Chapter 41
What emotionally hurt had she suffered?
Vanessa had not recovered from the shock that Sophia's uncle had brought to her but was confused by Shawn's words again.
She was stunned and blinked, with her face full of confusion.
Sophia covered her forehead and felt helpless toward her uncle.
She thought, "I told you the situation to let you take advantage of her weakness, not to ask her directly."
Was her emotionally hurt the point? Idiot!
Under pressure, Sophia decided to take responsibility and stand up to break the embarrassing situation.
She said with her fingers, "Vanessa just suffered a little setback. It's not..."
Vanessa was speechless.
It was Sophia who told Shawn.
Sophia was really good at making trouble for her!
However, Sophia failed to ease the atmosphere and was interrupted.
Shawn completely ignored her and didn't look at her. He stared at Vanessa and said, "Go back to your room."
This sentence was naturally said to Sophia.
As a result, the atmosphere at the scene became tenser.
Although Sophia didn't understand why Shawn's words would make her feel a strong tension, she knew she couldn't stay here any longer.
"Then I'll go back first..."
With that, neither of the other two looked at her but were immersed in the subtle tension.
It seemed that there was an invisible fuse between the two people. Anyone who touched it would instantly ignite the air.
Knowing the situation, Sophia quickly fled the scene.
But before entering the elevator, she couldn't help looking back. She happened to see Shawn dragging Vanessa's hand to the corridor.
The long corridor of the hotel was built around the mountains, open-air, with gurgling water on the side and exquisite wood carving street lamps hanging overhead.
Shawn was impatient in such an elegant environment. Despite Vanessa's struggle, he pulled her to the end of the corridor with a cold face.
Vanessa felt her wrists breaking.
It didn't matter. The important thing was that she didn't know what storm she would face next.
If there were no more guests coming and going in the corridor, she would even just sit down.
But with Shawn's strength at the moment, she couldn't stop at all. She even had to trot all the way to keep up with him.
At the end of the corridor was the hotel's bar.
It was just after dusk. The ambiguous lights in the bar flickered.
Only a few guests were whispering. The bartender was quietly wiping the glasses.
Shawn strode in, picked up a sofa, and pulled Vanessa in.
Just as Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief, Shawn pressed her shoulder and made her sit in the corner of the sofa.
He then stepped in, kicked the table, and sat in front of her.
Vanessa subconsciously wanted to stand up. He immediately straightened his leg and stopped in front of Vanessa. His present action was very inconsistent with his consistent gentle image, but it effectively formed a closed circle, blocking her way to hide.
Shawn put his arms around his chest, leaned against the back of the sofa, and lifted his chin toward Vanessa.
"Now you can tell me what have you suffered."
Vanessa was stunned.
She used her remaining sense to figure out the current situation.
Sophia said she had suffered an emotional hurt, and Shawn naturally thought it was related to him.
If she said she was frustrated by others, she might be unable to get out of the hotel alive.
Vanessa clenched her fist and wished to beat Sophia.
After a while, Vanessa whispered, "It's not a big deal. I misunderstood that you like Sophia. I felt bad for them. Today when I knew that you come to Talian with her, I was hurt."
While speaking, Vanessa was about to cry.
Anyway, she should answer the present question first.
But as soon as she looked up and saw Shawn's expression, she knew he didn't believe it at all.
"Now I know you are relatives. I wouldn't have thought so much if you had told me earlier." Vanessa stopped pretending to be sad and smiled, "I'm fine now. I'm not sad."
With that, she waited nervously for Shawn's response.
But Shawn just looked at her quietly. The warm yellow light flickered between their eyes, like a calm spring, carrying Shawn's emotional eyes.
He surely noticed Vanessa's unnatural expression. He wouldn't believe her nonsense.
But...
Sometimes he really felt helpless for Vanessa.
He knew she had a lot of tricks, but he always gave in to her again and again.
Anyway, no matter how much mischief she made, it was still within his tolerance.
For a long time, he sighed silently, pulled back his leg, and leaned in front of her.
She tightened her sleeve nervously.
Fortunately, he just adjusted his posture. He shifted to a comfortable sitting position and looked at her.
"You said so sincerely," Shawn said with a smile. "Do you like me so much?"
Vanessa's fingers trembled.
That was a good question.
Good enough to bury her.
"I..."
She was so nervous that her palms sweated hot, and her voice was a little hoarse, "I am really a jealous person."
"Answer me."
Shawn suddenly raised his hand to hold the back of her head, preventing her from avoiding looking at him, "Tell me, how much do you like me?"
The music of the bar seemed to float far away at this moment. Vanessa's ears only echoed Shawn's question.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, Shawn asked another question.
He moved closer and lowered his voice as if he was bewitching her. "Me and your ex, who do you like more?"
