come to Unisia to find him? Should I not have given birth to Daniel?"

At that moment, the sound of a child crying could be heard on the recording.

Then came Shayla Zane’s hysterical shouts: "Stop crying! No one wants you! I don’t want you either! I regret giving birth to you!"

"Stop crying. It’s so noisy."

"*Sob*... You poor little thing that nobody wants. Maybe I should just strangle you..."

Then, amid the rising and falling cries of Shayla and the child, a man’s voice spoke up: "Let go. Are you really going to strangle him?"

"No one wants this child! He has no father, and I had him out of wedlock, secretly, in Unisia. If I take him with me, how can I ever go home? My family is very strict. My parents would kill me."

"Even so, you can’t actually strangle him."

"Then what should I do? Keep him and bring shame to my family? Alaric, you were the one who said no man could abandon his own flesh and blood! That’s why I gave birth to Daniel! But that scumbag isn’t like you said. He won’t acknowledge Daniel! This is all your fault! You’re the one who made me an unwed mother! You have to take responsibility. I want you to be Daniel’s father."

After a long silence, Alaric Blackwood heard the man’s voice again: "The most I can do is accept him as my godson."

The man’s voice was none other than his own.

Alaric Blackwood’s mind reeled. "Shayla, back then you were asking if men like children, if anyone would dislike their own child, or abandon their own child."

At the time, he had no idea Shayla Zane was pregnant.

Later, Shayla Zane had fainted and been taken to the hospital. She had listed him as her emergency contact. He had rushed over after getting the call from the hospital, and Shayla had told him she was pregnant and had decided to have the baby.

’They were both far from home in a foreign country. When she made a decision like that, what could he say?’

’Could he have told her not to have the baby?’

’But now that the child was born and the scumbag wouldn’t claim him, the responsibility was being pushed onto him?’

"Shayla, you’re being completely unreasonable."

"I don’t care. I had this child because of you, so you have to take responsibility."

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"I don’t care! I want you to take responsibility! I want you to be my son’s father! I’ve already told my family that you’re the child’s father."

Alaric Blackwood laughed in exasperation. "And anyone believed you?"

"You are my child’s father! It’s you, it’s you!"

Shayla Zane raised her voice, speaking very loudly.

CLATTER.

The sound of something falling came from behind him.

Alaric Blackwood turned to see Sophie Shaw standing in the hallway a few steps away, staring at him and Shayla Zane in shock.

At her feet lay her dropped phone.

His mind felt like it was about to explode.

"Sophie, it’s not what you think."

Sophie Shaw bent down, picked up her phone, and turned to leave.

Alaric Blackwood started to chase after her, but Shayla Zane grabbed his arm, clinging to it tightly. "Alaric, your wife heard. This is perfect. You two can use this as an opportunity to get a divorce."

"You’re insane!"

Alaric Blackwood forcefully shook off her hand and hurried after Sophie Shaw.

He chased her all the way outside and saw Sophie Shaw standing by the roadside, hailing a taxi. He strode forward, grabbed her arm, and dragged her to his car.

He yanked open the passenger door, pushed Sophie Shaw inside, and slammed it shut, all in one smooth motion.

Sophie Shaw sat in the car with a dark expression, Shayla Zane’s words to Alaric Blackwood echoing relentlessly in her ears—*You are my child’s father! It’s you, it’s you!*

’So he really does have a child from overseas.’

Alaric Blackwood got into the driver’s seat and immediately locked the doors, giving Sophie Shaw no chance to escape.

The woman in the passenger seat was very quiet, her expression grim.

"Sophie, listen to me. Shayla Zane’s child is not mine."

"She said he is."

"Don’t believe everything you hear. You only need to believe me."

"She brought a child back to the country to find you. Are you going to wait until she causes a scene in front of your parents and blows this whole thing up?"

Sophie Shaw couldn’t help but think about Shayla Zane’s impressive resume and experience studying abroad. The fact that she chose to apply to her small company after returning home probably meant Shayla wasn’t after a job from the very beginning—she was after Alaric Blackwood.

"What do you plan to do about this illegitimate child?"

Alaric Blackwood, irritated, lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

He composed himself and repeated, "He is not my child, and I will not claim him."

"Have you done a paternity test?"

"There’s no need."

"You haven’t even done a paternity test, yet you’re so sure the child isn’t yours?"

"That’s right."

"Alaric Blackwood..."

"I said he isn’t, so he isn’t. Trust me."

Sophie Shaw fell silent, slumping back against the seat in resignation.

The man finished his cigarette but didn’t start the car. He just sat there with her, waiting.

A short while later, Shayla Zane, still in her champagne-colored gown but now with a black coat thrown over it, came out of the fashion show venue. The woman walked to the roadside, got into a black sedan, and Alaric Blackwood immediately started his car and followed her.

He followed her all the way to a two-story Western-style house where she was staying.