You're not leaving this time.

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: The Photo of Secretly Wearing a Dress

Ian Sterling stood outside the bathroom, asking with concern, ”Lynn, what’s wrong?”

Lynn Winslow composed herself, called out in response, then opened the bathroom door and walked out.

”It’s nothing, I just had to use the bathroom. What are you doing here?”

Ian Sterling lowered his head to carefully study her expression. Seeing no sign of distress on her face, he breathed a sigh of relief.

”When you suddenly came back, I thought something was wrong.”

Lynn Winslow shook her head, took his hand, and started walking outside. ”It’s nothing,” she said gently. ”If something were wrong, I’d be the first to tell you.”

Ian Sterling hummed in agreement and followed behind her, his gaze deepening.

Back in the backyard, Lynn Winslow let go of Ian Sterling’s hand and went to find Zoe Sterling and the others.

Ian Sterling stood with Jasper Jennings and the others, leaning against the table in silence, a pensive look on his face.

Zachary Quincy walked over to him. ”What’s wrong?” he asked.

”It’s nothing.” Ian Sterling shook his head and looked up at Zachary Quincy. ”Are you and Esther Abbott together now?”

Zachary Quincy replied, ”Yeah. We haven’t been together for long.”

Ian Sterling muttered an ”oh,” then straightened up, leaving Zachary Quincy behind. He walked over to the grill, selected a few skewers of crispy cartilage that looked good, and brought them to Lynn Winslow and her friends.

”These are fresh off the grill, so they’re a little hot. Be careful when you eat them.”

Lynn Winslow accepted them with a broad smile and shared them with the other three. Zoe Sterling said to Lynn, ”If it weren’t for you, I’d never get this kind of special treatment.”

”You hear that? You’d better be nice to us ladies.” Lynn Winslow lifted her chin and shot Ian Sterling a flirtatious glance.

Ian Sterling nodded obediently. Zoe Sterling snorted with laughter and shooed him away, telling him not to get in the way.

Seeing Ian Sterling return, Nigel Abbott crossed his arms and laughed. ”Got told off, didn’t you? Now you know how I feel.”

”Not at all,” Ian Sterling said, his lips curling into a smile. ”Lynn would never shoo me away. That was my sister just now. So, no, I can’t relate to how you feel.”

Nigel Abbott: ”...” Fine!

While they were eating at the long table, Nigel Abbott took a sip of his drink and let his gaze drift toward Lynn Winslow. When Lynn looked over quizzically, Nigel asked with a mischievous grin, ”So, Lynn, have there been times when you found Finn annoying?”

Lynn Winslow was a little confused. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what he meant, Ian Sterling stood up, leaned over, and refilled Nigel Abbott’s wine glass to the brim.

It was truly full—so full that it was already spilling over.

Nigel Abbott let out a sharp HISS. Ian Sterling said through gritted teeth, ”Brother-in-law, have some more to drink, and eat your food.”

”Ah, what was that you just called me?” Nigel Abbott cupped a hand to his ear, pretending he couldn’t hear.

”I said, *brother-in-law*,” Ian Sterling repeated with a forced smile, his eyes narrowing. There was a veiled threat in his tone. ”If you don’t eat soon, the food’s going to get cold.”

The others didn’t quite understand what was going on, but they could tell Nigel Abbott was messing with Ian Sterling for fun.

And at moments like this, the others’ interest was always piqued.

”Finn, we’re the ones who used to take you to school when you were little. How come you never tell *us* to eat more?”

”Yeah, Finn, we’re your older brothers too. Don’t play favorites.”

”You’ve never even offered to refill our glasses, and now all you care about is your brother-in-law.”

Ian Sterling was so exasperated by the four of them that he laughed. He licked the corner of his mouth, picked up the wine bottle, and went around refilling each of their glasses. ”There,” he said, enunciating each word. ”Happy now?”

Zoe Sterling wasn’t about to miss such a golden opportunity. She lifted her glass, which was still nearly full, tapped it on the table, and reminded Ian Sterling, ”You forgot your sister.”

