Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 324 - 323 Entanglement: Kiss, it was you who crossed the line first that year

Chapter 324: 323 Entanglement: Kiss, it was you who crossed the line first that year

Inside the Incense Making Room, incense burned and tea was savored. Sussie’s gaze shifted from the jade rabbit incense holder, settling on the person sitting across from her.

Finn was leaning against the back of his chair near the window, bathed in sunlight. Sipping his tea, his whole body radiated an air of languid defiance.

Altogether unflowing, with the temperament of clouds and the nature of the moon.

Even sitting there in silence, this man was captivating.

"What have you been up to abroad all these years?" he asked casually.

"Working."

"Is that so?"

Finn had not been short of connections asking about her whereabouts over the years, "After you left your job, there were studios trying to find you, but they couldn’t get a hold of you."

"I was part of a few confidential projects."

Finn nodded, not saying anything further.

Some jobs with a confidentiality aspect help the workers keep their movements hidden.

While they were talking, Finn’s phone vibrated with a call from Old Sir Hale. He answered with a "Dad."

"You little shit, where have you hidden yourself!"

"You said there was someone behind the screen, and what happened? Now there’s no trace of them."

"Finn, I’m telling you, I’m very angry about this incident today!"

...

Sussie couldn’t make out what Old Sir Hale was saying and watched as he was on the phone. She got up to look around the Incense Making Room, everything here was new to her. The various medicinal ingredients used for making incense and the different tea fragrances and censers were displayed with exquisite detail.

Girls have little resistance to such delicate and beautiful things.

"Don’t think that just hiding will make it okay, get your ass to the living room now!"

"I’m not going." Finn also resented the blind dates his father had unilaterally arranged.

"Ungrateful son—how did I end up having a thing like you!"

"If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up."

Old Sir Hale’s face turned iron blue with anger.

He claimed that he would definitely teach his younger son a lesson later.

Just as Logan returned home, the old man immediately commanded his grandson, "Grab a stick and come with me!"

"Grandpa?" Logan frowned. "What for?"

"To clean house!"

Old Sir Hale knew his younger son’s temperament all too well; how could he possibly have a girlfriend? He was always either at the studio, at home, or supervising construction sites. Where would he find the time to date?

Not liking the girls he had arranged was one thing, but to dare to lie!

If word of this got out, what decent girl would dare to consider a blind date or marriage with him?

It was infuriating.

Today,

he was set on teaching him a lesson.

The house was full of surveillance, so Old Sir Hale immediately dispatched people to search for his wayward son.

Wyatt had originally been helping Zoe look for Miss Lopez, but upon hearing about the excitement, he forgot all about Miss Lopez and followed his grandfather and his second cousin to see the show.

—

Incense Making Room

No sooner had Finn hung up than her phone rang; it was Zoe calling.

"Hello, Boss Payne?"

"Miss Lopez, where are you? I’ve been looking for you for ages. I’m terribly sorry about earlier, did you get lost?" Zoe sounded concerned.

"I’m at..." Sussie glanced at Finn nearby and bit her lip, "I’ll come to find you right away."

"Then I’ll wait for you in the main hall."

"Why didn’t you tell her, you’re with me?" Finn put down his cup and stood up, walking towards her, "Are you afraid she’ll tell Tim and expose our relationship?"

"We... what relationship could we possibly have?" Sussie retorted stubbornly.

Finn chuckled lowly; the Incense Making Room was not large, and within a few strides he had approached, his tall silhouette casting a shadow, blocking the sunlight. His back to the light, his features hidden in the dark, his dark pupils seemed even more profound.

Those eyes of his...

Even dogs would find them affectionate.

Sussie instinctively held her breath, thinking of escaping when suddenly, she felt her waist tighten, and Finn’s hand had already slipped inside her sweater collar.

The bite marks from before had disappeared.

"It seems my last reminder was not enough." As he spoke, he was already leaning in closer.

His breath, mixed with the aroma of black tea, landed on the nape of her neck, burning her nerves taut.

"Mr. Hale..."

Sussie extended her hand, pressing against his chest.

Trying to create distance between them.

Finn looked at her, his eyes and brows lowered.

All rooms in the Hale family were well sound-proofed, silence surrounded them, and with her heart in her throat, Sussie felt even more uneasy.

