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Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Don’t Even Think of Leaving Me This Time

Mrs. Sterling asked, confused, ”The basement floor is the swimming pool. Has Finn never been?”

Ian Sterling had been here many times, yet he didn’t know the basement was a swimming pool?

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together and asked, ”Lynn is swimming?”

”She is.” Mrs. Sterling, unaware that Lynn Winslow was still maintaining her aquaphobic facade in front of Ian Sterling, smiled and said, ”Finn, have you had lunch yet? Why don’t you go downstairs and find Lynn? I’ll have the chef prepare something for you both.”

Ian Sterling nodded and got into the elevator.

Lynn Winslow was submerged in the water, like a graceful fish. Ian Sterling stood motionless by the pool, watching her in silence.

After completing a lap, Lynn Winslow placed her hands on the edge of the pool, ready to climb out. A figure suddenly appeared before her, and only then did she notice Ian Sterling, who had been standing there for who knows how long.

Lynn Winslow paused. The corners of her lips curved into a beautiful smile as she asked him softly, ”How long were you gone? You’re back so soon?”

Ian Sterling hummed in acknowledgment. He took a bath towel, squatted down beside Lynn Winslow, and draped it over her. His eyes darkened as he looked at the red marks on her chest, his expression unreadable.

”What’s wrong? Shocked to see I’m not afraid of the water?” Lynn Winslow looked up at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile. She nonchalantly shook her wet hair, which was sticking to her body, showing no sign of guilt.

Ian Sterling shook his head. He gently began to dry her hair, asking softly, ”When did you learn?”

Lynn Winslow blinked and hummed. ”I forget. A year or two ago.”

She suddenly leaned forward, close to Ian Sterling’s face, and stared into his eyes. With a hint of a smile, she asked, ”Are you wondering if Mia Rhodes pushed me that day?”

Ian Sterling met her gaze. The corners of his mouth turned down, and his thin lips pressed into a tight line. To Lynn Winslow’s surprise, he looked like he was feeling wronged.

”She didn’t push me. I jumped in myself. Besides wanting to frame her, I also knew you would come, so I deliberately acted weak in front of you.” Lynn Winslow chuckled softly. Her wet hand caressed his cheek as she said leisurely, ”Now that you know the truth, are you very angry?”

”No, I don’t care about that.” Ian Sterling held her hand in place, rubbing his cheek against her palm. ”I just... I’m just uncomfortable that you kept this from me,” he murmured.

Lynn Winslow stood up and ruthlessly pulled her hand away. She looked down at Ian Sterling, who was still half-kneeling, and scoffed. ”Why don’t you think about how you treated me back then? I wasn’t even sure if you still had feelings for me. Was I supposed to jump into a lake and then tell you I did it myself? Am I crazy?”

Ian Sterling looked up at her, a hint of innocence in his eyes. ”At the time, I wasn’t sure if you coming back to me meant you wouldn’t just abandon me again like you did three years ago.”

”And you’re sure now?” Lynn Winslow raised an eyebrow.

”Mhm, I’m sure.” Ian Sterling still didn’t get up. He took Lynn Winslow’s fingertips and kissed them again and again, his voice husky. ”Don’t even think about abandoning me this time.”

”Don’t even think about it.” He took her fingertip in his mouth and bit down hard.

Lynn Winslow hissed in pain from the unexpectedly forceful bite. Frowning, she pulled her hand back and glanced down at her finger. The teeth marks were clearly visible.

She let out a laugh that was half-annoyance, half-amusement. ”I’m just now realizing you have a tendency for domestic violence.”

”This counts as domestic violence?” Ian Sterling stood up, a noticeable wet patch on the right knee of his trousers.

He pulled the still-damp Lynn Winslow into his arms and deliberately nuzzled her neck with his wet hair. Lynn Winslow didn’t pull away. She wrapped her slender arms around him, laughing nonstop as his hair tickled her.

