After Betrayal - I Married a Handsome Tycoon-Chapter 123: Hooking Up

The way she called out "Moira Sloan" was hauntingly ethereal.

Moira Sloan froze, her scalp prickling at the sound.

Before Moira could turn around, Shauna Duane had already pulled up in front of her on an electric scooter.

Their eyes met. The resentment in Shauna Duane’s gaze was as obvious as the sleep still crusting her eyes.

Shauna Duane bit her lip, her cheeks puffed in anger. "When did it start?"

Moira Sloan fiddled with the strap of her purse.

’She debated whether to keep hiding it from the girl or to just tell her the truth.’

After the third flick of her finger, she decided to be honest.

There was no help for it. She just couldn’t lie to one of her own with a straight face.

It was one thing when Shauna hadn’t found out, and it wasn’t like she planned on anything long-term with Connor Quinn anyway. But now that they were always so... entangled, a confrontation was inevitable.

Moira Sloan’s red lips quirked. "About two months, I guess."

Hearing this, Shauna grew even angrier, the rims of her eyes turning red.

Moira pressed her lips together. She wanted to say something to console her, but for a moment, she couldn’t think of what.

There was no explaining this kind of thing.

Any explanation would only make it sound worse.

Besides, Shauna Duane and Connor Quinn had never actually had any sort of ambiguous entanglement. If she said something now, it would only backfire.

The two of them stood in a tense stalemate for a while before Shauna, fuming, wrenched her handlebars around, gunned the motor, and vanished in a flash.

Moira was left speechless.

’Well, there goes my good employee.’

’Handsome men really are a menace.’

To be honest, she actually quite liked that girl, Shauna.

So adorable, so innocent and artless.

A few minutes later, Moira Sloan walked into her shop, set down her purse, and immediately sent Connor Quinn a message on WeChat: Boss Quinn, I just snuffed out another one of your potential flames.

Connor Quinn replied instantly: ?

Moira: Shauna Duane found out we’re hooking up.

Hooking up.

Not "together."

And certainly not any kind of positive, respectable term.

Connor Quinn: Got it.

Seeing Connor’s message, Moira sat on the high stool behind the cash register, crossed her legs, and typed: Will this ruin your reputation in Everwood County?

Connor Quinn: No.

Moira raised an eyebrow and tutted.

’This damn man really did cherish his words like gold.’

’Except for... *those* times.’

After messaging Connor Quinn, Moira went into her workshop. Since there was no one else in the store, she had to pull the rolling shutter halfway down.

The custom jewelry box for Cassie Blanchett had reached the cloth-wrapping and ash-coating stage. She was tempted to ask Cassie if she even wanted it anymore. After all, five million was no small sum.

But on second thought, it wasn’t her place to ask.

It would sound like she was gloating over someone’s misfortune.

Moira buried herself in her work, and by the time she came out of the workshop, it was late afternoon.

She had skipped lunch and was feeling a little faint from low blood sugar. She rummaged through her purse, found a piece of candy, and popped it in her mouth. As she recovered, she casually picked up the phone she’d tossed on the counter.

Lillian Kidd had sent her two messages an hour ago.

[Moira, do you have time to come back to Atheria next week?]

[There’s a lead on your master’s case.]

Seeing Lillian Kidd’s messages, Moira’s heart clenched. Her finger swiped across the screen, and she called her directly.

When the call connected, Lillian’s voice was choked with sobs. "Moira."

Moira took a sharp breath. "Mrs. Kidd, I was just in the workshop. What did you find out?"

Lillian said, "Moira, I don’t know if what I found is true, I..."

Lillian’s sobs came through the phone, the rest of her words seemingly impossible to speak.

Moira frowned. "Mrs. Kidd."

Lillian said through her tears, "The investigator... they found a connection to your Second Senior Brother."

Moira was silent.

After a long moment, Moira spoke. "Are you sure?"

Lillian cried, "I don’t know! I can’t believe it’s true! Your master single-handedly trained all of you apprentices. It’s no exaggeration to say you are all like our own children. How could it be? How could Finn Fuller have murdered your master...?"

Lillian’s words devolved into weeping until she was completely incoherent.

Listening to her, Moira felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing her heart.

It was suffocating, agonizing.

Lillian Kidd was right. None of the apprentices came from well-off families.

From the moment they began their apprenticeship under Kain Alden, they ate at his table and lived under his roof. He truly treated them as his own children.

And then there was Lillian Kidd. Though she could be strict with them, she never mistreated them in the slightest.

Their food, their clothes, their daily needs—Kain Alden, being a man, was often careless with such details. It was always Lillian who took care of everything for them.

That was why Moira’s feelings for Kain Alden and Lillian Kidd ran exceptionally deep.

Hearing Lillian’s continued crying, Moira pursed her lips, took a soft breath, and said in a gentle, comforting tone, "Mrs. Kidd, you’re under too much stress. I’ll take over the investigation. You need to rest for a while."

Lillian said, "Moira, I..."

Moira interrupted her. "Mrs. Kidd, I’m here. Don’t worry."

After hanging up with Lillian Kidd, Moira’s expression darkened. She mulled it over for a moment, then picked up her phone, found her Eldest Senior Brother’s WeChat, and initiated a voice call.

The call had barely started ringing before the other person instantly declined it.

Moira, "???"