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Chapter 116: Chapter 116: I Bought Them For It To Eat

Sienna Powell had left several scratch marks on Julian Rhodes’s face. When she saw Mia Rhodes, Sienna started crying. ”Mia, your father is a real piece of work. He’s sunk this low, and he’s still keeping a mistress. Now his illegitimate child is about to be born, and he actually expects me to give him money to raise the kid.”

’To Mia, Julian Rhodes had long since stopped being her father. Besides, this villa was in her name now. He didn’t have a penny left to his name, so even with a mistress and an illegitimate child, he couldn’t take anything from her. She felt that the most important things right now were the Powell family’s and her own public reputation.’

Mia Rhodes ignored Julian Rhodes, stepping forward to link arms with Sienna Powell and lead her into the room.

”Mom, can you please go to Grandpa and my cousin and ask them to put in a good word for me?”

Sienna Powell, who had been crying endlessly, frowned at Mia Rhodes.

”Are you talking about that incident online? Can’t you even handle a little thing like this?”

Mia faltered, biting her lip as she explained, ”Mr. Sterling is interfering behind the scenes. There’s nothing I can do. They’ve brought in a famous lawyer from Quartos. Warnings and threats are useless—they could even land me in serious trouble.”

”Mom, Grandpa is on pretty good terms with the Sterling family, and my cousin gets along well with Mr. Sterling too. If they helped, it would be much better than me running around trying to explain things. Besides, this whole situation is blowing up, and people online refuse to listen to me.” Mia shook Sienna’s arm. ”And Mom, now that Lynn Winslow is back, if she goes to see Grandpa, he’ll definitely favor Lynn just like he used to. Everything Grandpa was planning to leave me will all go to her instead.”

Perhaps the harder life gets, the greedier people become.

Sienna Powell had been spoiled growing up, and when she first married into the Rhodes family, life was good. But then Julian Rhodes proved to be a disappointment and nearly bankrupted the family. As a result, Sienna could no longer live her old life of spending money like it was water.

Her daughter’s reminder seemed to jolt her awake.

’That’s right, she could ask her father for help. She was his own daughter. So what if she had been foolish enough to insist on choosing Julian Rhodes? So many years had passed. Surely her father must feel something for her? And if that didn’t work, she could always ask her brother and nephew...’

Sienna Powell nodded. ”Okay, I’ll go see your grandpa and cousin. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to ask them to help us.”

Mia leaned into Sienna’s embrace. ’Honestly, she wasn’t very confident, but she was out of options. Even if there was only a sliver of a chance, she had to take it. She couldn’t let the career she had built for herself and all her schemes be destroyed in an instant.’

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Julian Rhodes was standing outside, shouting, ”Mia, you have money, give me some. He’s your brother! If you don’t take care of him, who will?”

Hearing this, Sienna was so incensed she burst into tears again. Cradling Mia, she sobbed, ”Just listen to that father of yours! His own daughter is getting bullied, and he doesn’t care. Instead, he’s here asking her for money for his bastard son.”

Mia was annoyed too. She frowned, a sudden idea striking her. She advised Sienna, ”Mom, when you go back to the Powell family, you can mention to Grandpa how Dad normally treats you. If Grandpa’s heart softens, he might give you a larger share of the inheritance. He might even force Dad to divorce you. Wouldn’t you be free then?”

Sienna was taken aback. She glanced toward the door and asked hesitantly, ”Would that really work?”

”Why not? Do you want to keep living hand-to-mouth like this?” Mia then brought up Cecilia Powell, Lynn Winslow’s mother.

”You probably don’t know this yet, do you? My aunt and Lynn’s father are traveling the world together right now. The Winslow family is a big deal overseas; plenty of magazines have published photos of their travels.” Mia continued to fan the flames. ”Don’t you want a life like that? Didn’t you tell me that Lynn’s father was originally supposed to be your fiancé?”

At these words, Sienna Powell shot to her feet. She grabbed Mia’s hand and said, ”We’re going to the Powell family home right now.”

”Mom, it’s too late now. Let’s go tomorrow.”

”Alright. You can sleep here tonight, then.” Sienna glanced out the window, then her gaze snapped back. ”Don’t give your father any money. If you do, he’ll just turn around and hand it right over to that mistress of his.”

Mia nodded. ”I know. Mom, don’t be angry anymore. Our days of living like this are almost over. From now on, things will be better.”

Sienna grunted in agreement, then got up, walked out of the room, and dragged Julian Rhodes away by the ear.

Mia got up, drew the curtains, and chuckled softly.

——

The moment she got home, Lynn Winslow flopped onto the sofa with a sigh. ”Who in their right mind wants to go out when it’s this hot?”

Ian Sterling wouldn’t let her stay there, scooping her into his arms and carrying her upstairs. ”Go take a shower first. If you don’t feel like moving, I can wash you.”

Lynn immediately refused, slipped into the bathroom by herself, and locked the door.

”Lynn, let’s shower together,” Ian Sterling cooed, leaning against the bathroom door. ”It’s not like we haven’t before.”

”Get lost.”

Ian Sterling shrugged. ’She wouldn’t be able to escape later even if she wanted to, so what was a few more minutes?’

He went downstairs and played with Kiki for a bit, dutifully taking care of the litter box. Finally, he washed Kiki’s bowls, filled them with food, and gave the cat a whole freeze-dried salmon filet.

When Lynn finished her shower and found he wasn’t there, she walked out of the room and called his name.

Ian Sterling heard her and came upstairs. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss Lynn, she covered his mouth with her hand.

”Want to have a drink?”

Ian Sterling blinked. He didn’t want a drink; he just pressed forward against Lynn’s hand.

”You’re drinking whether you like it or not.” Lynn nudged his chin, gave a soft huff, and slipped past him to head downstairs, leaving a reluctant but resigned Ian Sterling in her wake.

”Then wait for me. I’ll go take a shower first.”

Lynn called back in agreement. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Kiki on its giant cat tree, gnawing endlessly on a freeze-dried salmon filet.

”Your dad sure is good to you,” Lynn said, stroking Kiki’s head.

During their two days at Calyx Hall, Ian Sterling had bought enough snacks and toys for Kiki to build a small mountain. He’d even gotten a wooden cat tree that completely clashed with the decor, and colorful little toys were now scattered everywhere.

For someone so meticulous about cleanliness, Ian Sterling personally and dutifully handled Kiki’s feeding and litter box every day, all because he didn’t like having strangers in the house.

Lynn didn’t want Kiki eating so many treats, but Ian had insisted, ”It’s only natural for a kid to like snacks. I bought them for him to eat.”

Lynn thought, ’When Ian has a child someday, he’ll definitely be incredibly patient.’

She gently flicked Kiki’s forehead, then got up to grab a few beers from the fridge. She also pulled out some snacks the chef from Aerie Garden had made and arranged everything on the table.

By the time Ian came downstairs, Lynn had already finished two glasses.

”Why not red wine?”

”What’s the fun in red wine?” Lynn raised an eyebrow at him. ”Beer goes better with these snacks.”