try begging
"Anna?"
"...yes?"
When she heard the sound of her name, she looked up and saw Norman looking at her with puzzled eyes.
"Oh, I was surprised for a moment."
When asked what he was thinking so deeply about, he had nothing to say and made up some excuse.
"I didn't know that the Sinclair Company had gone bankrupt."
"Not all of them went bankrupt. Gunpowder, which was headed by Mr. Jeffrey Sinclair, closed down soon after...."
Since Jeffrey Sinclair's arrest, banks have stopped lending and business partners have turned their backs on them, so some companies have gone bankrupt and the rest are barely hanging on.
The Sinclairs seemed to have lost their former status and prestige, for the crime not of having been a hindrance to the King's secret business on several occasions.
Even after Grace's thoughts on the Revolutionary Army changed, her thoughts on the Royal Family did not change at all. They were all equally dirty. She wanted the Royal Family to fall just as the Revolutionary Army fell.
"What happened to Jeffrey Sinclair?"
"I heard he's still imprisoned in the camp."
"ah...."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not involved in any rebel activities."
Norman suddenly waved his hand and made a joke. It wasn't funny at all to Grace.
"It's fortunate that you're still alive."
I muttered without realizing it, and the moment the man made a surprised face, I came to my senses. To those who don't know the truth, Geoffrey Sinclair is a traitor. How strange it must seem to show concern for such a person.
"No, I just...."
"I think so too."
"yes?"
The man nodded with a blush and spoke in a lowered voice.
"Most people still think that the government should stop the Sinclair family from doing business, and that the entire family is in league with rebels. The average person also thinks that the king who gave them leniency is being generous."
"is it so?"
"But I don't think so. I know Sinclair because I've worked closely with people. He's not like other businessmen who see people as mere machine parts. He may not be friendly to the corrupt royal family, but he's not the type of person to support an anti-government group..."
You're right. The Blanchard rebels have nothing to do with Sinclair.
Grace swallowed her words and asked.
"Then how did it come to that?"
It was just a remark made to show agreement with the other person.
"I don't know if you've ever heard such a rumor...."
But Grace was caught off guard when the man gave her the correct answer. The real owner of the joint venture between the grand duke and the baron who participated in the bidding for the mining rights for the Briar Diamond Mine. These were the words that came out of the man's mouth.
"How did Norman know?"
"I heard it from friends who work in finance. There used to be a lot of rumors in the financial world. Then, not long ago, there was a rumor that Geoffrey Sinclair's arrest was related to the bid. Sinclair had also participated in the bid."
It seemed that the truth had already spread to the public in the guise of a rumor. How on earth did it leak out? There must have been quite a few people involved, so it could have leaked from someone else, but Grace thought of Winston.
If that man spread it, there must have been a clear purpose. Why on earth? But no matter how much I thought about it, it didn't make sense. Why would the man involved in that do something that would harm me? It made no sense.
"When I talk about things like this, there are people who think I'm a fool who talks nonsense... "
The man made a nervous face and acted as if he had brought up something irrelevant during the date.
"No, it sounds plausible to me too."
Grace smiled sheepishly and stirred the soup with a spoon. The problem was that it was not absurd, but the truth.
"By the way, the food here is delicious."
It was a diversion, but it was sincere.
How about making clam chowder tomorrow? Ellie hates clams because they're fishy, but she likes creamy soups, so I think it'll suit her taste.
Whenever I eat something delicious, I think of my daughter.
Did you eat dinner? I wonder what you ate.
Ellie was taken care of by a neighbor who lived in the same building. I wonder if she is having a good time. The man suddenly spoke to Grace, who was lost in thought about her daughter.
"Every time I see Anna, I think to myself, she's a really pretty blonde."
"It's dyed."
"ah...."
"I originally had brown hair like Norman."
"I see. I'm curious about that too. Of course, it suits you now."
