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Chapter 40: Chapter 40: As Long as You Don’t Find Someone Else, I Can... with You

”It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to talk to her. It’s been a while since she last called me.” Mr. Winslow sighed. ”Don’t wake her. Just have her call me when she’s up.”

”Okay, I’ll tell Lynn when she wakes up.”

The doorbell rang. Puzzled, Mrs. Sterling went outside to check.

She froze for a moment when she saw it was Ian Sterling. Then she approached, her expression cold. ”Mr. Sterling, what can I do for you?”

Ian Sterling looked anxious and spoke quickly. ”Where’s Lynn?”

Mrs. Sterling remained silent. Ian Sterling continued, ”I tried calling her, but her phone is off. I need to see her about something.”

”Mr. Sterling, there’s no need for you to come looking for our Miss anymore. Our Miss said she’ll be returning to Morelia once things are settled.” Mrs. Sterling sighed. ”Ever since our Miss came to Quartos, anything related to you puts her in a bad mood. I know she wronged you in the past, but she’s suffered a great deal, too. Now that she’s determined not to see you again, I hope you’ll let her go.”

Ian Sterling lowered his gaze in silence. Just as Mrs. Sterling was turning to go back inside, he suddenly spoke. ”Impossible. She’s the one who came after me first. I can’t just let her go.”

Mrs. Sterling looked back at him in disbelief. Ian Sterling met her gaze, his eyes filled with determination.

”Open the gate. Let me in, or have her come out and see me.”

Mrs. Sterling frowned and was about to say something when Lynn’s voice came from behind, her tone flat. ”Mrs. Sterling, let him in. You can go and rest.”

”Alright.” Mrs. Sterling never refused Lynn, whom she had watched grow up. She nodded, opened the wrought-iron gate, and returned to the house next door.

Lynn and Ian Sterling met each other’s eyes. She licked her dry lips.

She hadn’t been sleeping at all. She’d been sitting on the balcony, lost in a daze. She knew the moment Ian Sterling arrived and had watched for a while before coming down, not quite understanding why he had come to find her.

”Come in.” Lynn turned and walked back into the living room. Ian Sterling followed, his eyes on her. Her hair was a messy tumble down her back. She curled up on the sofa, legs tucked beneath her, and lit a cigarette. Ian Sterling pursed his lips.

Lynn pointed to the seat opposite her. ”Sit.”

Once Ian Sterling was seated, she asked softly, ”Is there something you needed from me?”

Ian Sterling watched her, the way she smoked so casually, so naturally, tapping the ash from her cigarette. Her entire being seemed to be inscribed with the word ’dejection’. An indescribable, piercing pain began to spread through his heart.

”Lynn, what on earth are you thinking?” Ian Sterling asked, his voice hoarse.

Lynn paused at his words, not quite understanding him. ’What am I thinking?’

”About us. You’re planning to give up, aren’t you?” Ian Sterling’s tone was heavy. Only then did Lynn understand. A smile touched the corners of her lips. ”Of course not. I was just afraid you weren’t willing, so I stopped looking for you.”

”Liar!” Ian Sterling shot to his feet, strode over, and grabbed Lynn’s wrist. ”You’re lying! You’re planning to go back to Morelia!”

The smile finally faded from Lynn’s eyes. Unfazed by his anger, she retorted, ”Weren’t you the one who kept trying to send me back to Morelia? Isn’t it better if I leave?”

”Then why did you try to get me drunk that day?” Ian Sterling asked through clenched teeth. But Lynn just curved her lips into a smirk. ”But you didn’t get drunk, did you?”

She pried Ian Sterling’s fingers off her, one by one, and said with a smile, ”You just can’t get over your pride. You’re afraid I’ll keep pestering you.” She stubbed out her finished cigarette in the ashtray, stood up with a soft sigh, and raised her eyes to Ian Sterling’s hair as he stood straight before her. She stared for a long, long time.

”I won’t anymore.” Lynn breathed out the three words. She turned to leave, but Ian Sterling grabbed her. With great difficulty, he said, ”I like you.”

Lynn froze, turning her head to look back at him.

Every word Ian Sterling said next seemed to be ground out from between his teeth.

”I like you a lot. Even though I was in so much pain after you left me three years ago, I still like you.” It was as if he were tearing open a wound that had just barely managed to heal, and the pain made his voice choke. ”So when you came looking for me, I was happy.”

Lynn pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

”I just couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t understand why you suddenly came back to find me.”

”And have you figured it out now?” Lynn asked softly.

”Yeah.” Ian Sterling looked up at Lynn and said earnestly, ”Even if you’re just here to hurt me all over again, I still want to be with you.”

Lynn gave a soft laugh. When the smile faded, she said calmly, ”But I don’t want to get back together with you anymore.”

Ian Sterling froze where he stood, feeling as if the blood in his veins had solidified.

”I’ll admit, I do crave your body, but I don’t want to be with you. Your personality, your stubborn awkwardness... I can’t stand it.” Lynn pushed his hand away.

Ian Sterling clenched his fists. Seeing Lynn about to go upstairs, he strode after her.

”In that case... even if we’re not together, I can still... with you...” Ian Sterling couldn’t bring himself to say the words. He pressed his lips together, skipping over them, and continued, ”Just don’t be with anyone else.”

Lynn was stunned by his words. She stared at him, her wide eyes filled with disbelief.

”Can we do that?” Ian Sterling asked softly.

Lynn let out a soft sigh. ”Alright.”

Ian Sterling immediately swept her into his arms and, working from memory, found Lynn’s room.

The moment he opened the door, Kiki was there, squatting in the doorway and watching them. When the cat saw Ian Sterling holding Lynn, his fur stood on end, and he let out a warning cry.

Lynn pushed Ian Sterling away, picked up Kiki and cooed a few words to soothe him, then mercilessly opened the door, placed Kiki in the hallway, and shut the door again.

Kiki let out a few pitiful meows. Seeing that Lynn wasn’t going to pick him up again like she usually did, he whimpered a few more times and lay down in the hallway.

Ian Sterling carried Lynn into the bathroom and began to eagerly unfasten her clothes. Lynn stopped him, whispering, ”Have you thought this through?”

”Yeah.” The rims of Ian Sterling’s eyes were already red. He pulled his hand free from Lynn’s grasp.

Lynn slowly closed her eyes. From an angle where Ian Sterling couldn’t see, a smile played on her lips.

’Playing hard to get... who said it doesn’t work? Isn’t it working perfectly?’

Her back pressed against the cold tiled wall. Lynn flinched and murmured, ”So cold.”

Ian Sterling carried her back to the bedroom and, ignoring the water droplets still clinging to their bodies, tumbled onto the bed with her.

Lynn let out a soft moan, hugging him tightly, her fingers sinking into his hair.

Ian Sterling said hoarsely, ”I see you in my dreams all the time.”

”What kind of dreams?” Lynn’s lips curved, a strand of hair sticking to her face.

”Sweet dreams.” Ian Sterling brushed the hair away with his hand and began to kiss her tenderly—her face, her eyes, the delicate tip of her nose, her rosy lips, her upturned chin, and her slender neck.

Lynn couldn’t stop laughing from the ticklish sensation, and she gave Ian Sterling’s ear a tug.

”Definitely not a sweet dream, you little rascal.”