Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Vincent was once a young gun too. He totally understood how a vibrant young man, even without love,
could have some strong needs in certain areas. Although his son Harrison inherited his self-control and
was always able to stay rational and cool in the face of temptation, he couldn't expect him to stay like
this all the time, could he?
Vincent just wanted to throw some challenges Harrison's way, and Roxanne, she was his carefully
chosen most challenging test.
Watching his son enter the bedroom, Vincent hummed a cheerful tune.
Ha! If nothing happened today, then tomorrow. If nothing happened tomorrow, then it would be in a
week. If nothing happened in a week, then a month...
He really wanted to see how long this hot-blooded man could hold on.
Harrison was not used to sleeping on the floor, on top of his normal physiological needs not being met,
he barely got any sleep for the first half of the night. Before, he had pushed women away, and no
woman could get this close to him, so that intense feeling wasn't as evident. Even if it was, he could
control himself.
But tonight, even though Roxanne was in bed and he was on the floor, the bedroom was small and
narrow, and there was almost no extra space after laying out the bedding. Roxanne was not far away
from him. The whole room was filled with the faint scent of her bath.
He forced himself to think about work, even reciting the periodic table several times. But Roxanne's
slender waistline kept popping up in his mind.
It was really annoying! It had nothing to do with Roxanne's beauty. It was not her that attracted him, but
simply a man's most normal and primal desire.
Unable to sleep, he sat up against the wall and sent a message to Alexander, [Send me the recent
acquisition plan.]
Alexander was his talented assistant and shareholder partner, used to his offbeat work schedule, so he
usually responded to these late-night messages within a minute.
[Boss, are you pulling another all-nighter? I just reported that acquisition plan to you during the day,
surely you don't need it in the middle of the night?]
Harrison was terse. [Send it.]
Receiving the file, Harrison quickly dove into work, forgetting his primal desires. No woman could
disrupt his focus!
Soon, he was completely engrossed, forgetting he was in a shabby rental room and forgetting about
Roxanne.
The summer night was calm and beautiful. Just then, a low sobbing sound suddenly broke the silence.
Using the light from his phone, Harrison saw Roxanne quietly sobbing in her sleep. Her sobs were
heavy, and her shoulders were shaking.
"Are you okay?" Harrison looked at Roxanne.
Roxanne was still dreaming, dreaming of the year her parents divorced.
Neither her father nor her mother wanted her. She clung to her mother's legs, crying, and begging her
to take her away. Her mother just said coldly, "How can I remarry with you as a burden?"
She was harshly pushed away by her mother. That year, she was only four years old, just beginning to
remember things, and many memories were blurry. The pain of her parents' abandonment was like a
needle deeply piercing her heart, unforgettable.
"Roxanne, are you okay?" Seeing her still sobbing uncontrollably, Harrison gently patted her shoulder. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
She came to her senses. The painful dream felt like it had just happened. But Harrison's low voice
gently reminded her that she was just dreaming.
"I'm sorry." She wiped her tears. "Did I disturb your sleep?"
"Do you have something on your mind?" Harrison frowned. A dream that could make someone cry
must’ve been a very sad thing.
Roxanne tried to control her emotions, not wanting anyone to see her vulnerable side. She put on a
brave face. "No, just a bad dream. I'm really sorry, did I disturb your sleep?"
Harrison was still a little worried. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." Roxanne put on a brave face. "Go to sleep."
Harrison, "I need to go over some work stuff, you go back to sleep."
Roxanne, "You haven't slept yet?"
Harrison lied, "Didn't you say that since we're bankrupt, we need to accept the reality of failure? I just
found a new job, I need to familiarize myself with the business."
Only he knew that it was because of a man's physiological needs, which hadn't been released or eased
in 32 years. The more suppressed it was, the stronger the desire was.
Suddenly he was sharing a room with a woman, and this woman did not annoy him at all. He really
couldn't sleep.
"Oh." Roxanne didn't stop him. "You should also not work too late."
"Mm."
In the morning, Vincent prepared a hearty breakfast.
Seeing Harrison looking a bit tired and worn out, clearly having not slept well the night before, Vincent
handed him the milk, deliberately asking, "Harrison, how did you sleep last night?"
Harrison and Vincent looked at each other. Vincent had a meaningful smile. Harrison frowned slightly.
"Not bad, if you weren't here, maybe I could have slept better."
"Vincent just arrived yesterday." Roxanne gently nudged his arm. "Let him stay a few more days."
Roxanne added, "By the way, I will get the keys to the new house I bought in a few days, after the
renovation, you can move in with us. You're not in good health, and it's too hard for you to work in the
countryside."
"Ah!" Vincent sighed. "How can an old man like me live with you young people, it would affect you."
"I'm serious."
She hadn't experienced much family affection since she was a child. During that trip to Marientown,
Vincent was with her through a life-and-death situation. He was supporting each other along the way,
treating her better than her own family. She had long considered Vincent as her family. Inviting Vincent
to move in with them was not just a polite remark, but genuine.
But Roxanne knew that many old people who moved from the countryside to the city were afraid of
causing trouble for their children, so she found another reason. "Besides, when we need to start
renovating the new house, Harrison and I won't have the time. You can help keep an eye on the
progress, right?"
"Has the house not been renovated yet?"
"Yep, that’s right."
"Alright, I used to do carpentry work, I can help."
"Really?" Roxanne was surprised. "Dad! Do you know carpentry? That must be tough. Really
impressive."
Harrison quietly had his breakfast on the side, silently grumbling, what an old fart.
Roxanne and Vincent got more and more into their conversation, even settling some of the renovation
matters right there at the breakfast table.
Harrison ate his breakfast on the side, unable to join their conversation. He felt like an outsider.
Roxanne glanced at him unintentionally; his way of eating was too elegant, like some rich kid from a
movie.
She and Vincent chatted while they ate, her casualness contrasting sharply with Harrison's elegant
eating style. But she didn't slow down her pace of eating. She was used to doing things quickly. She
gulped down her glass of milk, got up, grabbed her bag, and took out several bills from it.
"There's a market downstairs. You can go buy some groceries and make lunch. I need to go to work."
"Anne, you don't have to give me money, I have my own."
"That's okay, just take it."
After Roxanne left, Vincent picked up the money and counted it. "So much money, this is the first time
someone has been so genuine to me."
Harrison knew the feeling, just like when he received Roxanne's transfer yesterday. But he didn't want
to admit it. "Are you short on cash?"
"I'm not," Vincent said. "You should know, for people like us, those around us are either after our money
and power, or our social status. If you were to go broke, who would be genuinely nice to you? Where
can you find a kind-hearted girl like Roxanne, who would support you with all her savings even if you
went broke?"
Harrison couldn't deny it.
Vincent continued seriously, "You think I just want you to get married and have kids?"
Harrison remained silent.
Vincent continued, "Those rich girls, any one of them has a status and identity that would be more
suitable for you, but they might not genuinely care for you."
Harrison still didn't say anything.
Vincent said, "I want you to have someone by your side who can stand with you through thick and thin,
let you experience the warmth of humanity."
Harrison remained silent.
Vincent said, "That girl should be Anne."