What was this multiple-choice question?
Could she refuse to answer?
Obviously, she didn't dare.
With a desire to survive, Vanessa said slowly, "Of course, I like you more."
With this answer, Shawn seemed to be pleased. He smiled softly.
He slid his palm on the back of her head and touched her hair.
He whispered, "I believe you this time." His pupils were reflecting Vanessa's face.
Vanessa's eyes trembled. Then he came closer.
"When will you only like me?"
Vanessa was speechless.
She felt that she was suffocating.
What were these problems?
Her face slowly turned red under this extreme tension. Even her breathing became disordered, patting Shawn's face irregularly.
Seeing her look, Shawn slowly released his hand and sat up straight, giving her room to breathe.
But Vanessa didn't relax.
On the contrary, because of his words, she realized more clearly that he was a man with absolute possessiveness.
If he knew the truth...
Vanessa looked up at the street lamp outside the window.
If so, she would never see such a beautiful night scene again.
Fortunately, Vanessa's cell phone rang. She answered it in haste.
Shawn leaned over to give her space to answer the phone alone.
It was her father.
"Vanessa, are you coming home tonight? If not, I won't wait for you."
Vanessa panicked. "Sure, I'll go home."
"It doesn't matter. You can play outside with your friends."
"I'll be home soon. Don't worry."
"What?"
With that, Vanessa immediately hung up and looked at Shawn.
"My father has come to pick me up. I'm going home."
Shawn looked at her with interest and smiled, "Are you so obedient? Do you have to go home after dark?"
Vanessa nodded stiffly.
After a while, Shawn retracted his leg.
Vanessa stood up. He grabbed her wrist as she passed him.
"Aren't you going to play host tomorrow?"
"Pardon?"
Vanessa was stunned.
Shawn looked up at her. "Don't you know I came to Talian for you?"
After Vanessa left, Shawn sat in the bar for a while and ordered a mug of mojito.
More and more guests came in. Bars no longer played music.
The spotlight beside the bar counter was on, and a middle-aged man with a ponytail was quietly sitting next to the microphone rack.
Originally, the bar was a little noisy, but when he began to sing, everyone's attention was attracted to him. They all turned their heads.
"Look like I'm crazy,
When I shout feelings out.
Look like I'm different,
Still, you take it for something real."
The man's voice was deep and mellow. His mature voice made the simple lyrics full of love.
The couples sitting in the bar listened attentively to his singing and slowly snuggled up to each other.
In the soft music, Vanessa's face appeared in Shawn's mind.
Her childish look, rascal look, nervous look, and angry look...
She always had a lot of emotions, but Shawn seemed to have never seen her quiet and gentle appearance.
So he wanted to take her here and hear her whispering in his ear.
The song ended soon, and the room was filled with applause.
All of a sudden, Shawn put down her glass and walked toward the bar counter.
When he left the bar, it was completely dark. Shawn came to Talian unprepared, so he had nothing important to do and was about to return to his room to rest.
As soon as he walked out of the elevator, he saw the driver, Frank Roberts, standing at the door of his room. He hesitated and wanted to ring the doorbell but finally didn't.
"What's up?"
Frank was taken aback by Shawn's sudden voice.
When he came to his senses, he said nervously, "Mr. Yeats, I came here to apologize for my niece."
This afternoon, not only was Vanessa busy, but also he was busy with what had happened at the wedding.
After the accident at the wedding, Bianca and Jackson broke up and had a big quarrel. Bianca couldn't continue to live in Jackson's house.
She had no one to rely on in Talian, so she could only call his uncle Frank, crying.
Coincidentally, Shawn didn't plan to go out today, so Frank accompanied Bianca to cheek in a hotel.
Along the way, Bianca cried and told him the whole story.
Frank didn't want to meddle in their messy relationship, but he knew that Bianca had completely offended Vanessa.
He drove Shawn every day and observed in the driver's seat every day. He was very clear about Vanessa's position in Shawn's heart.
It wouldn't be a problem for Shawn to hate Bianca. Her family was rich. Even if she lost her job, she could still live a good life at home.
But Frank was different. He couldn't rely on Bianca's family. He didn't have the ability. If he offended Shawn and lost this well-paid and easy job, he really didn't know what else he could do for a living.
So after thinking about it for a while, he felt he should express his attitude to Shawn.
Shawn took a look at his watch and found that it was still early, so he said, "Go ahead."
After thinking for a while, Frank said simply, "My niece is thoughtless. She has indeed affected the relationship between Miss Green and her ex-boyfriend. I have scolded her, and she also knows that she is wrong. She has broken up with that man. I will ask her to apologize to Miss Green for this matter later, and then..."
Shawn suddenly interrupted him, "Apologies? And then ask Vanessa to get back together with her ex-boyfriend?"
