After Betrayal - I Married a Handsome Tycoon-Chapter 77: One Link After Another

Zachary Curran hesitated for a long time at the entrance of Moira Sloan’s shop before he finally worked up the nerve to go in.

The wind chime on the door tinkled, followed by Moira Sloan’s light and alluring, "Welcome." Zachary Curran shuddered and became so stiff that he started walking with his arms and legs moving on the same side.

Moira Sloan hadn’t expected the person walking in to be Zachary Curran.

As she looked up, she gave a slight, teasing arch of her eyebrow.

Their eyes met. Zachary Curran jolted and immediately looked away, heading toward a display rack of lacquerware jewelry boxes to browse.

He dared to look at the items, but not to touch them.

Although he hadn’t studied the cultural heritage of lacquerware, he’d been around the block enough to know a thing or two. He knew this stuff was expensive. Calling it priceless might be an exaggeration, but it was definitely expensive enough to cost him his life savings.

From the moment Zachary Curran walked in, Moira Sloan had been standing straight with her arms crossed, watching him.

Her eyes held a smile, tinged with a hint of teasing.

After a moment, Zachary Curran stared at a lacquerware jewelry box, cleared his throat, and asked, "M-Ma’am, how much is this one?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Moira Sloan’s skirt swayed as she gracefully glided toward him.

Zachary Curran caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, and the hair on his arms stood on end.

’This woman is unfairly beautiful,’ he thought.

’Like a Siren who could suck the very soul out of a man.’

Moira Sloan came over, leaned against the display rack, and said with a grin, "Curran, are you buying a jewelry box?"

Zachary Curran’s jaw tensed and his body went rigid. "Yeah."

Moira Sloan’s slender fingers picked up the box he’d been eyeing. Her eyes crinkled into a smile as she offered it to him. "It’s yours. A gift."

Hearing that, Zachary Curran was too stunned to even think about taking the jewelry box. He was completely dumbfounded.

Especially when he looked up into Moira Sloan’s dazzling smile, which seemed to see right through him. He felt his knees go weak.

Zachary Curran said, "Ma’am."

Moira Sloan hummed. "Hm? You don’t like this one?"

Zachary Curran had just endured Connor Quinn’s storm next door, only to be hit with this scorching heat here. Honestly, his heart was overloaded; he couldn’t take much more.

Under Moira Sloan’s charming and flirtatious gaze, Zachary Curran’s voice nearly cracked as he spoke, "Ma’am, do you happen to have a room for rent?"

Moira Sloan raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

Zachary Curran quickly blurted out, "Connor didn’t send me! I just figured he had nowhere else to go, so I thought I’d come and ask you."

A classic case of protesting too much.

Zachary Curran looked like a timid bride who’d just been scolded.

Hearing this, Moira Sloan didn’t answer, simply continuing to watch him with a knowing smile.

They remained in a standoff for about half a minute. Zachary Curran’s face was beet red, and the rims of his eyes, filled with guilt, were also red. He turned and fled, his limbs once again moving in clumsy, uncoordinated haste.

Moira Sloan was baffled.

’Is that all he can handle?’

’Shauna Duane told me this kid has been with Connor Quinn for years.’

’How has none of Connor Quinn’s shamelessness rubbed off on him?’

Zachary Curran had grown up in Everwood County, a place with simple customs where most people were reserved. In his entire life, he’d hardly interacted with any girls other than Jade Quinn. He was completely out of his depth and utterly terrified.

When Zachary Curran returned to the tattoo shop, his head was hanging low, a wronged look on his face. "Connor."

Connor Quinn’s voice was cold. "You messed it up?"

Zachary Curran mumbled, "Yeah."

Connor Quinn gestured with his chin. "Go keep yourself busy. There’s a kid upstairs who wants his name tattooed."

Zachary Curran nodded and bent down to get his tools. "What’s his name?"

Connor Quinn said flatly, "Murdock Lawson."

Zachary Curran repeated, "Murdock Lawson? How do you spell that?"

Connor Quinn remained expressionless and turned to another young man. "Philip, write it down for Curran."

The young man, Philip, acknowledged the order and walked over to Zachary Curran, trying to suppress a laugh.

When Philip finished writing out the name "Murdock Lawson" for him, Zachary Curran’s mouth twitched. He turned to look at Connor Quinn with an expression of utter despair, as if it were his last look before a tragic parting.

Before Zachary Curran could look away, the phone in Connor Quinn’s hand vibrated.

Connor Quinn looked down. It was a text from Moira Sloan: Boss Quinn, are you having fun?

Connor Quinn looked up from his phone, his expression impassive. He didn’t reply.

When Moira Sloan’s text went unanswered, she immediately sent another one to Leo Lawson, the owner of the small tavern: Lunch?

Leo Lawson: ?

Moira Sloan: Good people have good lives.

Leo Lawson: OK.

Seconds later, in the tattoo shop next door, the phone in Connor Quinn’s hand vibrated again. He had received a screenshot of a chat conversation.

Connor Quinn’s expression was impassive. He replied: Born from the ashes, yet you remain unchanged.