Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

"You’re not lying to me?"

The corner of Alaric Blackwood’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. "If I’m lying, I’m a puppy."

A smile flickered in Sophie Shaw’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a complicated expression. "I thought he would be furious with me and wash his hands of me."

"What’s there to be furious about?"

"I haven’t paid any attention to the company for the past three days, but if they’ve kept up with the work and followed procedure, the promotional campaign for the Nine Stone Series must be plastered everywhere by now."

She had poured a great deal of money and thought into the company’s branding and new product promotions. She figured Joseph Shaw would hit the roof when he saw the campaign for the Nine Stone Series.

As it turned out, Joseph Shaw was indeed furious. But angry as he was, his daughter was sick, so he still had to cooperate with the hospital’s compatibility testing.

"Alright, don’t overthink it."

Alaric Blackwood raised a hand and gently rubbed her head, encouraging her to lie back down.

"I don’t want to lie down. I just ate."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I want to go for a walk."

"It’s cold outside."

"It’s too stuffy in this room."

Alaric Blackwood sighed helplessly. He helped her sit up and began to dress her, putting layer after layer over her hospital gown. Then he put on her socks, a hat, and a scarf, bundling her up until she looked like a little bear.

"All these layers?"

Sophie Shaw stared at him with wide eyes.

The man let out a soft chuckle. "Your immune system is weak right now. You can’t catch a cold; it would affect the surgery."

Sophie Shaw froze for a moment. She knew, of course, which surgery he meant.

She couldn’t help but recall that night—how he had touched her belly, his eyes red as he wept. He seemed like a completely different person from the tall, dashing man with smiling eyes who stood before her now.

If she hadn’t been sick, the news of her pregnancy would have made him overjoyed.

She stood on her tiptoes and, with some effort due to all the clothes, raised her arms and gave Alaric Blackwood a big hug.

"What’s this for?"

Alaric Blackwood looked down at her with a teasing smile. "Are you trying to be cute and get me to carry you?"

"Alright, let me hold you."

He bent down, wrapping one arm around her back and sliding the other under her knees, lifting her into a bridal carry.

She instinctively threw her arms around his neck. "I didn’t ask you to carry me! We were supposed to go for a walk."

"Too bad. You’re the one who started being cute with me."

Alaric Blackwood carried her out of the hospital room, avoiding the nurses and doctors, and took the elevator downstairs.

After leaving the inpatient building, he carried Sophie Shaw toward a less crowded area. After wandering for a bit, he found a bench and sat down.

He settled Sophie on his lap and pulled her thick scarf up to cover the lower half of her face.

"It’s so cold. I don’t understand why you wanted to come out for a walk."

He couldn’t stand the cold and hated winter.

As if on cue, snow began to fall—large, fluffy flakes like willow catkins, drifting down gracefully.

Seeing the white flakes landing on his head and shoulders, Sophie Shaw raised a hand to brush the snow off him before burying her face in his chest.

"I forgot to put your shoes on."

Alaric Blackwood noticed her feet, which she had curled up against the cold. He immediately unbuttoned his overcoat, grabbed her ankles, and pulled her feet inside to warm them.

Her feet, now pressed against the warm lining of his coat at his waist, began to warm up.

"Want to go back to the room?"

Sophie Shaw shook her head.

She leaned against his chest and watched the snow.

"So your plan for coming out on this freezing, snowy day was to turn your dear husband into a popsicle, and then a snowman?"

Sophie Shaw laughed at Alaric Blackwood’s endless teasing.

She looked up at him and found that he was holding one hand above her head, shielding her from the falling snow.

"I’m wearing a hat. You don’t have to shield me."

"You’re a real romance killer, aren’t you?"

Alaric Blackwood laughed in exasperation. "Your husband is this romantic, and you’re not even a little moved?"

"Oh, I’m moved. So, so moved."

Sophie Shaw laughed and buried her face in his chest again, listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart. She felt incredibly lucky and happy in that moment.

Marrying Alaric Blackwood was the most important, and the best, choice of her life.

"Honey."

"Hm?"

"It’s so cold right here. Help me warm it up."

She looked up at Alaric Blackwood. "Where are you cold?"

"My lips."

...

’His lips are cold? How am I supposed to warm them?’

Seeing her earnest, dumbfounded expression, the corner of Alaric Blackwood’s mouth curled. He brought his hand down from above her head, cupped the back of her neck, and bent down to kiss her.

He deepened the kiss, all the while pulling his overcoat tighter to envelop her completely in his arms.

Snowflakes danced in the air.

On the bench, the two of them kissed deeply, wrapped in each other’s arms amidst the silent, falling snow.

「Inside a Chinese restaurant not far from the hospital.」

The moment the waiter finished serving their meal and closed the door to the private room behind him, Nina Halloway dropped her disguise. She shrugged off her heavy coat, took off her hat and mask, and cupped a warm tea in both hands. Her gaze drifted out the window to the silently falling snow, her expression unusually grim.

Noticing her low spirits, Leon Grant slid a gift he had prepared across the table to her, hoping to cheer her up.

It was an exquisite gift box, about the size of an adult’s fist.

"For you."

But Nina Halloway couldn’t muster a shred of interest in the gift. She wasn’t even in the mood to open the box and look. Sighing, she said listlessly, "Mr. Grant, did you need me for something?"

"I just wanted to treat you to a meal and give you your gift."

"Oh."

"What’s wrong? You seem to be in a terrible mood, and you don’t look well."

Nina, wanting to probe for information, deliberately brought up Jaden. "My ex-fiancé has been missing for several days. There’s been no news."

"Is that so?"

Leon Grant feigned surprise. "Have you called the police?"

"We did, but the police haven’t found a single clue."

"You don’t think it was the masked man who kidnapped you before, do you?"

Since Leon Grant had brought up the masked man himself, Nina immediately ran with it. "I suspect the same thing. The masked man tried to kidnap Garland before, but he failed. I think he’s the one behind Jaden’s sudden disappearance."

Leon Grant remained noncommittal. "What’s your opinion of the masked man who kidnapped you, only to let you go?"

"My opinion?"

"The masked man didn’t harm you. In fact, he executed the wireman responsible for your injury and has now apparently kidnapped your cheating ex-fiancé. I’d say he’s deeply in love with you."

A wave of nausea washed over Nina Halloway. "You call that love?"

"I suppose. There are many ways to love someone. The masked man is just more... extreme."

Leon Grant picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of meat in her bowl. "If one day the masked man asked you to accept him and be with him, would you agree?"

"Never."

Leon Grant’s hand, holding the chopsticks, froze for a split second before resuming its normal movement as he placed a shrimp in her bowl. "Why not?"

"He’s a kidnapper, a murderer, and a complete psycho. Who in their right mind would accept a criminal that extreme?"

Ethan Austin stood respectfully to the side, his eyes darting back and forth. He was monitoring the food and drinks Nina Halloway consumed while also watching for the subtle changes in Leon Grant’s expression as he spoke.

He noticed that when Nina Halloway said she would never accept the masked man, the corner of Leon Grant’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, and his gaze turned several degrees colder.