"Eh?"
Realizing that he had said something wrong, Frank immediately shook his head and said, "I didn't mean that. They can't be together again. Her ex is really a bastard. Miss Green did a good job leaving him."
Shawn's key point was completely different from Frank's. He nodded and asked, "Why is her ex really a bastard?"
In fact, Frank could tell that as a man, his woman's ex was also like a fishbone in his throat.
At this time, the most advantageous thing for him to do was to belittle Jackson. If Shawn were happy, he would be fine.
"He was a vain creature." Frank frowned. "As a man, he doesn't want to work hard on his own. He just wants to take a shortcut and rely on women to reach the top of the world. He thinks you are..."
Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped.
He seemed to have said too much.
Shawn was dissatisfied with the sudden pause.
"What does he think?"
Frank made up his mind and thought that he might be able to shift the war's point by telling him everything.
"It's just a misunderstanding. He thought you were Bianca's uncle, so he dumped Miss Green and went out with Bianca."
After that, Shawn didn't say anything.
Frank was nervous.
He knew he was not smart and often said something wrong, so he tried to say less at work.
Shawn didn't answer his question, which made his heart sink.
It seemed that he had made a mistake again.
He looked at Shawn nervously and saw that he was furious.
He even looked cold with glasses on usually. At this moment, his eyes were gloomier, making him tremble more.
"I see."
After a long while, Shawn said to himself.
Frank didn't know whether he should continue or not.
"He..."
"I see." Shawn narrowed his eyes and said, "You can leave now."
After Frank left, Shawn stood in the corridor for a while.
He knew his guess was ridiculous. However, this guess was like a shadow on the wall. No matter how chaotic it was, it was a projection of the real object and didn't appear out of thin air.
Moreover, such a ridiculous guess was in line with all the facts.
For Vanessa, there was nothing absurd that she couldn't do.
Therefore, she could approach him for the sake of his niece.
Thinking of this, he suddenly laughed.
He thought she wanted money and power, but he was wrong.
From the beginning to the end, she just wanted to take revenge on Bianca by taking advantage of him.
At this time, a hotel waiter pushed a dining car past him.
"Excuse me, sir."
Shawn turned to look at the waitress.
The waiter was shocked by his eyes and thought she had done something wrong.
The next second, Shawn came back to his senses and took out the room card.
He opened the door but didn't go in. He just lowered his head and looked at the ground silently.
After a while, he turned around and walked to another room.
Sophia had just put on a facial mask and was about to order some night snack. When she heard the doorbell, she thought that the hotel had brought some delicious food, so she went to open the door with her bare feet.
"Who is it?"
However, when she opened the door, she saw Shawn standing at the door.
"Uncle?"
Shawn walked forward, forcing Sophia to step back.
As his niece, having lived with him for many years, Sophia was very sensitive to his emotional change.
Although Shawn didn't say anything, Sophia could feel the chill around her.
What was going on?
"Why are you here? Did Vanessa leave?"
Shawn leaned against the door and stared at Sophia for a long time.
It was not until Sophia was at a loss that Shawn said, "Yes."
Sophia took a step back. "Then what can I do for you?"
"Nothing," Shawn said in a low voice, but there was a sense of oppression in his eyes.
He lowered his head, using his figure to suppress Sophia and force her to tell the truth. "I can't take advantage of this opportunity. What should I do?"
"Pardon?"
Sophia opened her mouth wide in surprise.
Her uncle admitted that he was taking advantage of Vanessa's weakness.
He even said such helpless words to her for help.
"How is that possible?"
Sophia decided to give him some confidence. "You are so excellent that there is no second one better than you in the world. If you work harder, you will definitely succeed."
"Really?" Squinting at Sophia, Shawn asked, "She has someone in her heart. What can I do?"
Sophia was stunned. She thought for a few seconds and finally understood. "You mean this."
She frowned and thought for a while. She thought that she really had done a lot for her uncle and hoped that he could remember her contribution.
"She did pursue another man before, but don't worry. That's not because of true love. She has other reasons. She has given up. Now is your good opportunity."
Shawn said weakly, "So that's true."
Sophia nodded, "Yes. But you just need to..."
However, the door was slammed shut before she could finish her words. She was so scared that her facial mask almost fell.
"What the hell?" Sophia touched her face and whispered, "Is he in his period?"
Outside the door, Shawn's phone rang along with the sound of the door closing.
It was a call from the manager of the bar downstairs.
"Hello, is that Mr. Yeats? This is the manager of the hotel bar. I'm here to confirm with you that you have booked the whole bar from eight o'clock tomorrow night to two o'clock in the morning, right?"
"Sir, are you listening?"
"Sir?"
A few seconds later, Shawn replied calmly.
"No, thanks."