Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

After icing his face for half an hour, Alaric Blackwood returned to the hospital room.

Sophie Shaw was still asleep. Mandy Halloway and Mrs. Ford kept watch by her bed, the atmosphere heavy.

"What happened to your face?" Mandy Halloway immediately noticed the palm print on Alaric Blackwood’s left cheek.

Even after icing it, the mark was still visible.

"What else could it be? My hot-headed old man did it."

Mandy Halloway: "..."

Mrs. Ford: "..."

Alaric Blackwood walked to the window and leaned against the sill. His gaze fell gently on the sleeping Sophie Shaw as he spoke in a hushed voice, "Mom, my sister and I are with you."

Mandy Halloway nodded, her heart filled with relief. "Good."

"The old hothead told me to get out of the company. He’s already revoked my inheritance rights."

Mandy Halloway was stunned. "Has your father lost his mind?"

Alaric Blackwood looked relaxed. "He’d be truly insane if he gave the inheritance to his illegitimate daughter."

"..."

Her son had only said it offhandedly, but Mandy Halloway could already vividly picture that very scene.

Overcome with rage, she stood up, left the room, and found a quiet corner to dial Quentin Blackwood’s number.

He picked up quickly. "Regretting bringing up divorce already?"

"Bullshit!"

Mandy Halloway said angrily, "This divorce is between us, so why are you taking it out on the children? What do you mean by revoking our son’s inheritance? Are you planning to let your illegitimate daughter inherit everything?"

"When did I ever say I’d let my illegitimate daughter inherit?"

"You’d better not."

"If you regret this, it’s not too late to take it back."

"Regret what? I am divorcing you! And I’m taking half of your assets!"

Mandy Halloway hung up, leaving Quentin Blackwood so furious it felt like his insides were twisting.

He went to the parking garage, got into his car, and with an ashen face, motioned for the driver to head back to the office.

Alaric Blackwood had washed his hands of the company, but he couldn’t. Besides, the position of CEO couldn’t remain vacant forever.

Quentin Blackwood worked late. After leaving the office, he didn’t return to the old family residence but went to the place where Lydia Wynn was staying.

Ever since she had kidnapped Mandy Halloway, Quentin Blackwood had confiscated her phone, assigned people to watch her 24/7, and even arranged for a cook.

For the past few days, she hadn’t even been able to leave the apartment. She was under house arrest.

She was eating when Quentin Blackwood arrived, so he simply sat down to eat with her.

"What made you think of coming here today? Aren’t you going to keep your wife and children company?" Lydia Wynn’s voice was dripping with sarcasm the moment she spoke.

Quentin Blackwood’s face was cold. "Thanks to you, my wife is trying to divorce me."

Lydia Wynn was delighted inside, the corners of her lips curling up. "Is that so? Well, congratulations. Your perfect little family is finally about to fall apart."

"Can’t you speak like a decent human being?"

"No. No one ever taught me how."

She had grown up in an orphanage, with no one to care for her or love her. She was finally adopted, but her comfortable life didn’t last long before her adoptive parents died in a car accident.

She was left to depend on her elderly grandmother, who was now in a nursing home, clinging to her last breath. And now, she had learned the truth of her birth, only to be rejected. Soon, she would be sent abroad to live in a foreign country where she knew no one. Her life felt like a trashy, cliché-ridden movie, and she was doomed to live out the rest of her days in a daze.

She felt it was deeply unfair.

What felt most unfair was that the man she had secretly loved for years turned out to be her biological brother!

She could never have Alaric Blackwood now, and a desire to destroy him began to grow in her heart.

’Why should I be the one who gets sent away while he gets to live a sweet, happy life with Sophie Shaw?’

’On what grounds!’

She put down her chopsticks and looked at the grim-faced Quentin Blackwood eating across from her. Shedding her earlier sarcastic tone, she forced a smile and called out, "Dad."

That single word, "Dad," made Quentin Blackwood freeze for a moment.

"Since you’re getting a divorce, why don’t you officially acknowledge me as part of the Blackwood Family? Don’t send me abroad. I don’t want to live in a foreign country. I want to stay by your side, Dad, and formally become a member of the family."

Quentin Blackwood ignored her and continued eating. She began to play the victim. "Can you really bear to send me away?"

"My biological mother is gone. I only have you and my grandmother left. Why won’t you let me stay and fulfill my duty to you both? You kept me by your side and cultivated my skills all these years, wasn’t it so I could stay at the company and assist my brother? If you’re willing to accept me into the Blackwood Family, I’m willing to tone it down and support him properly."

She began to humble herself, trying to bargain with Quentin Blackwood, but he unexpectedly dropped a bombshell. "There’s no need to assist him. Alaric has already decided to leave the company. He wants to start his own business."

"He’s leaving?"

"The kid’s just throwing a tantrum."

"If he leaves, who will inherit the company?"

"It won’t be you, so don’t get any funny ideas."

"Why can’t it be me? I’m your child too, aren’t I? Do you think I’m less capable than him, or do you think that as an illegitimate daughter, I’m not worthy of inheriting?"

Quentin Blackwood remained silent.

His silence energized her, as if she’d found a new direction in life. She began to work on persuading him. "Did you cultivate me for all these years just to send me abroad and let me fend for myself? Your son won’t inherit your company; he wants to start his own business. So who are you planning to give the company to? Nina Halloway? That’s not realistic. She doesn’t understand business management; she’s just an actress. But I can do it. Instead of letting the Blackwood Group be carved up by shareholders years from now, why not let me inherit? At least I’m your biological daughter. You should keep the wealth within the family."

Quentin Blackwood didn’t commit, but he no longer firmly rejected the idea, which gave her a glimmer of hope.

"I really don’t want to go. Sending me abroad is like giving me a death sentence. Dad, please don’t give up on me."

Lydia Wynn’s tone softened, and Quentin Blackwood began to soften as well.

He thought about her, a young woman, having to live in a completely foreign country. His resolve began to waver. He couldn’t bring himself to be so heartless to this poor child.

"I’ve never known the love of a parent. I was abandoned at an orphanage when I was very young. If you hadn’t seen the news about me, if you hadn’t sponsored me, just imagine how hard my life would have been."

Lydia Wynn’s eyes reddened as she spoke. "Don’t you feel even a little bit guilty towards me? You could clearly acknowledge me as part of the Blackwood Family, so why are you so insistent on driving me away? I can be good. I can be a good daughter."

As she finished, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "Don’t send me away. Don’t give me a death sentence. Please give me a chance to be a good daughter, okay?"

She grew more and more agitated, her few tears turning into choked sobs. Her shoulders trembled as she cried, presenting Quentin Blackwood with the image of a pitiful, extremely fragile girl in desperate need of care.

Quentin Blackwood’s heart wasn’t made of stone. Watching her cry, he softened even more.

"About sending you abroad... I’ll reconsider."

Hearing this, Lydia Wynn cried even harder. She promised Quentin Blackwood, "As long as you don’t send me away, I’ll be obedient. I’ll listen to everything you say. I can even go back to the company and work for the Blackwood Family. And I’ll never cause trouble for Mrs. Blackwood and the others again."

Quentin Blackwood was skeptical. "Are you serious?"

"Of course, I am. I only kidnapped Mrs. Blackwood because I was overwhelmed after learning about my birth and that you wouldn’t acknowledge me and insisted on sending me away. It was an impulsive act. I never truly wanted to hurt her. If I had wanted to hurt her, why would I have just locked her in a basement?"