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Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Older, The More of a Homebody

Ian Sterling didn’t quite hear her. He walked to the side of the bed and asked, ”What did you just say?”

Lynn Winslow shook her head, so Ian Sterling didn’t press the issue. After getting into bed, he stretched out an arm, and Lynn instinctively snuggled into his embrace. Ian gently patted her back, lulling her to sleep.

The rain hammered against the window. Lynn Winslow could hear it even in her sleep. She shifted in his arms, curling away from him. Just as a sense of unease began to creep in, Ian Sterling turned her back toward him and pulled her close again.

Hearing Ian Sterling’s soft, soothing words, Lynn Winslow groggily opened her eyes to look at him for a moment before closing them again, reassured, and drifting back to sleep.

The rain hadn’t stopped by morning, casting a dim light over the room. Afraid of getting caught by Nina Norton and receiving another lecture, Ian Sterling had been much smarter this time, waking up early to head downstairs.

However, just as he stepped out of the room, he ran right into Nina Norton, who was on her way back to her own room, sipping a glass of honey water.

Nina Norton clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. ”I can’t even be bothered to say anything to you anymore.”

With that, she sidestepped Ian Sterling and disappeared back into her room.

Ian Sterling was wide awake by now, but he didn’t mind heading back to the room to snooze a little longer with Lynn Winslow.

The mattress beside her dipped. Lynn Winslow sensed his return and asked softly, ”Why are you back so soon?”

”It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

Lynn Winslow was still thinking about having breakfast together, so she tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep, even though her mind still felt fuzzy with sleep.

Ian Sterling ruffled her hair, amused. ”What’s with you?”

”It’ll be time for breakfast soon.” Lynn Winslow pursed her lips and clarified, ”I have to go down for breakfast in a bit.”

”Forget breakfast.” Ian Sterling pulled her closer. ”It’s fine if you don’t go down to eat. My parents and my sister-in-law probably aren’t even awake yet, so don’t worry.”

Lynn Winslow frowned. She tried to get up, but Ian Sterling pulled her back down, forcing her to stay in bed a little longer.

When the two finally woke up and left their room, they ran into Nina Norton, who was in the middle of a yawn. If anything, Nina Norton was more embarrassed than Lynn Winslow.

Previously, she had been afraid that Lynn Winslow would feel neglected, so she had made a point of waking up early. Now that they were all familiar with each other, she didn’t worry about such things. Still, being caught sleeping in this late by the younger couple was a little awkward.

Lynn Winslow went over and took Nina Norton’s arm, beaming. ”Mrs. Norton, you’re looking especially radiant today.”

”Oh, really?” Nina Norton touched her cheek.

”Yes, of course! A good night’s sleep is the secret to a healthy glow.” The two went downstairs together, and Lynn continued as they walked, ”Sleeping in is the key. Getting lots of rest makes your skin better, so you definitely can’t wake up too early.”

”You know, that does seem to make some sense.”

Ian Sterling turned his head, struggling to stifle his laughter, but a small snort escaped anyway. Lynn Winslow shot a glare back at him. Seeing him raise his hands in surrender and wipe the smile from his face, she finally looked away.

When they reached the ground floor, Sophia Shaw wasn’t there. The butler smiled and announced, ”The eldest and second young masters have already left for work.”

Nina Norton waved a dismissive hand. ”Let them go.”

Now that she had her two wonderful daughters-in-law with her, she couldn’t care less about her sons.

’It would be nice if her daughters were back, too.’ Unfortunately, both of them were not homebodies and preferred to focus on their careers. Still, that was a good thing in its own way, and Nina Norton was proud of them.

That feeling of pride, however, vanished the instant she looked at her youngest son sitting across from her.

”How did you become more of a homebody the older you get?” Nina Norton frowned, sizing up Ian Sterling, who seemed to be getting paler. ”I remember you loved playing outside when you were little.”

