You're not leaving this time.

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Finn Is Too Clingy to You

By the time they were in the car, Lynn Winslow still hadn’t seen the video of Ian Sterling crying and shouting. Instead, she’d only managed to annoy him.

Ian Sterling drove silently, his expression unreadable. Lynn teased him several times, but he wouldn’t speak.

Lynn Winslow’s lips curved into a slight smile. She decided to stop trying to get a rise out of him and took out her phone to watch some videos.

They were having dinner at the Aetherium Club. After parking the car, Lynn got out by herself. Ian remained in the car for a moment, watching as she walked toward the opulent, warmly lit entrance without a single glance back.

Ian quickly got out of the car and hurried after her. He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. He pressed his lips together, still not saying a word.

Lynn looked at him. The hurt and frustration in his eyes were practically spilling out. She couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from lifting as she asked, ”What are you doing? Aren’t you the one throwing a tantrum?”

”Then why didn’t you comfort me?” he demanded, as if he were entirely in the right.

Lynn’s brow furrowed in a smile. ”I’ve been trying to coax you the whole way, baby.”

”That was you making fun of me! You call that comforting me?” Ian grew more and more frustrated as he spoke, demanding, ”Does the thought of me crying because of you really make you that happy?”

Lynn paused for a moment. ”Don’t be angry,” she said. ”Let’s go inside. We shouldn’t keep your sister waiting.”

On the way over, Ian had gotten a call from Zoe Sterling. She told him she had already arrived and ordered, and she warned him in a very serious tone not to dawdle.

Ian lowered his gaze. Just as he was about to let go, Lynn took his hand and gave it a little swing.

Much of his earlier frustration melted away at her small gesture.

Zoe Sterling stood by the panoramic window, looking down. Her eyes, so similar to Ian’s, crinkled at the corners. She pulled out her phone to take photos and videos of the young couple downstairs—the arm-grabbing, the hand-holding—and sent them to the family group chat.

A family group chat that didn’t include Ian, of course. It had been created when Lynn returned to Quartos.

She lowered her gaze, reading the messages in the chat, until the door to the private room was pushed open.

Her eyes fell on Lynn first, and she sighed inwardly.

’No wonder.’

’This is the kind of woman Ian would never be able to control.’

She smiled and walked forward to greet them. ”Miss Winslow, I’m Ian Sterling’s sister, Zoe Sterling.”

”It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lynn’s eyes curved into a smile as she took the slender, fair hand offered to her, its nails painted a vibrant red.

”Please, have a seat.” Zoe gestured for her to sit, her voice warm. ”I wasn’t sure what you liked, Miss Winslow, so I just ordered a few of the house specialties. We can have Finn order anything else you’d like in a moment.”

Lynn replied graciously, ”Oh, no need. I’m not a picky eater.”

Ian frowned, watching the two of them exchange pleasantries. He sat down right next to Lynn and, out of her line of sight, gave Zoe a look.

Zoe’s lips curved into a resigned smile. ”Miss Winslow, I’ll just call you Lynn, if that’s alright. And you should call me ’sister’ just like Finn does. Or if that feels strange, you can just call me Zoe.”

”Okay, Zoe.” Lynn glanced sideways at Ian, knowing it must have been him who signaled his sister not to be so distant with her.

’Actually, a bit of distance would have been fine. I could have just treated her like a respected elder. Now that she’s being so familiar, I’m suddenly at a loss for words.’

The manager, knowing the Sterling siblings were present, personally brought over an exquisite fruit platter as the servers began bringing out the food. He even seemed intent on staying to wait on them personally, but one cold look from Ian sent him scurrying away.

Throughout the meal, Zoe was constantly on her feet, serving Lynn food and chatting with her about makeup, manicures, yoga, and fitness. She even made plans to do several of those things with Lynn.

Meanwhile, Ian couldn’t stop fidgeting with Lynn—twirling a lock of her hair, rubbing her earlobe, squeezing her palm, and pressing her fingertips.

Lynn’s patience was wearing thin, but she was hesitant to push Ian away in front of his sister, worried it would displease Zoe.

’After all, who wants to see their little brother get pushed around?’

But the Sterling siblings were different. Zoe frowned at Ian and scolded, ”What is wrong with you? Can’t keep your hands to yourself? You want me to chop them off?”

She was completely merciless in chiding her brother. Lynn’s eyes widened in surprise. Zoe shot Lynn a reassuring smile before turning her glare back to Ian.

”What? I’m touching my girlfriend,” Ian retorted, jutting his chin out. ”If you can’t stand to watch, go call Nigel Abbott.” He threw his arm over Lynn’s shoulders, shooting his sister a defiant look.

Lynn shook off his arm, stood up, and said to Zoe, ”Zoe, I’m going to the restroom.”

Zoe smiled and nodded at her. After Lynn left, she said, ”Was that really necessary? Do I look like I’m here to break you two up?”

Ian sat up straight, his voice deepening slightly as he said in all seriousness, ”Sis, she’s more important to me than I am to myself. I know you’re still not happy with her because of what happened before, but it really wasn’t her fault.”

Zoe watched him quietly for a long moment before saying with a sigh of resignation, ”Fine, I get it.”

She stood up to leave, but Ian reached out an arm to block her, frowning. ”Where are you going?”

”Relax. You think I’m going to throw money at her and tell her to leave you? The Winslow family’s wealth is no less than the Sterling family’s.” Zoe patted her brother’s shoulder and said warmly, ”I’m going to tell her that I won’t stand in the way of you two being together.”

Ian was only half-convinced, but Zoe simply slapped his arm away and walked out.

Lynn was at the sink washing her hands. She was a bit taken aback when Zoe walked in.

”Zoe.”

Zoe offered her a gentle smile. ”Lynn, I wanted to have a private chat with you, but Finn is so clingy. I had to resort to catching you in the restroom.”

Lynn’s lips curved into a smile, but her mind was racing. ’Is she going to try the emotional appeal, telling me to leave him for his own good? Or is she just going to offer me a check?’

Instead, Zoe said, ”I know that between the two of you, my brother is the one who can’t let go. I can also tell that you’re still keeping him at a distance, like you’re hesitant about something.”

Lynn lowered her gaze, wanting to explain but not knowing where to begin.

Zoe began washing her hands beside her. ”Finn was spoiled rotten growing up,” she said. ”He’s the youngest in the entire Sterling family, and he’s brilliant. Things that took the rest of us siblings a full day to learn, he’d pick up in half that time. And his company—you know about it, right? He just started that for fun. That’s why, before our grandfather passed, he was always Grandpa’s favorite.”

Lynn hummed in acknowledgment, showing she was listening.

”Growing up, he was always surrounded by the sons of Quartos’ most powerful families. There were plenty of daughters, too, of course, but he always found girls too troublesome and never made friends with them.”

”I don’t know what they see in him, but those friends of his are just as protective as his actual siblings are. Take Nigel Abbott, for instance. His family’s status is... unique. Even when Finn does something that’s genuinely out of line, Nigel cleans up the mess for him.”

”Finn has been proud and rebellious since he was a kid, with ridiculously high standards. There were very few people he actually respected. He even used to say childish things to the family like, ’I want freedom! I want to live without any rules!’” At this, Zoe couldn’t help but laugh.