After Betrayal - I Married a Handsome Tycoon-Chapter 53: Women Are Difficult to Handle

Moira Sloan figured Connor Quinn did have a sense of humor.

A dry one.

Especially when paired with that deadpan face of his.

Truly, it was a killer combination.

After Connor Quinn spoke, Shane Jennings didn’t say a word for a long time.

Finally, he said in a low voice, "Why do you think Moira chose you?"

Connor Quinn answered with a straight face, "Love at first sight."

Shane Jennings sneered. For a man who was always so composed, it was rare to see him let his emotions show. "Do you really think that’s possible?"

Connor Quinn shot back, "Why do you think after seven years of dating, you two only ever held hands?"

The words struck a nerve, and Shane Jennings’s face stiffened.

Connor Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Were you unwilling?"

Shane Jennings clenched his fists at his sides. "You don’t understand."

With a deadpan expression, Connor Quinn nodded. "You’re right, I don’t quite understand. After all, we’d only just met when she made our relationship official and invited me over to her place."

Shane Jennings, "..."

In this battle of wits, Connor Quinn was clearly a cut above.

Moira couldn’t be bothered to listen to what else they had to say. Clutching her handbag, she walked up the steps, passing them as if they were strangers.

Shane saw her and called out, "Moira."

Hearing his voice, Moira didn’t break her stride or look back.

’Moira, Moira, Moira. Moira my ass.’

Connor Quinn returned to the hotel room over ten minutes later.

He swiped his keycard and walked in to find Moira sitting cross-legged on the sofa, talking on the phone.

She was laughing coquettishly, a picture of vibrant allure.

When she saw him, Moira shifted her position. The stockings she’d been wearing were gone, and her long, toned legs were now casually crossed and propped up on the coffee table.

Connor Quinn’s eyes swept over her for a moment before he turned away to open a can of beer.

Moira watched his back, a memory from the previous night surfacing. Her eyes narrowed.

’That bastard.’

The person on the other end of the line was Flora Rhodes, dishing out the latest gossip: Rachel Yates had broken up with her boyfriend.

"Why do you think they broke up?"

Moira laughed dryly. "Who knows."

Flora said, "I heard her boyfriend cheated."

Moira scoffed. "Uh-huh."

Flora added, "I don’t really buy it."

Neither did Moira.

She knew Rachel Yates’s boyfriend—an honest, unassuming guy.

To put it simply, his mindset was still stuck in the era of ’one true love for a lifetime.’

The odds of him cheating were lower than the odds of her suddenly turning into a delinquent.

When Moira didn’t respond, Flora paused for a second before a sudden realization hit her. "Don’t tell me Rachel Yates was the one who cheated, and she’s just pinning it on her boyfriend?"

Moira said teasingly, "Why don’t you ask her?"

Flora retorted, "You think I’m scared to?"

Moira chuckled. "If you dare ask, she’ll dare to play the victim. She’ll proclaim her sainthood and threaten to bash her brains out right in front of you."

Flora’s disdain was palpable even over the phone. "That’s a fact."

That Rachel Yates. She might not have any other talents, but when it came to playing the innocent victim, she was a true master.

If you threw Solomon Simmons into The Divine Alchemist’s furnace and reforged him eight hundred times, he still wouldn’t be able to see through her act.

If she weren’t that good, Moira wouldn’t have been fooled by her for so many years.

After a few more exchanges, they both agreed that talking about Rachel Yates was a downer and, with an unspoken understanding, moved on to a new topic. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Flora said, "I’m actually really looking forward to Shane Jennings’s wedding now."

Moira joked, "Hoping to be the bride?"

Flora replied, "No, it’s the thought of all of you gathered in one place. I just find it so thrilling. Especially from your point of view: your ex is getting married, your frenemy is the bridesmaid, and you’re showing up hand-in-hand with his cousin to sit at the head table... TSK TSK TSK..."

Moira shot back, "Oh, shut up."

Moira hung up with Flora, a smile still lingering on her lips.

A thought suddenly struck her. She looked up at Connor Quinn’s back. "Does Shane Jennings know who you are?"

Connor Quinn didn’t turn around, answering with his back still to her. "Yeah."

Moira scoffed. "So he came here today just to pick a fight with you?"

Connor replied, "No, he was with someone. We just happened to run into each other."

Moira frowned at his words. "Who was he with?"

Connor took a swig of his beer. "The same woman we ran into yesterday," he said in a low voice.

Moira was speechless.

’A man escorting a woman to a hotel, time and time again... Let’s be honest, you’d have to be blind not to see something fishy was going on.’

Not that Moira really cared.

They were broken up, after all. She wasn’t so devoted as to still be losing sleep over him.

But still, having loved him once, the whole situation felt like swallowing a fly.

Spitting it out would be disgusting, but swallowing it would be even worse.

These thoughts made her feel suddenly grimy. A wave of revulsion washed over her, and she stood up and headed for the bathroom.

After a few steps, she stopped. A thought seemed to strike her. She kicked off her slippers, her bare feet now on the cool floor, and turned to face Connor Quinn.

Sensing her gaze, Connor turned his head to look at her.

Seeing him look over, Moira’s fingertips found the zipper at her back. She pulled it down slowly, then let the dress slip from her shoulders, bit by bit...