Chapter 184: Chapter 182: Damn It! Are You an Idiot? (6)

After a satisfied twirl, Zoe Ellsworth grabbed a small bag and hurried downstairs.

Just as she reached the door, Mrs. Ellsworth’s voice called out from behind her, "Where are you off to in the dead of night?"

"Mom, I’m just going to see my brother. I’ll be staying at his hotel tonight, so I won’t be coming back."

Without waiting for Mrs. Ellsworth to reply, she dashed out the door.

Once in her car, Zoe Ellsworth headed for Kiss & Tell. She didn’t know if Herman Hawthorne would be there, but he often frequented the same places as her older brother. At night, this was his most common haunt. She was just trying her luck, hoping he’d be here.

She went up to the second floor and asked Ruby, who confirmed that Herman Hawthorne was indeed there tonight, just up on the third floor.

Zoe Ellsworth went up to the third floor.

Reaching the door to Room 306, she pushed it open a crack and saw it was crowded. Many were rich and powerful figures from both legitimate and shady circles. There were also plenty of heavily made-up women.

Zoe Ellsworth noticed that Herman Hawthorne also had a woman beside him, though she was dressed quite respectably.

The air inside was stale, thick with the overpowering stench of alcohol that hit her the moment she neared the door.

After a moment’s thought, she returned to the second floor and had Ruby bring her two bottles of red wine. After she’d downed them both, Ruby asked worriedly, "Listen, Zoe, if you’re planning on doing something, you need to give me a heads-up. I can’t afford the fallout if Young Master Ellsworth comes looking for answers."

Zoe Ellsworth hiccupped and grinned. "Ruby, Herman is upstairs. Don’t worry, he won’t let anything bad happen to me."

Ruby considered this and thought it made sense, so she nodded. "Alright then."

Zoe Ellsworth felt her head growing fuzzy, so she stopped drinking and stood up. "I’m going to find my Herman."

Ruby nodded. "Be careful now."

Zoe Ellsworth nodded back and staggered woozily up the stairs.

The wine had given her courage.

Zoe Ellsworth threw open the door to Room 306.

The raucous noise inside came to a sudden stop.

"Well now, is this another one of the girls who works here? What a looker! Hey beautiful, come over to me!" The head of an entertainment company, his beer belly preceding him, grinned and beckoned to Zoe Ellsworth.

Herman Hawthorne stood up. "She’s my sister. Excuse us."

He said only that, but it was enough. No one dared to utter another word.

The entertainment company boss was mortified. "My apologies, Young Master Hawthorne. I must’ve been blind not to recognize her."

"You all carry on. I’m stepping out," he said, his voice impassive.

He grabbed Zoe Ellsworth by the arm and pulled her out of the room.

Out in the hallway, Herman Hawthorne looked at her flushed face. "You’ve been drinking?"

"Mhm, I have."

Herman Hawthorne pressed on. "You came here to drink alone? Do you have any idea what kind of place this is?"

"Because you’re here, Herman."

He suddenly fell silent. Then, he swept her up into his arms. "I’m taking you home."

But Zoe Ellsworth shook her head. "I don’t want to go home."

"Why not?"

"My mommy said I’m an unwanted child. And she said if I can’t find a man to marry me, she’s gonna make me go back to school. But I don’t wanna go to school! I wanna get married!"

Herman Hawthorne felt a bead of sweat. He couldn’t help but chuckle. "I highly doubt your mother said that. You’re just making it up, aren’t you?"

Zoe Ellsworth yelled, "No! I’m not making it up! Herman, I like you! So... why don’t you marry me? The only downside is that even though you’re a few months older than my brother, you’d still have to call him your senior."

Herman Hawthorne froze. Staring at her small face, he felt his thoughts scrambling.

Zoe Ellsworth nestled into his arms, closed her eyes, and let out a few soft murmurs before falling silent.

He thought she’d fallen asleep. He carried her out of Kiss & Tell, and just as he was setting her down in the car, her eyes fluttered open.

"Do you have any idea what you just said?"

Zoe Ellsworth narrowed her eyes. "I do."

Herman Hawthorne snorted with laughter. "You little brat. Getting bold enough to tease me now, are you?"

She turned her head away. "I’m not teasing."

"Fine, you’re not," he said, clearly not taking her seriously.

Zoe Ellsworth grew frustrated. "Herman," she said, "do you dare slip your hand inside my coat?"

Herman Hawthorne glanced at her, noting how tightly she was wrapped in her coat. He snorted. "Why wouldn’t I dare?"

He slipped his hand right in—and immediately regretted it.

’This little minx, she’d set a trap for him!’

She was wearing nothing underneath.

He saw the triumphant look in her eyes and his lips curled into a smirk. "Zoe, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?"

She laughed. "And you knew perfectly well I was doing it on purpose."

"Does your brother know you’re treating me like this?"

Zoe Ellsworth leaned in slowly. "My brother would only be pleased if he knew."

Herman Hawthorne withdrew his hand and offered a gentle smile. "Alright, stop playing around. I’m taking you home."

Zoe Ellsworth’s expression fell. "Herman, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, I do."

"But I thought you didn’t?"

"We just started seeing each other."

Dejectedly, Zoe Ellsworth sat up straight. "Okay."

Herman Hawthorne glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was staring out the window, her silence absolute.

"I drove here. I’ll get myself home."

She got out and staggered toward her own car.

’She’s so drunk she can barely walk. How is she going to drive?’

Herman Hawthorne quickly got out as well. "I’ll have someone drop your car off for you. You’re drunk. I’m taking you home."

"Don’t worry about it. It wouldn’t look good if your girlfriend saw us."

"It’s fine. She’s not the jealous type. Now, get in."

A knot of frustration tightened in Zoe Ellsworth’s chest. She tried to make a break for her car, but he grabbed her from behind before she could.

Then, he bundled her forcibly back into his car.

"Behave." The single word was enough to silence Zoe Ellsworth.

The car drove smoothly toward the Ellsworth Residence.

Before the car came to a complete stop, Zoe Ellsworth leaped out and disappeared through the front door of her home.

Herman Hawthorne gazed at the door, recalling her words at Kiss & Tell, and couldn’t help but find the whole thing amusing.

Zoe Ellsworth, on the other hand, felt like a complete clown.

Her face burning, she bypassed the living room and ran straight upstairs.

"Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back tonight?"

No one answered Mrs. Ellsworth.

Zoe Ellsworth slammed her door, threw herself onto the bed, and buried her head under the covers.

’She had brought this humiliation entirely upon herself.’

’She felt like more and more of an idiot.’

She kicked off her shoes, ran barefoot into the bathroom, and slammed her hands on the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

’Why can’t I ever find a man who will truly love me?’

「The next morning」

Early the next morning, Nora Ainsworth had just stepped out of her room when she immediately bumped into Leon Lynch emerging from Room 804, looking as if he’d been waiting for her for some time.

"Miss Ainsworth, good morning."

"Good morning, Lynch." Nora Ainsworth closed her door and started toward the elevators.

"Heading to breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Let’s eat together. I haven’t eaten yet."

Nora Ainsworth didn’t object. ’It was pointless to argue with him anyway.’

The two of them went down to the second-floor restaurant and sat at a table. Leon Lynch went to order their breakfast.