"Oh, actually, my daughter was born with blonde hair, and it's a really pretty color. It's so shiny and incomparable to fake dyed hair. Plus, if you make a crown and put it on, she's like a fairy."
"You look pretty, just like Anna."
"Oh, of course. Oh, of course she's not just pretty, she's also smarter than her peers, so the daycare teachers were so..."
Grace, who had been talking excitedly, stopped talking after realizing her date's expression. The man was smiling, but his face looked awkward, not knowing how to react.
"ah...."
"I'm listening, so keep going."
But it'll be boring.
It's always like this. I get so excited that I end up bragging about my daughter without realizing it, and then I come to my senses later.
"Norman doesn't have any children?"
He shook his head, meaning no.
"But I want to be a father someday."
Wow, 4 out of 10.
If you want to win my heart, you have to say you want to be my daughter's father.
This man speaks well, as if he has grease on his tongue, but he is lacking in something. He keeps giving answers of 3 to 7 points to questions that he expects to get 10 points. Ambiguous.
Grace was also bored because of it.
As we continued the superficial conversation and finished the main course, the man asked.
"dessert?"
Grace shook her head.
I ended up finishing my meal without dessert. I put my hand on the man's arm and walked out, and he put his hand on Grace's.
"Now, should Anna go home where her daughter is waiting for her?"
As they reached the road, the man asked with a regretful expression. Grace nodded across the street without saying a word. The hotel's neon sign was brightly illuminating the night street.
It may be boring at the dinner table, but it's different in bed.
Grace walked down the hotel hallway with Norman's arm around her, repeating the mantra to herself. Then, as she turned a corner, her eyes met Norman's. After a moment of awkward silence, the man asked.
"Can I have it without alcohol?"
"I can't stay long."
"Oh, right."
Silence began again, and Grace walked to the rented room, looking down at her hand on the man's arm. Every time she held his hand, the feeling of him fidgeting with her was unusual. I had a feeling that he wanted to sleep with me, and it seemed that he was right.
As expected.
As soon as he opened the door to the hotel room and entered, the man changed.
"Anna... haa... ."
The man hugged Grace and pressed his body against hers. His lower body was already firm as it touched her legs. Goosebumps rose as his hands began to grope her lower back over her blouse.
The moment the man's lips approached, Grace unconsciously turned her head to the side. Instead of her lips, she offered the back of his neck and became lost in thought.
'By the way, what underwear did I wear today?'
I was so busy taking care of Ellie in the morning that I couldn't remember what I had picked up and put on. While I was lost in thought, the man laid Grace down on the bed. He immediately took off his fedora and threw it on the chair, and also took off his trench coat. The moment I smelled the strong smell of cigarette smoke on the hem of his clothes, my heart started pounding.
Now I'll take off my suit jacket and hang it on the wall, take off the pin on my shirt collar and place it neatly on the table.
By the way, did Norman have a pin?
Anyway, he would act so relaxed on the outside, but on the inside, he was completely different. Grace, who had to watch that, was bound to get nervous.
But the man in front of me was so impatient that he took off his clothes indiscriminately. When he started to look like he needed to go to the bathroom, my excitement cooled down as if I had been splashed with cold water.
Wait. Why are you like this, really?
Only then did Grace realize with shock that she had been comparing her date to that damned nympho. There was even a moment when I unconsciously superimposed Norman's face onto that man's.
What are you doing, right now? I'm going to sleep with that guy. Don't bother me. If you want to join in, just sit quietly in the corner and watch and cry, Leon Winston.
Grace, who was unbuttoning her blouse as if to rebel against the man, stopped.
'Oh, come to think of it... .'
This was not the time to worry about underwear. She had to take the gun out from between her legs. She didn't want to relive the day when Winston first tried to pounce on her and found the gun.
"Oh, Norman. Wait, wait."
As she began to take off her clothes, Grace pushed Norman with the tip of her shoe, who had started to climb onto the bed without even taking off all of his clothes.
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