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Chapter 126: Chapter 126: How About I Come to Veridia to See You?

”Yep,” Lynn Winslow chuckled. ”He’s not here, so I’m driving his car.”

Sheila Lowell clicked her tongue twice. Propping her chin on her hand, she said, ”This car is amazing.”

Lynn Winslow snorted softly. ”He’s never used anything that wasn’t top-quality, whether it’s cars or anything else.”

”Of course,” Sheila Lowell couldn’t help but laugh as she recalled their childhood. She told Lynn, ”Did you know that when he was little, he raised wolf cubs that killed the chickens Jennings was raising next door?”

Lynn Winslow had heard about it from Selene Sterling, so of course she knew.

Sheila Lowell continued, ”My grandpa lived in the compound back then too, and he heard about it. He even made fun of Jennings. But a few days later, all the flowers he was growing were destroyed by those wolf cubs. My grandpa has a bad temper, so he went over to confront them. Ian Sterling just said, ’Well, who told your grandpa to grow flowers that smelled so fragrant? They attracted my cubs.’”

”...” Lynn Winslow was stunned. She looked at Sheila Lowell and asked, amused, ”When he was a kid, how could he...”

”Right?” Sheila Lowell pursed her lips in a smile. ”It was fine when he wasn’t at the compound, but whenever he was there, the whole place knew no peace.”

Lynn Winslow laughed too. Sheila Lowell continued, ”You two have been back together for a while now. Are you planning to just keep dating, or are you thinking of settling down?”

Sheila Lowell wouldn’t ask her this question out of the blue. Lynn Winslow thought for a moment and understood. ”My grandfather put you up to this, didn’t he?”

Sheila Lowell knew she was smart, but she hadn’t expected her to catch on so quickly.

”Yeah, he’s just worried, you know? Afraid you two might break up.” Sheila Lowell laid out her speculations about Mr. Powell’s thinking: ”The Sterling Family, whether in terms of status or anything else, is top-tier in Aethel. And even though Ian Sterling’s temper isn’t the best, he has no temper at all when he’s with you. Of course Mr. Powell likes him; he just can’t bring himself to admit it because he’s trying to save face.”

Lynn Winslow gave a knowing laugh. ”I know you’re all satisfied with him.”

”Some time ago, I heard from your cousin that you went to Morelia. Is Elder Winslow satisfied with him?”

Sheila Lowell didn’t know what had happened in Morelia. Hearing her question, Lynn didn’t hide anything and told her the story.

Sheila Lowell’s eyes widened in surprise. The car had already stopped in the mall’s parking garage. The two of them got out and walked toward the mall, linking arms and chatting idly.

And just like that, they happened to run into Nina Norton and Lady Sterling.

Lynn Winslow smiled warmly and went forward to greet them. Nina Norton affectionately took her arm and said to Lady Sterling, ”You’ve only seen photos before, never Lynn in person, right? Isn’t she beautiful?”

Lady Sterling nodded, clearly impressed, and praised, ”Truly beautiful. She and our Finn make such a handsome couple.”

”Of course.” Nina Norton lifted her chin, looking very proud.

Sheila Lowell was acquainted with the two sisters-in-law, so she greeted them gracefully and then invited them to get their nails done together.

Four women who loved beauty, when gathered together, always had endless topics to discuss—from handbags and jewelry to makeup and skincare.

Lynn Winslow finished her manicure first and sat to the side waiting for them, chatting idly. When no one was paying attention, she went ahead and settled the bill.

Only when they were all finished and went to pay did they realize that Lynn Winslow had already taken care of it.

”Lynn, I should have been the one to treat you.”

Lynn Winslow curved her lips into a smile and leaned affectionately against Nina Norton’s side. ”Auntie,” she said softly, ”you can treat me next time.”

Nina Norton patted her hand. She had something to do later, so after a little more browsing, she and Lady Sterling had to leave. Before she left, Nina said softly, ”Lynn, when Finn gets back, you must come over to the house.”

Lynn Winslow had already promised Ian Sterling she would, so she didn’t feign coyness with Nina Norton now and readily agreed.

After they parted ways, Sheila Lowell chuckled. ”Everyone says the matriarch of the Sterling Family isn’t easy to get along with.”

”Right.” Lynn Winslow nodded. She’d heard those rumors too.

”But she seems so gentle with you.”

”Right,” Lynn Winslow repeated.

The two of them moved on to a restaurant for a meal. But while they were waiting for their food, Lynn Winslow received a very unexpected phone call.

She stared blankly at the caller ID on her phone screen, pursed her lips, and under Sheila Lowell’s questioning gaze, she got up and went outside to take the call.

”Hello.”

Her tone was a little distant. The man on the other end was silent for a long moment before finally saying her name: ”Lynn.”

Lynn Winslow lowered her gaze and just hummed in acknowledgment.

”Lynn, your mother and I will be returning to Morelia soon. I heard from your grandfather that you’re in Veridia. Do you want to come back and see us?”

Lynn Winslow said nothing. Her fingers twitched. A craving for a cigarette, one she hadn’t felt in a long time, suddenly surfaced.

The person on the other end of the line changed. A woman’s gentle voice came through: ”Lynn, how about your father and I come to Veridia to see you?”

”No need. I don’t really have the time.” After saying that, Lynn Winslow hung up the phone directly.

She walked to a nearby convenience store, bought a pack of cigarettes, and stepped a short distance away to light one up. With her gaze lowered, she radiated an aura of dejection.

Ian Sterling got his phone late today. He started a video call and, seeing that Lynn Winslow was in a bad mood and smoking again, he frowned. ”In a bad mood?”

Lynn Winslow was silent for a moment before saying softly, ”My parents called me.”

Ian Sterling knew a little about Lynn Winslow’s parents and tried to comfort her with a few soft words, but she couldn’t seem to lift her spirits at all.

”It’s okay. You should get some rest. I’ll wait for you to come back.” Lynn Winslow sighed softly and stubbed out her cigarette. ”I have to get back to dinner with Sheila. She must have been waiting for a long time.”

”Okay.” Ian Sterling was still worried. Before hanging up, he added, ”If anything happens, go straight to Jasper Jennings and the others. If that doesn’t work, find my parents. Don’t try to handle it all by yourself.”

”I know, I know.”

Lynn Winslow blew him a kiss through the screen, then hung up and went back, only to find Sheila Lowell waiting for her at the restaurant entrance.

”Did something happen?”

She looked at Lynn Winslow with concern. Lynn shook her head and said softly, ”It’s nothing. Come on, let’s go back and eat.”

Sheila Lowell studied her for a few moments. She could tell Lynn was unhappy, but since she didn’t want to talk about it, Sheila knew better than to press the issue. She dropped the subject and went back into the private room with Lynn.

During the meal, Lynn Winslow was already back to her usual self, listening to Sheila Lowell tell her gossip about the various prominent families of Quartos.

Throughout the entire conversation, Lynn only had a few lines—

”Really? That’s so melodramatic!”

”Wow, what an impressive first wife.”

”He’s such a scumbag, why are people still lining up for him?”

It was as if she had pushed the earlier incident to the back of her mind, her bright eyes fixed earnestly on Sheila Lowell.

Sheila Lowell sighed, then chuckled. ”There’s so much more gossip, I could go on forever. The more prominent the family, the more of this stuff there is.”

While eating, she secretly glanced at Lynn Winslow’s expression. Seeing that she seemed much happier, Sheila finally felt relieved.

After dinner, Sheila Lowell asked Lynn Winslow if she was tired. If not, they could go somewhere else to hang out.

Lynn Winslow was tired. Not physically, but emotionally.