CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: TIRED OF WAITING FOR HIM

"It’s okay, there are plenty of men out there. There’s no need to be upset over someone like that." Shannon Quinn, who practically had no romantic experience herself, didn’t know how to comfort Erin Bishop.

She knew Erin was just looking for someone to vent to at that moment, so she quietly played the role of a listener.

"Come on, have a drink with me." Erin lifted the bottle and poured wine into the empty glass in front of Shannon Quinn.

Shannon Quinn wasn’t a heavy drinker, but she could handle a bit. When Erin had called her out for heart-to-heart talks before, she’d have a small glass.

But today, she had a lot on her mind, concerning her belly, so she made an excuse, "I’ll pass. I still have to drive you home later."

She didn’t know whether the baby existed or not. If she was indeed pregnant, she had no idea what to do. Before confirming anything or making any decisions, she didn’t want to do anything that might harm the baby’s health.

Erin chuckled and said jokingly, "True, you’re so good to me. Maybe we should just be together, those men are terrible."

"Shannon, do you have a crush on anyone? I’ve never heard you talk about your love life."

Shannon Quinn paused for a moment, then said, "You know I’m either working or staying home all day. Where’s the time to think about stuff like that?"

Erin, hearing that, spoke to her with the wisdom of experience, "Let me tell you, at your age, it’s already late to start dating. You have to seize it. Love after school days isn’t as pure. The men you’ll meet down the road, you need to spend at least three to five years with them before considering marriage, otherwise, you’ll never really know what kind of person you’re marrying."

When Shannon Quinn heard this from Erin, she felt it reflected her current situation.

Her marriage could only be described as absurd. She hadn’t spent three to five years with him; when they got married, she didn’t even know who he was, and even now, she wasn’t sure what kind of person she had married.

"Let me tell you, my other sister knew her ex-husband for two months before they got married because of a baby. During those first days, he showered her with roses, chocolates, diamond rings, everything. A few days in, he started domestic abuse, beating my sister into the hospital. Then came kneeling apologies. My sister felt sympathetic and forgave him. Two days after getting released, he kicked her into a miscarriage; that’s when she fought for a divorce. It’s terrifying."

Shannon Quinn sighed lightly and said, "Good men do exist, it’s just we haven’t met them."

"I feel like there are no good men around me. Everyone is cheating behind their wife’s back with mistresses, third and fourth wheels. Do you think men turn bad once they have money?"

Before Shannon Quinn could answer, Erin continued talking to herself, "Sometimes I wonder if the problem lies with me. I’ve dated so many, yet not one stayed with me to lead a good life."

"Sometimes, you need to stop caring too much about others, and take care of yourself more. Love is supposed to be mutual between two people. If being with him makes you less happy than being alone, then why be with him?"

"But I always feel like if I make even the slightest mistake, they’ll leave me."

"That means he’s not worth loving. How could someone who loves you make you worry and guess every day?"

Erin picked up the bottle and poured another round, saying, "Maybe I just can’t read people. Except for my first boyfriend in high school, I’ve never met anyone like him since."

Shannon Quinn had heard about Erin’s high school boyfriend before, so she couldn’t help but ask, "You still can’t forget your first love, can you?"

Erin giggled foolishly, downed the full glass of wine, then said, "So what if I can’t forget? He’s completely forgotten about me. Do you know why I’ve been continuously going on blind dates these two years?"

She paused herself, her gaze dim, voice trembling slightly, "Because I don’t want to wait for him anymore..."

After drinking too much, Erin spoke even more than usual, while Shannon Quinn just sat beside her listening quietly, occasionally responding.

She really felt for her, seeing her getting hurt by love time after time, Shannon Quinn secretly felt relieved that perhaps it was good for her not to have touched love.

Erin wasn’t a heavy drinker either; generally, once she finished a bottle, she’d be drunk and start talking nonsense.

Once drunk, she’d call out that name again: "...Zane Rhodes, when are you coming back..."

Shannon Quinn sighed softly and helped her into the car.

Erin would tell her everything, but this name that came out after drinking was the one thing she never mentioned when sober.

Perhaps that was a wound buried deep in her heart that she didn’t want to touch lightly, so Shannon Quinn had never asked about it.

Not feeling safe leaving the drunken Erin alone at her place, Shannon Quinn drove directly back to her own home.

Supporting Erin with one hand, while searching for her keys with the other, the door next door suddenly opened, and she turned to see Landon Sutton standing in the doorway, looking at her, "Where did you go?"

Shannon Quinn glanced at him without answering, found her keys in the bag, opened the door, and walked in without paying Landon Sutton any mind.

Actually, when Erin was talking about those jerks earlier, Shannon Quinn secretly compared them to Landon Sutton in her mind.

After the comparison, she realized that aside from being thick-skinned and irritating, Landon Sutton wasn’t quite a jerk.

But regardless, a man who casually hooks up with a stranger when an opportunity arises can’t be quite decent—the darker sides might just be hidden from her view.

Men like him, good-looking and wealthy—even if he doesn’t seek women, women would come to him. And how many men can resist temptation? So privately, Landon Sutton probably wasn’t any good either.

Just after settling Erin on the bed and wiping her face, she heard the doorbell ring again.

Shannon Quinn frowned, continued wiping Erin’s face, then stood up to answer the door.

As expected, it was Landon Sutton, but with a gray little kitten in his arms, "What is it now?"

Landon gently patted the kitten’s head, soothing it in the unfamiliar environment, looked at Shannon Quinn and said, "Picked up a stray cat downstairs when I came back just now, don’t have anything at home. I think you have cats, can I borrow some cat food? I’ll buy more tomorrow and return it."

Shannon Quinn suspiciously examined the cat in his arms. She knew a bit about cats, and the cat he held was a British Shorthair Blue and White, clean and neat, which didn’t look like a stray at all.

And finding a breed cat? Who would believe that?

Unsure what trick he was playing, Shannon Quinn feared he wouldn’t relent, so she said, "I’ll get it ready for you, just wait inside, I’ll come find you when I’m done."

"Sure, thanks."