Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 417: Chapter 417

'That's so not like him,' Zoe thought to herself. 'It was almost unheard of for Shawn to lose his cool like this.Looks like he was seriously pissed off today.'
Zoe teased, "If you're so angry, why didn't you punish the mastermind? Or do you have a soft spot for her and can't bring yourself to strike?" She wanted to know more about Shawn's true feelings.
Shawn's expression turned frosty. "Neither."
Zoe pressed. "Then what is it? There must be some reason you let her off the hook, right?"
Shawn paused in thought. 'Reason? There is one.' He turned to Zoe, his gaze softening.
There was the greatest takeaway from today. Shawn realized, perhaps for the first time, that he cared about Zoe far more than he'd ever imagined.
One more thing, he should thank that instigator. If it weren't for her, he would never have realized how much Zoe actually cared about him.
Otherwise, she never would've had sex with him so willingly. Still, it was his first time too.
As those blush-inducing scenes flashed through Shawn's mind, he quickly cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.
Zoe shot Shawn a sly glance and, with a mischievous grin, teased, "Hey Shawn, looks like you've got a nosebleed."
Shawn instinctively grabbed a tissue and wiped his nose, only to find it was perfectly clean. Only then did Shawn realize he'd been tricked.
Zoe grinned mischievously at Shawn and teased, "So, were you really thinking about something, or just reliving what we did earlier?"
Ever since Shawn learned to keep a straight face no matter how she messed with him, teasing him just wasn't nearly as much fun anymore.
Now, Zoe smirked to herself, thinking, 'Well, looks like I've just found a whole new way to mess with him.'
Shawn couldn't help but want to clap a hand over Zoe's mouth. She always said things that embarrassed him.
Meanwhile, the men Aileen had sent returned, battered and bruised, utterly defeated, and recounted to her how they'd been thoroughly thrashed.
"That guy is an absolute monster. He barely even tried, and before we knew it, all of us were flat on the ground."
"Ms. Carleton, this guy is way out of our league."
"Yeah, if he comes back for revenge, we're totally screwed."
A group of Aileen's men pleaded with her to give up on Shawn. But Aileen refused to take this lying down.
Aileen sneered, "Fine. They think they're so tough, huh? Let's see how unbreakable their love is when their families are in danger."
Aileen vowed to drive a wedge between Shawn and Zoe, hell-bent on tearing them apart by any means necessary. Only then could she seize the opportunity to make Shawn hers.
Aileen snapped, "Someone? Get the car ready. I'm going home."
'Since I can't handle this alone,' Aileen thought, 'I'll just go back and ask my family for help. One way or another, I'll make Shawn grovel at my feet, begging for my favor.'
After Zoe and Shawn spent the night together, their relationship took off. Shawn now treated Zoe as his wife, his protective instincts toward her becoming even more pronounced than before.
Zoe thought to herself, 'If I don't put my foot down, he's going to spoil me rotten. This is seriously getting to be too much for me. I can't handle it. I need to find somewhere to take a breather.'
Just then, Zoe's phone rang. "Ms. Evans, you're already here and didn't let us know? If we hadn't heard about your arrival through the grapevine, we wouldn't even know how to find you."
"I already told you. There are people in charge of this. Unless it's urgent, don't bother me," she said impatiently.
The person on the other end wasn't having it. "Ms. Evans, it's been so long since you last came by. Everyone's already lined up to welcome you. If you don't show up, we'll have to come find you at the Universal Tower."
"Zoe?" Just then, a knock came from outside the door.