"Hubby."
When the woman’s rather sweet voice called out that word, a touch of undeniable shyness and discomfort bled through. Yet, it only made her tone seem all the more tender and affectionate, enough to make one’s heart run hot.
The originally noisy environment fell into an eerie silence. Zoe Lancaster’s face burned. She could feel the utter shock in the gazes of everyone around her. They likely saw her as some delusional lunatic with a death wish for daring to take advantage of Simon Hawthorne.
Zoe instinctively tightened her grip on his fingers and looked up at him.
The man was probably caught off guard as well. His dark, deep-set eyes stared unblinkingly at her. His gaze was so profound that Zoe couldn’t decipher it, but she felt as if she were about to be swallowed whole. There was nothing innocent in those eyes.
Zoe nearly bit her tongue but managed to say with a straight face, "Hubby, you haven’t been home in so long. I missed you."
The man’s gaze deepened even further.
After an indeterminate amount of time, someone nearby asked with trepidation, "Mr. Hawthorne...? Should we have this woman dragged—"
Before they could finish, Simon slowly moved. He lowered his eyes to look at Zoe’s soft, pale hand gripping his fingers. With one hand, he grasped her wrist to gently pry her fingers away, only to calmly interlock his own fingers with hers, enveloping her hand completely. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Ignoring the collective gasps around them, he said, "My wife has something to attend to. Please head to the private room first."
Zoe didn’t miss their expressions. They were stunned and in disbelief, as if they had just seen a ghost in broad daylight. Everyone wanted to get a closer look at her face. After all, to the public, Simon Hawthorne had always been a bachelor.
She lowered her head to avoid their probing gazes and sighed inwardly. She had no other choice. If she hadn’t done this, Simon probably wouldn’t have given her the time of day. Truthfully, she had been gambling. She had even anticipated that Simon might not play along, that he might brush her off and claim not to know her, or scold her for exposing their marriage.
But he did none of those things.
Instead...
Zoe looked down at their intertwined fingers. His large, warm hand enveloped hers just like any ordinary, affectionate lover. Right in front of a crowd, he held her hand and led her step by step toward the corner of the staircase.
The space was narrow. Zoe was pulled into the corner, and he stood in front of her, blocking the already dim light. With the light behind him, she could barely make out his expression, but her intuition told her that he seemed to be in a decent mood.
"What’s wrong?" he asked. Throughout this entire process, he never let go of her hand. He had probably forgotten.
Zoe glanced at their joined hands before speaking. "Could you help me look for Autumn here? She came to celebrate her birthday today, but now she’s suddenly missing. I’m worried something might have happened. After all, this place is full of all sorts of shady characters. Is that okay?"
Seeing her anxious expression, Simon narrowed his eyes slightly. "Zoe, you’re quite polite."
Zoe couldn’t tell what emotion was behind that remark. She didn’t have the luxury of catering to his mood anyway. "I’m really in a hurry."
Simon didn’t make things difficult for her. "Mhm. I got it.
"This is Sean Sheffield’s territory. There are a lot of rules here. Unless it’s completely consensual, he won’t let any form of coercion or illegal behavior slide. Once, a wealthy heir harassed a female customer and got beaten half to death by him. It served as a warning to many."
He pulled her along as they walked back out, his voice slow and methodical.
Zoe was surprised. Sean seemed like such an unreliable guy, yet he actually had principles. She didn’t know if Simon said that just to comfort her, but her racing heart settled slightly.
Simon acted quickly. Since he was a regular and Sean’s close friend, his simple request to find someone commanded immediate respect. Riverbend Tavern immediately dispatched staff to search for her, operating with extreme efficiency.
Zoe glanced at their intertwined fingers again and kindly reminded him, "You can let go now. You forgot."
Simon gave her a faint look. "Autumn Linden is already missing. So you don’t get lost too, just stay put."
Zoe was speechless. She wondered what that was supposed to mean, considering she wasn’t even drunk.
After concluding his business dealings, Sean Sheffield pulled out a cigarette and clamped it between his lips.
Before he could even light it, the first-floor manager rushed over in a flurry, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Mr. Sheffield, that little girl has been crying non-stop. She’s throwing quite a fit now."
Sean frowned in annoyance. "What little girl?"
The manager cowered. "The one who bumped into you earlier..."
Sean paused. Only then did he remember. He hadn’t taken the matter to heart at all. He had just spouted some random nonsense in a fit of anger at the time. Did they actually detain her?
"Where is she?" Sean rubbed his temples, his tone hostile.
Unable to read his thoughts, the manager hurriedly led the way.
When Sean arrived at one of the private rooms, his eyes immediately landed on the girl slumped on the carpet. She wore a modest pink button-down shirt. Her braided hair had come somewhat undone, and her face was stained with tears. Spilled liquor soaked her chest, making the fabric cling to her skin. The material was quite thick, so nothing explicit was visible, but the curves beneath were still apparent.
Not very large. A B-cup at most. Truly unimpressive.
Even so, a subtle, inexplicable feeling stirred within Sean. He strode over with his long legs and grabbed the little girl by the wrist. "What are you crying for? Get up. I’m sending you home."
Autumn Linden looked up, hot tears rolling from her watery eyes. "They bullied me... They kept forcing me to drink. Some bad guy ordered them to do it..."
After being dragged here, those people hadn’t said a word. They just relentlessly forced her to drink, threatening to sell her off if she refused.
The "bad guy" himself was speechless.
He furrowed his brows. It was obvious the girl was heavily intoxicated. However, he wasn’t the type to take back his words or go back on his actions. Since his unintentional remark had led to his subordinates forcing alcohol down her throat, he had no defense.
The only tricky part was that this woman was actually the younger sister of Simon Hawthorne’s wife. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her face back then, but now that he could see her clearly, he only felt she was going to be a hassle.
Sean kept a cold expression, finding the idea of coaxing a child to be incredibly tedious. "Alright, stop making a fuss. No one’s making you drink anymore."
Autumn no longer had the capacity for independent thought. After being force-fed so much awful liquor, she felt incredibly wronged. She threw her arms directly around the man’s neck and rubbed against him like a cat. Tears fell, DRIP DROP, as she sobbed, "I want my sister..."
Sean stiffened, feeling the thin, soft body pressed against him. He faintly realized that he was actually starting to get hard.
His expression darkened even further. He wondered if he was losing his mind. How could he have a reaction to a woman who looked like a grade-schooler? Since when had he become so desperate? Not to mention, this girl was completely bundled up, her collar buttoned tightly to the top. Yet, he was actually reacting to a woman like this...
As if that wasn’t bad enough—
"Why are you poking me?" The girl, her face covered in tears, started acting out. She looked down, raised her hand, and gave him a poke. "What are you... what are you hiding in there?"
Caught completely off guard, Sean’s expression turned utterly grim. He seized both her hands in a tight grip. With a cold face and an even more chilling tone, he threatened, "If you move again, I really won’t hold back."