Love At The Wrong Table

Ryder had never won an argument against his wife. At last, they came to

an agreement to gift Shawn the supplements to offset eighty thousand

from her poker debt.

Shawn was not even thinking about collecting the debt, so he thought he

had no reason to turn her away when she delivered to him herself.

Out of curiosity, he asked Abellyn quietly, “Are you related to Ms. Quillen,

who was in your uncle’s house the other day?”

Ryder was Emmanuel’s elder cousin, but Emmanuel’s father was older

than Ryder’s. Even more bizarre, Ryder was younger than Benny.

Ryder’s father had fathered him when the former was seventeen. Thus,

the difference in age between the two generations of the Lowe family had

always been a distinct oddity.

“She’s the wife of my cousin–in–law, Emmanuel. What about her? You don’t

have a crush on her, do you? You men are pigs!”

As she chided, Abellyn pinched Shawn on the waist.

Though she feared him, she was also trying to seduce him; she thought it

would be more worth her time to be with Shawn, the son of a rich man,

than to be with a pauper like Ryder.

“I did not! Don’t say that. I would never dare!”

Shawn denied vehemently, deathly afraid that the woman was subjecting

him to some sort of test.

Even a rich man’s son like Shawn did not dare indulge in the fantasy of

being with somebody like Mackenzie.

Abellyn grew curious at the sight of his panic. “You were joking, right? What

women do you not dare court?”

“Watch your mouth, Abellyn! I’m keeping the gifts, and you can consider

your debt written off. You’d better get going!”

Shawn sent Abellyn and her husband away, still reeling from the discovery

that the cold CEO of Terence Group had become a married woman.

What is going on?

Shawn’s father had business with Verkade Group. He had even developed

a long–standing business relationship with them.

Thus, he lost no opportunity to curry favor with Hubert, a playboy like

himself.

He knew very well that Hubert coveted Mackenzie, having heard that

Hubert had been relentlessly pursuing Mackenzie. How could she have

gotten married?

To get to the bottom of the matter, Shawn hurriedly sought an audience

with Hubert under the pretense of delivering a gift.

“I heard a rumor, Mr. Verkade. Ms. Quillen is married, it seems!”

“Who would spread such vile lies?”

With his feet propped on the table, Hubert was savoring his coffee when

he impassively denied the veracity of those words. It was clear that he did

not believe it.

“Uh, a woman I play poker with,” Shawn answered truthfully.

“Do you actually believe the gossip that gets passed around a poker

table? She is known for her misandry. Even I could not approach her.

Besides, I’ve been watching her. Do you think I wouldn’t find out if she got

married?”

“Indeed! You have a point. That woman shares such lousy gossip. I’m just

passing it along as I heard it. Anyway, I’m here today with some gifts.”

Already in denial, Hubert found his conviction further bolstered after

Shawn’s confession.

Then, he placed the boxes before Hubert.

Hubert swept an indifferent gaze over it and did a double take.

What is this? Why do these boxes look so familiar?

Taking a closer look, he was stunned to discover them to be exactly like Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

the same items he had sent Mackenzie the day before.

“Where did you get this, Shawn?” Hubert demanded, frowning.

Noticing his expression, Shawn assumed he was voicing his disdain for the

gift, and he did not dare mention that it was a gift used to offset debt by

the lowly Ryder. He quickly concocted a lie. “My father bought it when he

was abroad. It’s all branded, with proven efficacy!”

“These are local produce. Your father bought these abroad?”

Hubert gaped, looking increasingly confused.

Shawn was a gambler, and gambling was all he knew. Common sense

was not something he possessed. What he did possess, however, was the

talent of deception. “That’s right! Here’s something you might not know, Mr.

Verkade. Many traditional medicine practitioners were exiled during the

war. These herbs, grown abroad, are the true produce of our motherland!”

“Is that so?”