Chapter 215: The Kane Hen
Vianne Kane was the one making everything awkward.
After they ordered, the waiter left the private room.
The moment the door closed, Sophie Shaw glanced up at Vianne Kane, who was still on the couch, pretending to rub her shoulders.
Their eyes met. Vianne Kane rose, swaying her hips, and walked shamelessly toward Alaric Blackwood.
She sat down on his other side, picked up the teapot, and began to pour.
She slid the first cup she poured over to Alaric Blackwood. "Alaric, I asked you here, so why did you bring my sister? You’re making it hard for us to discuss business."
"Is that clucking sickness of yours incurable?"
Vianne Kane froze. Then she heard Alaric say coolly, "You should just change your name. Instead of Vianne Kane, call yourself the Kane Hen."
Sophie Shaw bit her lip to hide a smile.
Seeing Sophie laugh at her expense, Vianne Kane’s face paled with fury.
She linked her arm through Alaric’s and deployed her special skill—a cutesy, high-pitched voice. "Alaric, don’t joke with me like that. I’m sensitive, you know."
"I can’t say I’ve noticed."
Alaric removed her hand from his arm as he spoke. "Just talk. No need to get handsy."
Vianne Kane huffed. ’Looks like I won’t be getting anywhere with Alaric tonight.’
’It’s all Sophie Shaw’s fault. Why did she have to tag along and ruin my plans?’
’She must have gotten a taste of the good life after marrying into the Blackwood family and now she can’t bear to let a prize like Alaric go. She definitely came along just to cause trouble.’
’It’s just a contract marriage. What’s with the act, like she’s the real Mrs. Blackwood?’
The dishes they’d ordered were brought to the table one by one.
Sophie ate her delicious meal in silence, her bowl periodically being filled with shelled shrimp that Alaric had peeled for her.
Watching Alaric in disposable gloves, carefully peeling shrimp and so attentively looking after Sophie, Vianne Kane was sick with jealousy.
’I really did inherit my mother’s terrible taste in men. I’m completely blind. A high-quality man like Alaric was right there beside me all along, so how did I end up falling for a scumbag like Damian Morgan?’
’I used to think a rich girl falling for a poor boy was romantic. Now, just thinking about Damian Morgan fills me with nothing but regret and disgust.’
"Alaric, I want some shrimp too."
She put on her baby voice again. "Won’t you peel some for me, too?"
Alaric looked up at her, a roguish smirk playing on his lips. "You’re already so blind. Shrimp isn’t going to help."
"Alaric, you..."
"Cut the crap. Didn’t you ask to meet me to talk about Conor Sullivan?"
"Yes."
Vianne Kane shot a look at Sophie. "There’s an outsider here today. It’s not convenient. Maybe next time."
"An outsider? Are you talking about me?" Sophie retorted. "You were calling me ’sister’ when I walked in, and now I’m an outsider?"
Vianne Kane rolled her eyes. "We’re talking about private matters. It’s not appropriate for you to hear, sister."
"What is there to talk about regarding you and Conor Sullivan?"
Sophie popped a piece of shrimp into her mouth and said calmly, "Last time, Damian Morgan framed me for putting you in Conor Sullivan’s bed. It’s obvious the two of them have been secretly working together for a while. If we want to find Conor Sullivan, we don’t necessarily have to start with you. It would be easier to find him by keeping an eye on Damian Morgan."
Her words came as a pleasant surprise to Alaric.
They were thinking the exact same thing.
He’d agreed to meet Vianne today to see if she could offer any new clues, or perhaps to use her as bait to lure Conor Sullivan out of hiding.
’But now it seems Vianne Kane had other intentions for asking me here.’
Her coat was on the rack, and she was wearing a thin, deep V-neck sweater and tight pants. The sweater was so short that the slightest movement revealed a sliver of her slender waist, making it little different from a crop top.
’Dressed like that, it was a blatant attempt at seduction.’
