Chapter 30 I Don’t Want Anyone to Touch Her Before Me
“I’m not sure. She didn’t tell me when I asked,” Carl answered after a short moment of silence.
When he wanted to investigate this matter, Alison told him not to interfere, saying that she could solve it by herself, and yesterday when he asked her about the results of her findings, she changed the topic and reminded him to pick up Hannah from the hospital instead.
The words reached Hannah’s lips, but she stopped herself from saying them, unsure whether she should let her father know about this.
Carl naturally sensed her hesitancy, so he asked, “What’s wrong?”
She inhaled deeply before she decided to answer. She had already figured out the reason that Alison kept it from him. “Maybe Aly doesn’t want to put you in a difficult position. That’s why she didn’t tell you the findings.”
He asked, utterly perplexed, “What do you mean?”
“When someone hit me, I saw a person standing outside the alley, and he’s Aunt Debbie’s younger brother.” The memories gradually came back to her after she recovered. “After I told Aly about this, she told me to keep it from you.” The light in Carl’s eyes dimmed, and Hannah added, “I don’t know what happened between you and Aly, and neither do I know what turned your relationship sour, but since both of you care about each other, why can’t you sit down and talk things over?”
Carl was quiet as a layer of guilt blanketed him. He wanted to have a good talk with Alison, too, but he was aware that she would never forgive him. “You’re still young. I’ll tell you once you’re older,” he said, keeping the secret from her.
“I’m already nineteen and legally an adult,” she corrected him, all sorts of emotions swimming in her chest. “I’m no longer that child who’s always asking for sweets and crying whenever I get into some trouble.”
Still, Carl’s lips were sealed. An unspoken agreement stood between him and Alison: they wouldn’t tell Hannah about that matter before she had found her happy ending.
This merely made Hannah depressed. Aly is not being forthright, and Dad won’t say anything. Are they going to keep this from me for the rest of my life?Ding. Ding. Ding.
Her cell phone beeped a few times as messages were sent to her. When she checked, she saw that there were pictures from James, followed by his text. ‘Aly and Brayden are in an argument! He’s making things difficult for her here and deliberately embarrassing her. Come quick!”
She instantly zeroed in on the pictures and tapped on them, which revealed Alison meeting Brayden’s eyes in a rather luxurious room. She could sense the hostility between them even through the screen.
“Winston, we’re going to Kinver Restaurant,” she said without wasting a moment, sounding a little
anxious.
Kinver Restaurant was a membership restaurant in Imperia, and the guests were either celebrities or influential businessmen; impossible for a nobody to step in. Based on the pictures James sent to her, she reckoned that it was a business luncheon because she recognized a few other familiar faces besides Alison and Brayden.
Carl noticed her spiking anxiety and questioned, “What happened?”
“Aly is in an argument with Brayden,” she said. “I don’t know what exactly happened, but James merely told me that Brayden is making things difficult for her and embarrassing her.”
“Winston, step on it.” Carl couldn’t stop himself from getting worked up upon hearing that Alison was involved.
On the other side, James’ heart almost skipped out of his throat from the nervousness. His father, Harry, was the one who forced him to attend the event today, claiming that he wanted to introduce a legendary figure in the business world to him so that he could build up his
connections. Alas, he never expected that the legendary figure that Harry meant would turn out to be Brayden.
More importantly, Alison was also in attendance!
“You dare speak about cooperation when you can’t even finish two bottles of wine?” Dressed in a tailored suit, Brayden took the host seat, looking impeccable but indifferent. “Do you think you can make a living with just a pretty face in this place?”
An annoyed Alison felt her head throbbing. She came here to make trouble for Tom Chapman, who was the elder brother of Carl’s new employee. On the surface, it seemed that Joe Chapman, Debbie’s younger brother, was the one who planned Hannah’s incident, but in truth, the true mastermind behind that entire farce was none other than the wily fox, Tom. It was all thanks to Tom’s prompting that Joe would make such a move.
Since she couldn’t punish him with the law, she had to do it personally; she would teach anyone who could endanger Hannah a proper lesson. Regardless, it didn’t occur to her that she would bump into Brayden here.
“I’m not in the mood to argue with you today,” she concluded simply.
“What are you doing? Mr. Cornell is showing you courtesy by asking you to have a drink with him.”
“What’s the problem with this restaurant? How could they let a woman like this slip in?”
“She looks rather hot, though.”
James stared at the scene unfolding before him with bated breath, not because of the things the others said but simply because he thought that these people were digging their own graves. The last person who said something like this to Alison would now take a detour whenever he bumped
into her on the streets!
“Mr. Cornell, women like her lack discipline.” Even though Tom wore the clothes of a human, his personality was that of a beast. He may look like an upright person, but the things he said were no less sleazy than a hooligan’s. “She’ll be obedient after you discipline her properly in a hotel room.”
Brayden tilted his head in Tom’s direction and drawled languidly, “Oh, really?”
“Of course!” Tom roved his eyes over Alison’s figure as he answered, “If you would like, I’ll ask someone to book a hotel room and deliver her to you.”
Everyone else frowned at Tom’s derogatory words. None of them could understand why a person with Brayden’s status would invite a person such as Tom for a meal. Not only was his company just a small one, but his lecherous personality at the sight of women also made him a disgusting
person.
“Sure,” Brayden agreed and added, “But I don’t want anyone else to touch her before me.” Then, he laid his unreadable dark eyes on Alison, his heart burning with fury. If I don’t take care of her today, she won’t even notice that she has been trafficked after our divorce!
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Cornell!” Tom’s face lit up, putting on a wide smile as he brimmed with confidence. “I promise you that she’ll be sent to the room intact, and you can have a good time once you arrive.”
Brayden was quiet, and the air pressure around him was terrifyingly low. If it weren’t to find out about the Lamberts from Tom, he wouldn’t even consider having a meal with this trash of society. Initially, he had dispelled all suspicions against Alison. Still, surprisingly, he accidentally learned that she was investigating the truth behind Hannah’s incident and even managed to send Joe to the police. If she was just a bodyguard, why would she put in all this effort just for Hannah?
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” James blurted, biting the bullet.
*After he said that, he immediately attracted Brayden and Alison’s attention-the former looked at
him thoughtfully while the latter shot him a warning look.
“Why do you say so, Mr. Barnett?” Brayden’s voice was low and husky, and even though he sounded calm, there was no hiding the threatening lilt in his tone.
James instinctively turned to Alison and swallowed the words he wanted to say. The look in Aly’s eyes is scary! My god!
To Brayden, his fear was translated as concern and pity for Alison, and he didn’t dare to speak more because he succumbed to the pressure of power. Hence, Brayden asked, “Do you think she’s pretty, and it’s a pity that I’m taking her away?”
“I’m sure that’s not what my son meant.” As an experienced businessman, Harry was skilled at observing facial expressions and had sensed Brayden’s disgruntlement. “Please don’t blame him, Mr. Cornell.”
