CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: TOUCH HER, YOU TOUCH ME

Master Shane nodded in agreement and said, "I’ve already asked Faye Xavier to investigate."

"Click—"

The bathroom door opened, and Audrey Sutton came out wearing pajamas. She glanced at Shane Warner sitting outside the room, then looked at Arthur Sutton, and called out in a muffled voice, "Third Brother."

Arthur Sutton nodded, stood up, and asked her, "Is everything alright?"

Audrey Sutton shook her head and picked up a dry towel from the bed to dry her hair.

Shane Warner handed her a cup of ginger tea and said, "Drink this. Your Third Brother specifically brought it for you."

Audrey Sutton looked at the cup in his hand. Without the sentence "Your Third Brother brought it," she might not have reached out to take the glass from Shane Warner.

"Then I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll leave Audrey for you to take care of."

"Alright, don’t worry."

After seeing Arthur Sutton off, Audrey Sutton put down the ginger tea, having drunk less than a third of it.

Shane Warner glanced at it and couldn’t help saying to her, "Drink a few more sips; it’s to prevent a cold."

Audrey Sutton appeared not to hear, sitting silently by the bed, drying her hair with a towel.

Shane Warner stood nearby, stared at her for a few moments, and realized that her unusual emotions at the moment seemed not to be caused by panic from falling into the water.

So he sat on the side beside her and asked, "What’s wrong?"

She replied in a muffled voice, "Nothing’s wrong."

"But you’re acting strange."

Audrey Sutton said nothing.

Shane Warner asked again, "How did you end up in the water with her? Were you two fighting?"

"Go ask her. Why are you asking me?" she said angrily.

This made Shane Warner even more certain that something must have happened between her and Lan Irving. The incident of falling into the water was definitely not an accident.

"Buzz—"

Shane Warner pulled out his phone from his pocket. Seeing it was Faye Xavier calling, he answered without speaking, only hearing Faye Xavier’s voice: "Master Shane, it’s quite a coincidence. The security team says the surveillance on that floor broke a few days ago and hasn’t been replaced yet."

Shane Warner’s cold eyes narrowed slightly. After a pause, he replied, "Hmm."

The more coincidental something is, the less simple it seems.

Putting away his phone, Shane Warner turned his head to Audrey Sutton, in a slightly coaxing tone: "Tell me what happened at the time."

Audrey Sutton buried her head, pretending not to hear.

She felt that what happened then was no longer important. What she cared about was the result.

What mattered was that between her and Lan Irving, he chose Lan Irving.

After waiting a few seconds and seeing she didn’t want to speak, Shane Warner furrowed his brow, reaching out to pinch Audrey Sutton’s face, forcing her to face him, "Tell me, was it an accident or did she push you on purpose?"

It wasn’t clear if it was the force of his grip that caused her pain, or if seeing him rekindled her grievances. After two seconds of eye contact, her tears flowed furiously from her eyes.

Shane Warner was taken aback, knitting his brows even tighter.

Releasing his grip, he used his calloused fingertips to wipe away her tears from her cheeks.

Audrey Sutton turned her head away, her long hair falling down to cover her face, biting her lip and suppressing her sobs.

Shane Warner, though having seen many grand situations, was at a loss for how to handle a tearful girl at this moment.

Stunned for a moment, he got up to take the tissue box from the table, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to Audrey Sutton, though his mouth opened, unsure of how to console her.

This slightly clumsy demeanor had never appeared in Shane Warner before.

She usually acted carefree, but this was the first time he had seen her cry, and so heartbroken.

Causing his heart to ache with her.

Audrey Sutton lifted her hand to rub her eyes, taking a deep breath, sniffing back the mucus about to run from her nose, slowly stopping her tears.

When her mood calmed a bit, Shane Warner asked her, "Tell me, what made you so aggrieved?"

Audrey Sutton didn’t answer, got up, and locked herself in the bathroom.

Shane Warner: "..."

Facing the tightly closed bathroom door, he sighed deeply.

He then recalled everything that happened just now, reflecting on what exactly he might have done to make her so upset.

But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Whether it was an accident or intentional, none of this had a direct relation to him. Yet, her anger was evidently aimed directly at him.

Why couldn’t she just clearly explain everything to him?

Having had little interaction with girls, Shane Warner really lacked experience in this area, so he sought out Audrey Sutton’s friends for help in convincing her.

Shane Warner went downstairs alone, knocking on a door on the right side.

When opened, Lan Irving stood in a white bathrobe at the doorway, glancing at Shane Warner with a hint of surprise, not expecting him to come.

Lan Irving was taken aback for two seconds, then slightly moved aside and softly said, "President Warner, what can I do for you? Come in and sit."

"No need, just a few questions."

Lan Irving’s eyes flickered, biting her lip slightly, already sensing that his questions related to the earlier incident.

"I’m not here to assign blame." Shane Warner paused, then shifted the conversation, "How long have you been with me?"

"...Six years."

"Hmm, that’s quite a while. I believe I have valued both you and Faye Xavier, treating you with kindness and righteousness, so I don’t want to view this negatively. I’ll treat today’s event as a mere accident. If you harbor no ill intent, naturally that’s good, but if you have other thoughts, I hope you set them aside from this moment."

Lan Irving lowered her head, biting her lip without speaking.

"No matter what, she’s my wife. In any situation, she comes first for me. If anyone touches her, it’s as if they touch me, so if there’s a next time, I won’t consider the six years of sentiment; don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Lan Irving took a deep breath, lowered her head, and said, "...I’m sorry."

Shane Warner turned away, leaving Lan Irving standing at the door watching his departing figure, the resentment and frustration in her heart growing larger.

But she knew Shane Warner always meant what he said, and she dared not challenge his boundaries.

As Lan Irving was about to close the door, a hand painted with red nail polish stopped it in the gap.

Clarissa Morgan slipped into the room, closing the door behind her, looked at Lan Irving with a hint of a smile, and said, "I’ve taken care of the surveillance footage for you. I just came to tell you, don’t do such stupid things again."

Lan Irving frowned slightly, asking puzzled, "Why help me?"

Clarissa Morgan’s smile carried a bit of ferocity and malice not usually revealed, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Stay close to Shane’s side for now. There will be times you can be of help."

"What makes you think I would help you?"

Clarissa Morgan raised her hand, poking Lan Irving’s chest, "Because of the hatred you harbor here for Audrey Sutton. Don’t you want to see her become a despised discarded wife?"