CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3: THEY ARE AT A HOTEL

Ian Kane was taken aback, then with a smirk, he retorted, "Why would I panic?"

"It’s just shocking how melodramatic this plot is. Writers nowadays really know how to spin a yarn."

Vera Sheridan didn’t believe him. He was obviously feeling guilty...

But without evidence, she didn’t want to wrongfully accuse him and ruin their relationship.

She could only play dumb, "Art imitates life, reality is often even more melodramatic than novels."

"This male lead is truly despicable."

Ian Kane continued to gently apply the ointment, but his eyes were noticeably dark. "Indeed despicable, men who can’t control themselves are no different than beasts."

His tone was filled with disgust, and Vera fell silent.

Ian’s father had families all over the world and even died in a plane crash with his lover.

Over the years, Ian had never been able to let go and despised infidelity.

"How could anyone bear to harm their beloved, right, darling?"

The man’s voice sounded again, snapping Vera back to reality. She met his eyes filled with deep affection, with lights flickering under the lamp, seemingly full of love for her.

For a moment, Vera didn’t know if he was pretending or genuinely expressing his feelings.

But she couldn’t tolerate any deceit.

If there was no infidelity, why lie to her?

Deep into the night, Vera received a hacker’s message saying the anonymous text message came from a foreign virtual server, and they couldn’t trace the address or find out who sent it.

The next day, Saturday, as usual, the couple went back to the old house to visit Mrs. Kane.

At a little past ten in the morning, the Phantom just drove into the new Chinese-style villa.

Jean Crowe, Mrs. Kane, came out warmly to greet them with a servant.

She was fondling her Buddha Beads, wearing an ink-green cheongsam with a dark-gray wool coat on top, accessorized with a set of jade jewelry, her face was rich and noble, kind and amiable.

As soon as Vera got out of the car, Jean Crowe approached her, holding her hand, and asked with concern, "Vera, are you cold?"

"Mom, I’m not cold," Vera replied with a smile.

Mrs. Kane turned to the servant beside her, "Sister Hale, hurry, put a shawl on Vera!"

The servant quickly draped a heavy blanket over Vera’s shoulders.

Mrs. Kane looked at her with a smile, "The temperature difference between inside and outside the car is big, be careful not to catch a cold. You seem to have lost weight again."

Faced with her insincere smile, Vera replied perfunctorily, "Mom, I haven’t lost weight."

Mrs. Kane leaned close to her ear and whispered, "A woman should be a bit plumper, better for bearing children."

Vera’s smile stiffened slightly.

Her mother-in-law clearly knew from Maeve that she had psychological issues, yet she pretended not to in front of her and Ian, often using subtle, cutting words against her.

Ian Kane came over with supplements, seeing the two looking like a mother and daughter, and laughed loudly, "Mom, what are you whispering to Vera?"

Vera directly replied to him, "Mom said I’m thin, and plumper women are better for having children!"

Being a filial son, worried his mother couldn’t handle it, he had been delaying telling her the truth.

Ian Kane was momentarily stunned, then went forward to take his mother’s arm, "Mom, Vera and I haven’t had enough time just for the two of us; there’s no rush."

Mrs. Kane tightened her grip on the Buddha Beads, maintaining a kindly smile, "Alright, alright, it’s up to you young ones to decide. I’m just concerned about Vera, having to work with a limp at the dance troupe, enduring people’s criticism... Wouldn’t it be better to stay home, attend to household affairs, and enjoy life?"

Listening to them, Vera knitted her brows tightly and clenched her hand.

As soon as they entered the house, Ian Kane pulled her to the side and murmured in her ear, voice low and steady, "Wifey, you’re not mad, right? Mom just had a stent surgery at the end of last year, can’t be stressed. I’ll tell her about you later, okay?"

Vera was not one to fuss or fight, and she could understand his filial piety toward his long-widowed mother. Besides, he didn’t know the hypocrisy of their mother-in-law towards her.

As for the subtle, cutting words from her mother-in-law, she would tolerate them for Ian Kane’s sake.

She nodded gently, uttering, "Mm."

Ian Kane held her hand tightly, "Indeed, our Ms. Sheridan, gentle, intellectual, and graceful, wouldn’t stoop to the old lady’s level."

Vera gave him a sidelong glance, smiling faintly, "Don’t flatter me."

Ian Kane, "Sincerely from the heart."

The couple joked and laughed as they went to the main house to pay respects to Old Master Kane.

In the afternoon, Ian Kane received a call and left with a serious expression.

Soon after, Vera learned from the hot news that a construction worker at a hotel project under the Kane Group had caused a suicide threat at the site over a romantic dispute. Thankfully, negotiation experts saved him in time.

This hotel was designed by her brother, Owen Sheridan.

And Ian Kane handled the situation by making a public statement and dealing with the aftermath, soothing the public and maintaining the group’s image.

In the evening, he had a business engagement, and while Vera wanted to go back to her own home, her mother-in-law, Jean Crowe, insisted they stay overnight at the old house.

"Tomorrow’s the fifteenth, we should go to Silvanus Temple to fulfill our vow. Vera, stay, and accompany me to the temple tomorrow morning," Jean Crowe said, fiddling with the Buddha Beads, her words laden with meaning.

This left Vera with no way to refuse.

She understood that the prayer was just an excuse, the real aim was for her and Ian to spend the night together.

She held back from exposing her mother-in-law, lest she get "upset" and something went wrong, turning her into the culprit and affecting her relationship with Ian Kane.

Vera called Ian Kane to explain the situation.

The man on the other end was silent for a moment, then softly said, "Darling, don’t worry. I’ll call Mom and tell her I’m stuck in the suburbs and can’t come back. You stay over at the old house tonight and accompany her in the morning, okay?"

To spare her the difficulty, he decided not to return that evening, showing great consideration.

After hanging up, Vera felt at ease.

During dinner, her mother-in-law was obviously displeased, making some sarcastic remarks, but Vera didn’t take them to heart.

Her mother-in-law already had issues with her, considering Ian almost lost his life saving her. She also looked down on her for being ordinary, and after marriage, upon knowing her frigidity, she could not stand her even more.

While in her room, Vera received a WeChat message from Nina Sullivan, accompanied by a gym picture.

"Ms. Sheridan, I’m here working on my legs!"

Vera inadvertently noticed that it was a gym at the Bvlgari Hotel, provided for guests to work out. Zooming in on the photo, she noticed a reflection of men’s leather shoes in the glass.

Those were the same leather shoes Ian Kane wore today.

Without hesitation, Vera opened the location-sharing app on her phone, showing Ian Kane’s location.

On the map, the blue dot representing him was at the Bvlgari in the city—when he had said he was in the suburbs, unable to return.