When Lynn Winslow saw Ian Sterling getting annoyed after pouring Zoe Sterling’s drink, she stood up, pulled him to her side, and said in a firm and serious tone, ”Stop bullying him!”

Chloe Clayton and Flora Fairfax, who had been laughing so hard their mouths were about to split at the seams, immediately clapped their hands over their mouths and fell silent when they saw Lynn’s reaction.

Although the others didn’t wipe the smiles off their faces at Lynn Winslow’s words, they did tone down their behavior considerably.

”Don’t be upset now. Here, eat this,” Lynn Winslow murmured, coaxing the pouting Ian Sterling as she placed some freshly peeled seafood onto his plate.

Ian Sterling looked up, his eyes glistening as he gave her a pathetic look. As for whether he was truly upset or just putting on an act for Lynn Winslow, well, those on the outside see things more clearly than those involved. Lynn’s heart melted at his expression, while the others sitting across from them stifled their laughter and quickly changed the subject.

After dinner, the butler and his staff set up a large projection screen directly across from the backyard sofa. They turned on a projector and put on a random comedy film.

It was purely for ambiance; no one was actually watching, as they had all gathered to play cards.

In this round, Lynn Winslow and Ian Sterling were on opposing teams. Kenneth Keller, Chloe Clayton, and Flora Fairfax, who were watching from the sidelines and loved to stir up trouble, kept egging Lynn on to play cards that would crush Ian.

As Lynn Winslow’s teammates, Jasper Jennings and Nigel Abbott also relentlessly goaded her.

Ian Sterling pursed his lips, staring intently at the cards in Lynn’s hand. ’I really want to go easy on her,’ he thought. But his teammates, Zachary Quincy and Zoe Sterling, had secretly warned him that if he dared to throw the game, they would show Lynn the picture of him wearing his older sister’s dress as a kid.

Of course, they had told him this in secret.

Lynn Winslow looked at Ian Sterling, her eyes crinkling with a smile, fully confident in her card-playing skills. She drew a few cards from her hand and threw them onto the table.

When she saw Ian Sterling hesitate before playing a set of cards that beat hers, the smile on Lynn Winslow’s face instantly vanished.

’Wasn’t there supposed to be a grace period for beginners?!’ Lynn Winslow glared daggers at Ian Sterling. Zachary Quincy chimed in from the side, ”Hey, none of that threatening stuff.”

Lynn Winslow snorted. ”Fine, I won’t threaten him.” She forced a smile and said to Ian Sterling, ”It’s okay. Just play normally.”

Ian Sterling blinked. ”Really?”

Lynn Winslow raised an eyebrow. ”Of course.”

And then, just like that, Ian Sterling was out of cards, while Lynn Winslow was still left holding a handful of miscellaneous single cards.

Ian Sterling glanced at Lynn Winslow cautiously and whispered, ”Don’t be mad.”

”Why would I get mad over a single round of cards?” Lynn Winslow let out a dry ’Kiki’ and slammed her cards down. ”Let’s! Go! Again!”

Nigel Abbott and Jasper Jennings exchanged a look, throwing down their cards while struggling to hide their grins. Zachary Quincy nonchalantly gathered the cards, gave them a flashy shuffle, and said as he dealt, ”How about this: the loser has to agree to one demand from the winner. No matter what it is, even if they ask you to commit murder and arson, you have to do it. What do you say?”

He looked at Lynn Winslow, who smiled and said, ”Fine by me.”

’It’s not like I’m a sore loser.’

But Ian Sterling no longer dared to play for real against Lynn Winslow. He was throwing the game from start to finish—so obviously that Zoe Sterling and Zachary Quincy couldn’t take it anymore.

Zoe Sterling gritted her teeth and yelled, ”Finn Sterling! Do you want me to show Lynn that photo of you secretly wearing our second sister’s dress as a kid?!”

Lynn Winslow’s eyes went wide, and she stared at Zoe Sterling in astonishment.

”Sis!”

Zoe Sterling suddenly realized what she’d done and let out an awkward little laugh.

’She had just gotten so angry that she’d blurted it out without thinking.’