Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

"You motherf—"

Monarch flew into a rage, swinging his arm to start a fight with Evan Ford. But before the fight could even begin, Evan’s hand rose and fell in a swift chop, knocking him out cold.

He slumped back onto the sofa, falling into a baby-like sleep.

The café waiter hurried over, panicked. He glanced at the man sleeping soundly on the sofa, then at Evan Ford and Anne, and asked politely, "Excuse me, do you need help calling the police?"

Evan Ford was perfectly calm. He gestured at the ’sleeping’ Monarch. "No need. He’s paying the bill for this table."

"Alright."

"And two more coffees."

After speaking, Evan sat down next to Monarch. He casually shoved Monarch further into the sofa and, finding him both a nuisance and an eyesore, simply picked up a throw pillow and covered his face with it.

’Out of sight, out of mind.’

This whole sequence of events left Anne completely baffled.

"Mr. Ford, what are you doing?"

"Sit down. Let’s talk."

"?"

"Aren’t you here for a blind date? So am I. Since we’re both already here, we might as well chat."

"..."

The waiter quickly brought over two more coffees, clearing away the empty cups from the table as he did.

After a moment’s hesitation, Anne sat back down.

She picked up her coffee and took a sip, ignoring Monarch. "Mr. Ford," she asked, "with your credentials, do you really need to go on blind dates?"

"My grandmother arranged it."

Just as he finished speaking, his phone sounded with a DING. He had received a message from an unknown number.

It had to be from the blind date he was supposed to meet today.

The message was blunt: "Heard you’re gay? Sorry, my parents are forcing me into this blind date, but I’m not interested. I also don’t want to meet up with a gay man, so I won’t make the trip just to reject you in person. Let’s just pretend we met today and it didn’t work out. Bye~"

After reading the message, he didn’t put his phone away. Instead, he looked at Anne, who was sitting primly across from him. "Add me on WhatsApp?"

Anne was flattered and surprised. For some reason, she recalled the WhatsApp message Sophie Shaw had sent her early that morning: "I checked for you—my cousin has a great ass~"

’In that case...’

Deciding to go for it, she took out her phone, and she and Evan Ford added each other on WhatsApp.

"Does Miss Austin have a third blind date to meet?"

She waved her hand. "I’m done for today. No third one."

"Meaning you have more tomorrow?"

"...Yes."

"Miss Austin, you’re beautiful, you’re young, and you have a stable job. Why the rush?"

"I... I’ve never been in a relationship. I just wanted to give it a try."

Evan Ford understood. He glanced at Monarch beside him. "Well, you shouldn’t be looking for duds like this, then."

Anne nodded in agreement and pointed a finger at Monarch. "He’s a dud, that’s for sure. But the history teacher I met today wasn’t."

His prospects had been quite good, he was emotionally stable, and he knew exactly what he was looking for in a partner. It’s just that he wasn’t satisfied with her.

"Is your date tomorrow here, too?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. I’m free tomorrow. If Miss Austin doesn’t mind, I can help you screen him."

"?"

Just as Anne was feeling puzzled, she saw Evan Ford slap Monarch’s shoulder hard. "If you run into another dud like this, I can help you deal with him if I’m here."

The slap from Evan woke Monarch up.

He looked dazedly at Evan, then at Anne. His gaze finally settled on Evan’s face, and remembering he’d been ’attacked,’ he started to curse, "You motherf—"

Evan didn’t want to cause a big scene in the café, nor did he want to hear Monarch’s voice. He clamped a large hand over Monarch’s mouth, stuffing all the man’s curses back down his throat.

He leaned in close and said to Monarch, "Seeing as your character is so low, hitting you would just dirty my hands. How about this? I’ll give you a chance to shine. You’ll pay for the coffee at this table, deal?"

"Mmph..."

"It’s settled, then."

Monarch’s eyes went wide with fury. He tried to jump up and grapple with Evan, but Evan gave him no chance. With another swift chop, he knocked him out again, clean and simple.

Seeing Monarch once again fall into a baby-like sleep, Anne couldn’t help but let out a PFFT of laughter.

She realized that although Evan Ford didn’t smile much, he had a humorous streak deep down.

"Miss Austin, you like playing pool, right?"

"Mhm, I do."

"Let’s go. Together."

...

When Monarch woke up, the café manager and a waiter were standing in front of him. Both wore trademark smiles as they very politely handed him the coffee bill.

「 」

「Maplewood Estate.」

The Cullinan came to a steady stop in the courtyard.

Sophie Shaw had just gotten out of the car when Alaric Blackwood seized her by the wrist.

The man’s brow was furrowed, and he said nothing as he dragged her inside. Suppressing the rage in his chest, he pulled her all the way into the house and up the stairs in long strides.

Once in the room, he slammed the door shut. With a flick of his wrist, he threw her onto the large bed.

She was stunned by the fall. Before she could even process what the hell was wrong with Alaric Blackwood, the man leaned over her, kneeling on the bed with one long leg. He ripped off her coat, tossed it aside, and pushed her face-down onto the bed before yanking down her pants.

SMACK! SMACK!

It happened so fast that Sophie Shaw was stunned for several seconds before she realized Alaric Blackwood had spanked her.

All the blood in her body rushed to her face.

She was both humiliated and furious. "Alaric Blackwood, what are you doing?"

"I’ll ask you again. I gave you my first time. Do you believe me or not?"

"..."

"Sophie Shaw, answer me."

"Can you stop acting crazy?"

"You don’t believe me? Fine!"

The moment he finished speaking, another slap landed.

Sophie Shaw felt her bottom go numb, then burn with a fiery sting.

"Alaric Blackwood, you bastard!"

"I’m the bastard?"

The man scoffed, holding her down forcefully. It was useless no matter how much she struggled.

"I already told you, if you wanted to go to the fashion show, you just had to ask me. Why did you still go with Yuri? You did it on purpose, didn’t you?"

Sophie Shaw gritted her teeth. "Yes, I did it on purpose."

"To piss me off?"

"It’s your fault for having an illegitimate son abroad."

"So now you know I don’t have an illegitimate son?"

Sophie Shaw was at a loss for words.

Alaric Blackwood thought back on her angry words and realized something. "You’ve suspected I had an illegitimate son for a while?"

Sophie Shaw pulled a pillow over and buried her face in it.

"Speak!"

"Shayla Zane started working at Heart of the Ocean last week."

As soon as Sophie Shaw said that, Alaric Blackwood’s anger dissipated.

He pulled her pants back up, then lifted her to face him, looking at her seriously. "Why didn’t you ask me about it back then?"

She didn’t know how to respond.

After a long silence, she seriously thought about the question.

She realized that upon learning Alaric Blackwood had an ’illegitimate son,’ her first feeling was sadness, followed by unease, and then an instinctive desire to avoid the issue.

It seemed she had grown accustomed to enduring things in silence and running away.

"Sophie Shaw, silence doesn’t solve anything," Alaric Blackwood said.

"You’re right. But playing dumb and avoiding the issue can prevent fights, prevent us from getting to the point of divorce."

"Who said anything about divorce?"

Alaric Blackwood was beyond furious. "You are my, Alaric Blackwood’s, lawfully wedded wife. Can’t you have a little more confidence in yourself?"