He looked at Sophie. "Honey, let’s eat. We’ll go home when you’re done."
"Okay."
Sophie stopped wasting her breath on Vianne Kane and did as Alaric said.
Halfway through the meal, her phone rang.
It was Anne. ’She probably wants to talk about the blind date,’ Sophie thought.
She didn’t want to take such a personal call in front of Vianne, so she got up, left the private room, and stepped into the restroom to answer it.
She had barely said two words when the restroom door was pushed open.
Vianne Kane followed her in.
Vianne sauntered over to the sinks, swinging her purse. She set it down on the counter in front of the mirror, took out her lipstick, and began to touch up her makeup.
Sophie stood a short distance away. When Vianne bent over her bag, a conspicuous leopard-print strap was revealed just above her fair, slender waist. Sophie couldn’t help but laugh.
Hearing the laugh, Vianne shot her a glare in the mirror. "What’s so funny?"
"I’m laughing at how shameless you are. You have no decency."
"What did I do to you?"
"You asked Alaric to meet you today so you could seduce him, didn’t you?"
"Of course not. We’re both married. I just wanted to discuss business with him. Don’t be so dirty-minded."
Sophie ended her call with Anne. Her eyes fixed on the leopard-print strap at the small of Vianne’s back as she said with a smile, "Aren’t you cold, wearing a crop top in the middle of winter?"
"None of your damn business."
"And those pants are so tight. Aren’t they uncomfortable?"
"..."
"You ask another woman’s husband out at night with ulterior motives, and you’re so brazen about it. Your pants are skin-tight, and you’re actually wearing a sexy leopard-print thong underneath? Doesn’t that give you a wedgie?"
Vianne’s face flushed crimson in an instant. She spun around to face Sophie. "Shut up! You’re disgusting!"
"Who’s the disgusting one here?"
"Do you have any idea how much I hate you? I’ve hated you since the first moment I saw you, right after you moved into my house."
"Of course I know."
Sophie folded her arms, her smile gone. She looked at Vianne’s flushed face and sighed. "Even though I knew you hated me, I still warned you as one woman to another that Damian Morgan was no good. It’s a shame you wouldn’t listen. Now that you’ve seen his true colors, you haven’t learned a thing. Instead, you’re going after someone else’s husband. That’s pretty low, don’t you think?"
"So what if I am? Alaric likes me, you know!"
Sophie nodded, composing herself before firing back, "So what? He’s my husband now, and we’re not getting a divorce. If you try to butt in, you’ll just be the other woman, a homewrecker. I’m the one with the marriage certificate. What do I have to be afraid of?"
"Sophie, you—"
"Thanks for dinner. And let me give you some advice: instead of wasting your time on this nonsense, you should probably hire a few more bodyguards."
’Conor Sullivan must be watching her from the shadows.’
"I don’t need your fake concern."
Vianne remained completely ungrateful.
Sophie’s lip twitched. She thought about her mother’s necklace, which had disappeared while in her brother Joel’s care. The news about it going to auction had come from Vianne, which made Sophie suspicious.
"Did you orchestrate getting my mother’s necklace to the auction house?"
Vianne’s shoulders tensed, and her expression became guarded. "What auction house? I have no idea what you’re talking about."
"So it was you. To get what you want, you even used Joel. He’s only ten years old."
Vianne continued to play dumb, but she let slip a painful truth. "You don’t actually think your little brother is some sweet, innocent kid, do you? He’s not well-behaved at all. He just pretends to be when you’re around."
A shadow fell over Sophie’s eyes. Without another word, she pulled open the door and left.
Back in the private room, she wiped her hands with a wet wipe.
"Honey, I’m finished. Let’s go home."
"Are you full?"
"I’m full."
"Okay. Let’s go home."
...
When Vianne Kane returned to the private room, she found it empty. All that remained was a table of half-eaten food and an unpaid bill. Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw were long gone.