Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Have You Fallen for Me?
"If you’re worried, you can go with him and see."
"Forget it."
Alaric Blackwood picked up his chopsticks and ate in silence.
He was unusually quiet and seemed a little down. Sophie Shaw hesitated. She recalled how Jaden hadn’t just ignored Alaric Blackwood when he left—he hadn’t even glanced at him. ’Did they have a fight?’ she wondered.
"You and Garland..."
"Can you just shut up?"
Sophie Shaw was speechless.
It was the first time Alaric Blackwood had ever snapped at her, and she was stunned. A senseless anger began to swell in her chest.
’My own fault for being nosy. I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth.’
’He’s upset because he fought with his friend. What’s that got to do with me?!’
"I’m done."
She put down her chopsticks, grabbed her bag, and stood up to leave.
Alaric Blackwood reached out and grabbed her wrist. "I’ll take you."
The next second, his hand was swatted away. "No need. I’ll get a cab."
Sophie Shaw stormed out of the private room like a gust of wind.
She had a foul look on her face when she left, which Alaric Blackwood noticed. But he didn’t immediately realize that his "shut up" was what had provoked her.
He stood, grabbed his jacket, and caught up to her in a few strides, grabbing her arm. "Sophie Shaw..."
He had barely started speaking when he saw that Sophie Shaw’s eyes were red.
The woman was biting her lip, looking both furious and utterly wronged.
Alaric Blackwood’s heart sank. He immediately pulled her into his arms. "I’m sorry. I wasn’t taking my anger out on you."
Sophie Shaw said nothing, just pushed against his chest with both hands.
He held her tighter. "I’m really sorry. Don’t be mad at me. I wasn’t thinking straight; I was being an idiot."
Sophie Shaw didn’t respond. She just kept pushing him, harder and harder.
Sensing her silent resistance, he said helplessly, "For heaven’s sake, will you just say something?"
"Didn’t you tell me to shut up?"
"I have a foul mouth!"
He truly hadn’t expected Sophie Shaw to be so fragile. He had just told her to shut up, and it had made her cry.
"From now on, I won’t ask about your business. I won’t care. I guess I was just being sentimental."
"I don’t care if you fought with your friends or if you’re in a bad mood. Even if you two beat each other up, it has nothing to do with me."
"If one of you dies, it’s one less to worry about."
Sophie Shaw unleashed a torrent of words, her mouth running a mile a minute.
She didn’t stop struggling. When she couldn’t push Alaric Blackwood away, she grew so furious that she bit down on his shoulder.
Alaric Blackwood winced, his brow furrowing slightly, but he didn’t let go. He let her bite, let her vent her anger.
The man hadn’t put his jacket on yet, and he was only wearing a thin shirt.
Sophie Shaw bit down with all her might, not letting go until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
She froze, then quickly released her jaw. A bloody ring of teeth marks was already soaking through his shoulder.
"Feel better now?"
The man turned his head to look at her. "If you’re not done, then keep biting. Bite until you’re not angry anymore."
"..."
Seeing that she had calmed down and was now silent and still, Alaric Blackwood breathed a sigh of relief. He then took one of her hands and led her downstairs.
While he was paying at the cashier, Sophie Shaw wrenched her hand free and walked straight out without waiting for him.
"Sophie Shaw!"
He called out to her, but the woman didn’t even look back. She left the restaurant and hailed a taxi by the roadside.
"Sophie Shaw..."
He chased her out of the restaurant, but Sophie Shaw was already in the car, which was speeding away.
The phone in his pocket started vibrating. BUZZ. BUZZ.
He pulled it out and saw a WeChat message from Sophie Shaw: [Don’t bother picking me up tonight.]
He called her, but no one answered. He called again, and she hung up on him directly.
He stood by the roadside, looked at the ended call, and laughed in exasperation.
"She’s got quite a temper!"
But on second thought, he found himself feeling inexplicably pleased.
What had she said when she was angry?
"From now on, I won’t ask about your business. I won’t care. I guess I was just being sentimental."
"I don’t care if you fought with your friends or if you’re in a bad mood. Even if you two beat each other up, it has nothing to do with me."
"If one of you dies, it’s one less to worry about."
...
He had an epiphany.
Sophie Shaw was starting to care about him.
Did this mean he already had a place in her heart?
Watching the direction the taxi had gone, he took long strides, crossed the street, got into his supercar, and drove toward Heart of the Ocean.
Sophie Shaw had barely returned to the company, made herself a coffee in the break room, and taken a single sip back in her office when Alaric Blackwood burst in.
It wasn’t time for work to start yet, so some desks were empty. Alaric Blackwood just waltzed right in.
Her gaze met the man’s beautiful, charming eyes, and she quickly looked away. With a cold expression, she sat down at her desk and said dismissively, "I have to work. I don’t have time for you."
"Have you fallen for me?"
The coffee had just entered her mouth and was on its way down. Hearing such an abrupt question, Sophie Shaw choked and began to cough violently.
She coughed until her face was flushed and tears welled up in her eyes.
Alaric Blackwood came over, patting her on the back with one hand to help her catch her breath. With the other, he grabbed a tissue from the desk and wiped away the reflexive tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Is it really that surprising?"
"Have you fallen for me?"
"Otherwise, why do you care about me? Why do you care about my feelings?"
"And why did you have such a huge reaction to a single thing I said?"
The barrage of questions left her stunned.
She hadn’t even realized it herself, that she had become this dependent on Alaric Blackwood. He had only told her to shut up, and she had reacted as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice in the world...
A brazen smirk spread across the man’s lips. The moment she stopped coughing and her breathing evened out, he abruptly bent down, hoisted her up from the chair, and slung her over his shoulder.
She yelped in surprise, slapping his back hard.
"What are you doing? Put me down! The employees will be here soon. What will people think if they see this?"
Alaric Blackwood listened to her protests, glanced at his watch, and saw there were still a few minutes until two o’clock.
He walked to the door, pulled it open, and strode out.
Sophie Shaw had no idea what he was doing and pounded on his back with all her might. "Didn’t you hear me? Put me down!"
Alaric Blackwood paid her no mind.
He carried Sophie Shaw down the hallway and straight to the elevator.
DING—
The sound of the elevator doors opening chimed.
It was immediately followed by the sound of employees laughing and talking. However, their chatter died instantly when they saw their own boss being carried toward them over Alaric Blackwood’s shoulder.
After a two-second stunned silence, everyone tactfully filed out of the elevator, standing in small groups on either side of the hallway to clear a path for Alaric Blackwood.
Of course, Sophie Shaw recognized her employees’ voices. Mortified, she buried her head, hiding her face against Alaric Blackwood’s back as if that would make her unrecognizable.
Among the dumbstruck employees was Hannah Sutton.
As Alaric Blackwood passed her, she gave a polite nod. "Good afternoon, Mr. Blackwood. Good afternoon, President Shaw."
The others quickly followed suit, bowing. "Good afternoon, Mr. Blackwood. Good afternoon, President Shaw."
Sophie Shaw: "..."
’I wish I could dig a hole and bury myself right now.’
Alaric Blackwood didn’t break his stride. He said to Hannah Sutton, "I’ll be borrowing your boss for a bit."
Hannah Sutton replied with a completely straight face, "For how long? There’s a meeting this afternoon."
Alaric Blackwood smiled. "Then postpone it until tomorrow. Your boss won’t be back this afternoon."
Sophie Shaw was flabbergasted.