Lynn Winslow, sitting nearby, bit her silver fork to suppress a smile. The motion of Ian Sterling’s hand, which was cutting his fried egg, paused. ”I was young and foolish back then,” he said evenly.

He said it with such bold-faced conviction that the other three didn’t know whether to laugh or be rendered speechless.

”All right. In that case, you can drive us to the mall later, and then you can go straight home.”

Even though it was raining, the weather wasn’t too hot, so she wanted to go out with her two daughters-in-law. They might get wet going anywhere else, but a mall posed no such risk. After all, they could go from their own underground garage directly to the mall’s underground parking.

”...” Ian Sterling was left speechless, unsure how to respond. To make matters worse, Lynn Winslow was leisurely eating her breakfast, making no move to come to his defense.

After breakfast, Ian Sterling followed Lynn Winslow back to their room to change. He pulled her into his arms and demanded, ”Why didn’t you stick up for me?”

Lynn Winslow laughed. ”Are you talking about Mrs. Norton telling you to just drop us off and go home? I think she’s being very considerate of you.”

But the mischievous glint in her eyes told a different story.

Ian Sterling raised a hand and gently pinched Lynn Winslow’s cheek, giving it a little shake. He grit his teeth. ”Fine. You just wait.”

Lynn Winslow pouted, unbothered. ’What’s he going to do? The most he ever does is tease me a bit, and I’m not the only one who ends up with teary eyes.’

After getting changed, Lynn heard Nina Norton calling for her. She ruthlessly abandoned Ian Sterling and headed into Nina’s walk-in closet.

Nina Norton wanted her help picking an outfit. Lynn Winslow took on the task with the seriousness of a front-row fashion critic, analyzing each piece one by one.

”How about this one, Mrs. Norton?” Lynn Winslow held up a mid-length dress in a warm color palette, handing it to Nina and explaining her reasoning for the choice.

Nina Norton nodded in agreement. Lynn then stepped out of the walk-in closet to give her some privacy to change.

Sophia Shaw, now changed, was slowly descending the stairs. For some reason, Lynn Winslow’s heart skipped a beat, and she rushed forward to carefully support her.

”You don’t have to hold me, my bump isn’t even showing yet,” Sophia Shaw said gently. ”There’s no difference from before, really. I just have to be a little careful now and then. Don’t worry.”

Lynn Winslow shook her head. She was reminded of one of her frenemies who had been completely reckless during her pregnancy—roughhousing with her husband, going out to bars... she’d ended up falling down a flight of stairs. She lost the baby and almost her own life. Lynn didn’t say any of this out loud, of course. It was too morbid.

Ian Sterling had already gone downstairs to wait while Lynn and Nina were picking out clothes. He was now leaning against the elevator, yawning. Nina saw him but pretended she didn’t. It wasn’t worth saying anything; her youngest son wouldn’t listen anyway.

After he dropped them off at the mall, Nina Norton said to Ian Sterling just before getting out, ”You can go home and lie down now.”

Ian Sterling: ”...”

Lynn Winslow snorted with laughter. She unbuckled her seatbelt and, after Nina Norton and Sophia Shaw had gotten out, leaned over, cupped Ian Sterling’s face in her hands, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

A warmth spread through Ian Sterling’s chest. He was just about to say, ’You’re the best, after all,’ when Lynn Winslow, ever the gleeful pot-stirrer, shot another arrow straight through his heart.

”Go on home and get some sleep, baby.”

THWIP. Ian Sterling could have sworn he actually heard the sound of an arrow piercing his heart.

Lynn Winslow gave him a little wave, then got out of the car and entered the elevator with Nina Norton and Sophia Shaw without a backward glance.

Ian Sterling rubbed his aching chest for a moment to recover. Then, with a decisive turn of the wheel, he drove the car out of the mall’s underground garage.

He wasn’t actually going to go home and sleep, of course. Since he was already out, he headed to the office instead.