"Are you trying to push me away?" his voice seemed to emerge from his chest, hoarse enough to make one feel suffocated.

"I’ve told you before..."

"Don’t hide, and don’t run."

His voice grew deeper, as if purposefully tempting her.

"But this isn’t appropriate," she protested.

His breath was close, constantly eroding her rationality, teasing her nerves. Sussie Lopez had always thought that after all these years, she would be calm when she saw him again.

But the reality was...

Her heart fluttered just as it had before.

Faced with a man who ticked all her aesthetic boxes and was this forward, she truly had no defense.

Finn Hale chuckled softly, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other braced against the solid wood shelf behind her.

It was as if he had confined her entire being within his embrace; within the confines of that space, Sussie’s heart was suspended, her back pressing firmly against the shelf as she cautiously held her breath.

He lowered his head, inching closer, his breath falling hot on her face, like wildfire spreading.

Hot and scorching.

Sussie Lopez was thrown into complete disarray.

Since returning to the country, seeing Finn Hale again felt like he had become a different person.

"Finn Hale!" Sussie exclaimed nervously, "Stop it."

"What did I do?" he asked.

"You’ve crossed a line!"

"Crossed a line," Finn Hale mused with a low chuckle.

When he laughed, his breathing intensified, carrying an indescribable heat that made Sussie’s heart a jumbled mess.

She mustered her strength in secret and suddenly pushed with force, trying to walk away, but her wrist was caught; she was pressed forcefully against the solid wood shelf, the impact causing the items placed on it to clatter loudly.

"Finn..."

Before Sussie could complete her sentence, he suddenly lowered his head and captured her lips with his.

Her body stiffened, her mind exploding like a clap of thunder.

Everything in front of her blurred...

His lips were thin, soft, yet so warm they made her heart pound.

Finn Hale’s entire body pressed closer, not daring to be too reckless.

Tasting,

nibbling,

grazing her lips, teasing them little by little...

Her body was half-melted, too weak to resist, sliding down.

Suddenly, his hand tightened around her waist, lifting her entire body and pressing it against his.

Body to body,

for a moment, there was no space between them.

Perhaps noticing she was lost in thought, Finn Hale opened his mouth and bit her on the lips.

"Ah—" Sussie’s awareness snapped back to reality.

She and Finn Hale were...

kissing?

She breathed rapidly, her mind a blank canvas. Finn Hale pulled back from her lips, but their bodies did not separate, their breaths overlapping.

Entangled, ambiguous.

Their lips were close yet not quite touching.

This sensation was even more intense than before, making Sussie’s calves tremble weakly. The faint heat on her lips teased her bit by bit.

The area he had nibbled just now was as if tormented by flames.

Scorchingly hot.

Her heart raced, that sensation even more intense than when they’d stolen kisses back then.

Especially now, with their bodies pressed close together, with the heating on inside the room, and both dressed thinly, even standing without moving, just leaning against each other seemed enough to raise the temperature.

He spoke in a hushed voice, "Sussie, back then..."

"It was clearly you who crossed the line first."

In an instant, her entire body felt as though it was in mid-air, her breathing erratic.

Her lips were very red, her eyes misty. Looking at him, there was innocence with a touch of surprise.

He...

He actually knew everything.

"Back then, I was young and ignorant," Sussie Lopez ground out through her teeth.

"Do you admit it? You owe me."

"I..." Sussie gritted her teeth, remembering she had done more than just that to him back then, "So what do you want? Tell me, brother."

Finn Hale laughed softly. It turned out she did have someone she feared.

A brother to her, and half a mentor too, the man who had introduced Sussie Lopez into their circle. She respected Tim Payne greatly and naturally feared him.

Finn Hale’s lips curled up slightly as he looked at her:

"I’m in need of a girlfriend."

—

Meanwhile, old Sir Hale had already led people straight to the Incense Making Room.

The security staff responsible for monitoring the surveillance had more to say because within the footage, he had pulled a girl inside. Storming in recklessly could cause trouble.

However, old Sir Hale was in a rage. When the security staff advised not to enter, assuming it was a plea for peace, he grew even more infuriated.

He disregarded them completely, determined to disown his rebellious son.