Lynn Winslow’s fingers playfully tugged at his hair. Noticing a small section of black roots showing, she asked, ”Shouldn’t you get your hair color touched up?”

”Mhm, I’ll do it in the next day or two.” Ian Sterling stopped nuzzling her, pressing his lips to her neck instead, unable to resist kissing her again and again.

”I’m free this afternoon. How about I go with you?” Lynn Winslow remembered a hair color she’d seen while scrolling through videos after waking up; she thought it would suit Ian Sterling perfectly.

”Want to get matching colors?” she asked, already knowing the answer. Ian Sterling hummed ”mhm” three times in a row, his arms tightening around her.

Lynn Winslow couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed him away and said, ”Your clothes are all wet. I ordered a few sets of loungewear for you. Mrs. Sterling already washed them; they’re in the guest bedroom. Go change. I’m going back to my room to shower.”

Hearing this, the smile in Ian Sterling’s eyes nearly overflowed. He took her hand, refusing to let go, and they entered the elevator together.

After changing, he sat in the second-floor living room to wait for Lynn Winslow, being exceptionally considerate and not disturbing her.

Just as Lynn Winslow came out from her shower, Mrs. Sterling called them for lunch.

Sitting in the dining room, Ian Sterling was deboning fish for her. While eating, Lynn Winslow said to Mrs. Sterling, ”Mrs. Sterling, please remember to pick up Kiki from the pet store this afternoon. When you go next door for your afternoon break, please tell Aaron to get ready to dye our hair. Tell him to use that color I sent him today.”

”Alright.” Mrs. Sterling agreed and returned to the house next door.

No matter how close she was to Lynn Winslow, she would never eat at the same table. She understood the distinction between master and servant.

As the weather grew warmer, Lynn Winslow had started taking a two-hour nap every afternoon.

After lunch, Lynn Winslow abandoned Ian Sterling and went back to her room alone. She lowered the air conditioning, pulled the covers up, and prepared to sleep. The door was unlocked, and this time, Ian Sterling wasn’t so considerate—he opened the door and slipped right in.

Hearing the door open, Lynn Winslow squinted at him and warned, ”You can sleep here, but don’t touch me.”

Ian Sterling raised his hand as if taking an oath. Only then did she look away, close her eyes, and try to drift off to sleep.

Holding her in his arms, Ian Sterling felt no sleepiness. He stared at the curtains, lost in thought.

’Lynn Winslow had clearly come back prepared. Three years ago, if someone provoked her, she would have retaliated on the spot, completely unconcerned about what others thought of her. But this time, she jumped into the lake, positioning herself as the weaker party. She used me to make people doubt the facade Mia Rhodes has always maintained. And her attitude toward me has changed, too...’

’Just what is the reason?’ A flash of insight sparked in Ian Sterling’s mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

’If I can’t figure it out, I’ll stop thinking about it. She’s in my arms, and that’s more important than anything else.’

Ian Sterling shifted down, buried his face in Lynn Winslow’s fragrant embrace, and nuzzled against her contentedly. He closed his eyes and, a moment later, fell asleep.

When Aaron arrived with his assistant, he was visibly stunned for a moment upon seeing Ian Sterling.

Lynn Winslow’s brother, Joel Winslow, and Zane Lancaster, who grew up with her, were both top-tier handsome men. Aaron had seen plenty of others besides them, but this was the first time he’d been left dazed by a man’s appearance.

’How to describe him? To put it bluntly, he was exquisitely, ridiculously good-looking.’

Aaron thought to himself, ’Now *this* is a man worthy of the Miss.’

Ian Sterling was polite enough to the people around Lynn Winslow, giving a nod as a greeting.

Lynn Winslow said to Aaron, ”You have everything ready?”

Aaron nodded. ”All ready, Miss. Should I dye your hair first, or the gentleman’s?”

A sly smile playing on her lips, Lynn Winslow looked at Ian Sterling and said, ”Dye his first. Let him be my guinea pig so I can see if the color looks good.”