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Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Having Nothing to Fear

”If you don’t dislike her, then why the long face?” Kenneth Keller raised an eyebrow.

Ian Sterling retorted irritably, ”I was born this way. Got a problem with it?”

”No, of course not,” Jasper Jennings placated him. ”Let’s drink.”

Lynn Winslow had no idea Ian Sterling was being ridiculed by his childhood friends because of her. After returning to Quartos, she started planning how she could subtly scheme against Mia Rhodes.

The recording she made when she jumped into the lake would now come in handy. All she had to do was bribe a staff member at the banquet to plug a USB drive into the sound system and play it.

Lynn knew this was just a minor skirmish. But Mia Rhodes’s image as a pure, innocent ”white flower” was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds. To dismantle it completely, she had to take it one step at a time.

She was just the villainess in someone else’s novel, after all. If she provoked the author’s favored female lead too much, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to change the plot and would once again meet a tragic end.

In the evening, Lynn learned from the person she’d assigned to tail Ian Sterling that he was currently at Nys, surrounded by the powerful elites of Quartos.

A smile touched her lips. She changed into an outfit suitable for a club and headed out.

Knowing Ian was in a private room with so many people, she didn’t try to approach him directly. When she saw Manager Sawyer, she gave him a bright smile before turning and heading to the dance floor.

Ian made an excuse to leave. As he walked across the transparent second-floor walkway, he heard waves of cheers from the floor below. He frowned slightly and glanced down, spotting Lynn Winslow twisting and dancing in the center of the floor.

Watching her in a short, black, form-fitting dress and rhinestone-studded stockings, with men cheering and captivated all around her, Ian’s first reaction wasn’t anger at being deceived by Lynn. Instead, a sour, painful feeling churned in his chest as he looked at those men.

He gritted his teeth, crossed the walkway, descended to the first floor, and strode directly onto the dance floor. He grabbed Lynn’s hand and began dragging her away. Lynn was stunned for a moment, then, suppressing a flutter of excitement, she half-ran to keep up with him.

It wasn’t until they were outside Nys, standing by the entrance, that the chaos finally subsided. Ian Sterling stared grimly at Lynn, his eyes darkening with rage and glinting with a cold, furious light.

”Didn’t you go back to Morelia? What were you doing in there?” His voice was icy, as if laced with shards of frost.

Lynn seemed afraid to meet his gaze, lowering her head to avoid his eyes. Her nose tingled, and tears began to fall like pearls from a broken string.

”I couldn’t bear to leave you,” Lynn said softly. ”I couldn’t leave you, so I stayed. But I was afraid you’d be angry if you saw me, so I didn’t try to find you. I just couldn’t bring myself to be happy, so I came here to have a little fun.”

Ian froze. He had been furious, but now that he was calming down, he realized something. ’Why am I so angry?’

Ian took a step back, feeling like he was going crazy.

When he spoke again, his harsh tone held a trace of concern. ”Go home. Now.”

Lynn looked up at him, her expression bewildered. Her eyes were still moist, and unshed tears clung to her face, glistening under the lights.

”Go home? Home where? Are you still trying to send me back to Morelia?” A few more tears fell with each question. Ian felt as if her crying could stop his breathing; that tight, uncomfortable feeling returned to his chest.

”I mean your house! Your house in Quartos!” Ian snapped, turning his head away. He was past caring.

Lynn let out a dazed ”Huh?” before it clicked. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she asked cautiously, ”Are you... worried about me?”

”Have you forgotten how much trouble you caused Jasper Jennings last time you almost got into trouble at Nys?” Ian, unwilling to admit his concern, retorted with his usual spite. ”Do whatever you want, but can you at least stop causing problems for other people?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ian saw a flash of hurt in Lynn’s eyes and immediately regretted it.

His words infuriated her. Her initial tears and grievances had been an act to fool Ian, but the anger and hurt she felt now were real. Suppressing her rage, she bit her lip and said, ”I’m leaving. I won’t bother you anymore. Goodbye.”

Watching Lynn’s lonely figure walk away, Ian instinctively took a few steps forward to follow her. But when he saw she didn’t even glance back, he stopped and cursed himself in frustration. ”You and your damn mouth.”

Kenneth Keller, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines for who knows how long, couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Ian.

”How about that? You’re not afraid of making us angry when you lash out, but you finally learn regret when you do it to the woman you like, huh?”

Ian was already agitated and unsettled for upsetting Lynn, so he had no desire to deal with Kenneth. He started to walk away without a glance, but Kenneth, still standing there, called out in a voice just loud enough for Ian to hear, teasing, ”So, are you going to fix that nasty mouth of yours?”

”No,” Ian bit out one cold word.

Kenneth wasn’t fazed. He continued, ”Fine. Keep it up. Let’s see if that girl will even give you the time of day next time you lash out at her on instinct.”

”Utterly without fear.” Kenneth ignored the increasingly dark expression on Ian’s face as he turned back to look at him. Clearly enjoying the drama, he tossed those four words at Ian before turning and heading back into Nys.

Ian watched Kenneth’s retreating back with a menacing glare, standing frozen for a long moment before turning and striding away.

The driver was waiting for Lynn in the parking lot. She got into the car in silence and didn’t say a single word the entire way back to Amberly Bay.

Mrs. Sterling had already gone to bed next door. When Lynn opened the door, only Kiki was sitting in the entryway, waiting for her. Seeing her return, the cat meowed insistently.

Lynn crouched down and stroked Kiki’s little head. The sense of grievance she had suppressed the entire way home finally burst forth.

Tears splattered onto the slick, polished floor. Kiki anxiously circled Lynn, who was crying silently but painfully.

Lynn crouched in the entryway for a long time. When she finally stood up, her legs were numb and sore. She had no energy left to play with Kiki and slowly dragged herself upstairs to her room.

The next day, Mrs. Sterling heard from the driver that Lynn had come home very late the previous night, so she didn’t disturb her in the morning. It wasn’t until around noon that she went to Lynn’s room and knocked on the door.

After knocking for a long time with no response, Mrs. Sterling began to worry something had happened. She hastily found the spare key to Lynn’s bedroom and opened the door.

The moment she entered, the overwhelming stench of alcohol hit her. Mrs. Sterling frowned at the sight of the disheveled room. It was a complete mess, with shards of porcelain and glass from bottles littering the floor. The mural that had once decorated the wall was torn into tiny pieces and scattered everywhere.

A small lump was huddled on the bed. Mrs. Sterling rushed forward and saw Lynn curled up, her hand pressed against her stomach. Her eyelids were swollen and her face was pale. Her lips were bitten tight, and her hair and pillow were soaked with sweat. Mrs. Sterling knew at once that Lynn’s stomach problems had flared up again.

She quickly pulled out her phone and called Holly Joyce. After hanging up, she sighed, her heart aching.

”Oh, Lynn...”