Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Leon Grant’s words sounded so gentlemanly that Nina Halloway couldn’t help but wonder if she had misjudged him.

"It’s late. I’ll take you home."

Leon Grant withdrew one hand and wrapped it around her shoulder, leading her out of the villa.

Outside, snow was falling heavily. It was only a two-minute walk across the courtyard, but a thin layer of snow had already settled on their heads and shoulders.

Nina shivered from the cold. Leon instinctively moved to pull her into his arms, but just then, a pair of headlights shone on them.

A sports car emerged from the snowy night and stopped right in front of them.

Nina recognized it as her car. The front windshield was shattered, and the driver’s side window was completely broken. The body was also covered in dents and scrapes.

Her first thought was that there had been a crash, an accident. Her eyes were fixed on the person in the driver’s seat.

Soon, Ethan Austin pushed open the car door and got out.

The man’s clothes were dirty, blood was trickling down his forehead, his face was bruised, and his lip was swollen.

Nina stared at him in shock. She quickly pulled her hand free from Leon’s and ran toward Ethan.

"What happened to you?"

Ethan grabbed her hand without a word of explanation. He shot a cold glance at Leon, then pulled open the sports car’s back door and shoved Nina inside.

"What’s going on?"

"Ethan, what happened to your face?"

"Did you get in a car accident, or did you get into a fight?"

Nina asked anxiously.

Ethan said nothing. He shut the back door, got into the driver’s seat, and drove off.

Leon stood at the courtyard gate, watching as the sports car made a U-turn and drove away. His relaxed brows furrowed.

His phone chimed. It was a message from a subordinate: [Mission failed.]

’A bunch of useless trash!’

He was so angry he nearly smashed his phone.

Nina had willingly left with him tonight, and he had successfully lured Ethan away. How could several of his men fail to take down a single Ethan Austin?

He got into his car and furiously dialed his subordinate’s number. "Why did you fail?"

"We couldn’t beat him."

"..."

After calming down in the car for a moment, he drove to his bar.

His car stopped right at the bar’s main entrance. The van that had been tailing him pulled over across the street. He glanced at the van, raised a hand, and gave the people inside the middle finger, his lips forming a silent curse.

Inside the van, Plainclothes Officer A said, "That kid’s got a filthy mouth."

Plainclothes Officer B: "Should we bring him in?"

Insulting a police officer could get him arrested, fined, and detained for a few days.

It was a satisfying thought.

Officer A: "Let’s keep observing."

The two officers sat in the van and continued their stakeout, unaware that after entering the bar, Leon had gone straight to his office. After putting on a disguise, the man slipped silently out the back door...

The snow fell with a soft, rustling sound.

「Inpatient Ward, The Hospital.」

Alaric Blackwood was carrying Sophie Shaw. He dodged the medical staff and snuck back to the hospital room. He had just pulled off Sophie’s hat and coat and tucked her into bed when the attending physician pushed the door open and walked in.

The doctor stood with his arms crossed, staring at him grimly. "Mr. Blackwood, where did you take Mrs. Blackwood?"

Alaric turned around, his expression perfectly straight. "Nowhere."

"The nurse came by to check on her twice and you were both gone. ’Nowhere’?"

"It was snowing, so... we just went for a walk downstairs. I took my wife to see the snow and the moon."

"And did you happen to discuss everything from poetry to the philosophy of life?"

"..."

"Mrs. Blackwood has surgery tomorrow. Don’t take her out again. What if she catches a cold..."

"I understand. It won’t happen again."

Alaric’s apology seemed sincere, cutting the doctor off. The doctor sighed and didn’t say anything more. He walked straight to the hospital bed to check on Sophie, even taking her temperature to make sure she didn’t have a fever before finally leaving the room.

Watching Alaric get scolded by the doctor without a hint of his usual temper, Sophie had to stifle a laugh. She was gloating a little. "Sorry, Mr. Blackwood. I got you into trouble."

"An apology won’t work. I’ve already added this to my little book of grudges. When you’re better and we’re back home from the hospital, your husband is going to spank you hard."

Sophie’s eyes went wide as she stared at him.

The man deliberately pushed on, "One hundred times."

She blinked. "How many?"

"One hundred times. Pants down, with a ruler."

As Alaric spoke, he took off his coat and tossed it aside. He sat on the edge of the bed, took Sophie’s hand in his, and began to warm up her cold fingers.

"This is the price for being naughty. A hundred is letting you off easy."

Sophie’s cheeks flushed slightly. She didn’t dare imagine the scene, thinking Alaric was such a pervert.

She quickly changed the subject. "Your hair is a little wet."

The snow that had landed on him had melted into water upon entering the warm ward, dampening his hair.

Alaric was unconcerned. "It’s fine."

"Go dry it with a towel. Otherwise, you’re not allowed in this bed."

The corners of the man’s lips lifted. He obediently got up, went to the bathroom to get a towel, and dried his damp hair.

The heating in the room was strong. In no time, his body warmed up and his hair was dry.

Sophie lifted a corner of the blanket, inviting Alaric in. "Come on, lull me to sleep."

The man couldn’t wait. He kicked off his shoes, immediately slipped into the warm blankets, and pulled Sophie tightly into his arms.

The two of them had a tacit understanding not to talk about the surgery tomorrow, and they certainly didn’t bring up the baby in her womb. They both knew the operation was unavoidable.

"Mr. Blackwood."

"Hm?"

"Sing to me."

"I’m tone-deaf."

Sophie acted as if she hadn’t heard him. "Sing it. ’Sleep, sleep, my dearest baby...’"

Alaric seemed a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat, but began to sing anyway: "Sleep, sleep, my dearest baby.

Your husband’s hands are gently rocking you.

The cradle rocks you, sleep soundly soon.

The night is quiet, the covers are so warm.

Sleep, sleep, my dearest baby.

Your husband’s arms will always protect you.

All the happiness and wishes in the world,

All the warmth belongs to you.

...

Sleep, sleep, my dearest baby.

Your husband loves you, your husband adores you.

A bouquet of lilies, a bouquet of roses,

When you wake up, your husband will give them all to you."

Alaric was truly tone-deaf. Sophie couldn’t even recognize the lullaby’s original melody. On top of that, he had changed the lyrics, replacing the original "Mama" with "your husband," which amused her so much that not only was she not the least bit sleepy, but she also couldn’t stop laughing.

"You’re changing the words all wrong."

Alaric chuckled deeply. "Well, I can’t exactly call myself ’Mama,’ can I? It would sound weird even if I sang it, right?"

Before Sophie could reply, his eyes lit up. His smiling, almond-shaped eyes looked at her as he said, word by word, "Are you not satisfied with me changing it to ’your husband’? Would ’Daddy’ be a little better?"

Sophie’s face flushed. "You jerk! What are you talking about!"

"Should I do a ’Daddy’ version then?"

"No! Your singing is terrible."

"Then I’ll just have to sing it for you."

"Don’t sing! I forbid you from singing."

Sophie tried to cover his mouth, but he wouldn’t listen, breaking free and insisting on singing.

He really did end up singing her the "Daddy" version to sleep...