Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 232: The High Wall Built Within the Heart Is Not Actually Indestructible

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: The High Wall Built Within the Heart Is Not Actually Indestructible

"I’m sorry, but I won’t look at the wedding dress."

After a long internal struggle, Rory Linden gave her answer.

This was the wedding dress Sean Harrison had designed for their wedding.

If she chose to look, it would mean, in a way, that she was choosing a certain possibility.

Rory Linden knew her own heart best.

The walls she had painstakingly built around her heart over the past five years weren’t actually indestructible.

’I can’t let my heart waver, not even for a second.’

Rachel Lancaster’s expression was one of astonishment.

She hadn’t expected Rory Linden to refuse to even glance at it after she’d gone to such lengths.

Rory Linden apologized to her again. "I’m sorry, but I really don’t think I should look at this dress. After all, I’ll never be the one to wear it."

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Rachel Lancaster said quickly. "It just popped into my head, so I asked. It’s no big deal if you don’t look."

Sean Harrison stood up. "Since you’ve decided, let’s go."

Rory Linden stood up as well.

Rachel Lancaster saw the two of them out the door, and as soon as she returned, she couldn’t resist calling Henry Lancaster.

She had tried to get gossip about Sean Harrison and Rory Linden a few years ago, but unfortunately, her brother wouldn’t tell her a thing.

After recounting what had just happened over the phone, Rachel couldn’t help but sigh. "I never would have thought... Miss Linden seems so gentle, but her personality is actually like this!"

"To be honest, I didn’t expect it either."

Henry Lancaster knew his sister was a blabbermouth, so he didn’t say much.

Initially, he hadn’t wanted Sean Harrison to find out about the son he had with Rory Linden.

Sean Harrison was a man who could be called perfect most of the time. But as soon as something involved Rory Linden, he became erratic.

All sense of weighing pros and cons would vanish.

But what he hadn’t expected even more was how decisively Rory Linden had ended things.

Rachel Lancaster stood at the door, watching the car slowly disappear into the distance. She couldn’t help but remark, "But I feel like they’re a good match. Rory Linden is a much better fit for Mr. Harrison than those female celebrities."

"Don’t even think about it. It’s a lost cause for them. I have something to do, so I’m hanging up."

Henry Lancaster hung up the phone abruptly.

In the car, the atmosphere was heavy with silence.

After the car had been driving for a long time, the man finally asked, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

"No, I don’t think so. It’s rare that I get off work early. I want to go home and have dinner with Leo."

Rory Linden refused without a second thought.

She had always felt she was an inadequate mother, spending too little time with her son.

She even thought that her son’s selective mutism might be related to her not spending enough time with him.

"How about we ask Leo to come out and eat with us?"

Sean Harrison suggested.

"No, I don’t think so," Rory Linden was quick to refuse. "President Harrison, in my experience, the real pain isn’t in never having something. It’s in losing it after you thought you had it."

Rory was talking about Leo, but she was also talking about herself.

She had once truly believed that there were no misunderstandings between her and Sean Harrison that couldn’t be resolved.

She thought they would never be separated.

But she never imagined that a diagnosis of schizophrenia could tear them apart.

Sean Harrison finally gave up trying. "The gown will be delivered to your home when it’s ready."

"Okay. That’s very generous of you, President Harrison."

"I was the one who asked you to accompany me. It’s only right that I cover these costs."

"Alright. I’m off on Sunday, so you can just come to my place to pick me up."

The conversation ended there.

By the time the car stopped, Rory Linden was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

She said, "Goodbye," and got out of the car.

Sean Harrison remained where he was, watching her walk home, watching the light in that room turn on.

He felt more and more that there was truly no hope for a turnaround in their relationship.

-

「One week later, on a Friday.」

When Rory Linden finished her last surgery of the day, it was already ten o’clock at night. She noticed three missed calls from Keith Hawthorne.

Her surgery had lasted seven hours, and the three calls had come at intervals of about one to two hours.

Rory Linden called him back as soon as she saw them.

"Dr. Linden, I sent Charlotte Rhodes’s sample to a friend of mine abroad. They have the results."

Keith Hawthorne got straight to the point, immediately stating the reason for his call.

Rory Linden had intended to walk back to her office while on the phone, but when she heard this, she stopped in her tracks, waiting for Keith Hawthorne to tell her the results.

"Charlotte Rhodes was taking a newly developed psychoactive stimulant from overseas. It’s a performance-enhancing drug. After it was developed last year, it was used by athletes until it was discovered and banned a few months ago."

Keith Hawthorne then briefly explained which types of athletes had tested positive for the drug.

As he spoke, Rory Linden understood why they hadn’t been able to detect it before.

Drug testing screens for known substances. A new type of compound like this is specifically designed to evade detection.

Even an athlete’s body can’t withstand long-term use of stimulants, let alone an elderly woman like Charlotte Rhodes who had undergone multiple heart surgeries.

"How did this drug get into the country?"

Rory Linden was quite concerned about such matters.

"There are obviously special channels. Evan Hollis was abroad for a long time, so we can’t rule out the possibility that he has access to them."

At this point, Keith Hawthorne had to admit that Evan Hollis was the most likely person to be involved.

He continued, "But investigating this is a matter for the police. We’ve done all we can as doctors."

"I understand. Thank you." Then another thought occurred to Rory Linden. "Does Evan Hollis know about this?"

"No. Not only does Evan Hollis not know, but no one at Elysian Hospital knows either. I’m telling you because I want to know what you think. If you want to help Sean Harrison investigate this, then I’ll send you the report, and you can give it to him to look into."

Keith Hawthorne stated his intentions.

He had once watched Rory Linden and Sean Harrison be deeply in love for a time.

’Rory should be willing to help Sean,’ he thought.

After a brief silence on the phone, Rory Linden said, "Please send me the report. I’ll contact him now."

Less than ten minutes after she hung up, the report arrived in Rory Linden’s inbox.

She skimmed through it before dialing Sean Harrison’s number.

The first time she called, no one answered.

Rory Linden wasn’t surprised. As the owner of such a massive corporation, Sean Harrison was bound to be busy.

’His constant visits before were what was abnormal.’

Just as she was changing out of her scrubs, taking off her white coat, and getting ready to leave for the day, her phone rang. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

It was Sean Harrison.

"Sorry, I was tied up with something and didn’t hear it ring."

The man’s voice was filled with a distinct apology.

It was such a trivial matter, yet he sounded as if he had done something terribly wrong.

"It’s fine, President Harrison. I have something to send you." Rory Linden paused. "Do you have an email address I can send it to?"

"...An email address? Yes, I do."

Sean Harrison seemed taken aback for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask that question at all.

Rory Linden then explained what Keith Hawthorne had told her, adding:

"Here in the country, Director Hawthorne has only told me about this. There’s not much we can do as doctors. It’s up to you to decide whether to investigate the source of this drug."

"Okay."

Sean Harrison agreed.

"Alright, well, if there’s nothing else, I..."

"Are you at the hospital? Did you just get out of surgery? I just finished work, too. Let’s get a late-night snack together and talk more about this."

Sean Harrison seemed to have finally found an opening and quickly extended the invitation.