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Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Proposing Here?

”Lynn asked me to come see you all, and to let you know.”

Ian Sterling pursed his lips. ”I told her you guys already knew and that it was pointless for me to come all this way, but she insisted.”

Nina Norton shot him a playful glare. ’As if I couldn’t see through that little ploy of his.’ She played along with her son, saying:

”If you were even half as thoughtful as Lynn, your father and I would be perfectly happy.”

”Oh.” Ian Sterling lowered his head in silence.

Spencer Sterling sipped his table wine and said coolly, ”You’re taking Mr. Powell and Elder Winslow with you, so take good care of them. Be sure to bring all the necessary personnel.”

Catching a look from Nina Norton, he paused, then continued, ”And when you get back, shouldn’t you start preparing for our two families to have a formal meeting?”

Ian Sterling hummed softly. ”Something like that.”

Noticing his hesitation and uncertainty, Samuel Shaw smiled and said, ”Is Finn feeling a little unsure of himself?”

”...” The chopsticks in Ian Sterling’s hand froze in midair before he quickly resumed his normal motion, picking up another piece of food.

Selene Sterling glanced up at him and chuckled derisively. ”It’s not a good thing for a man to be *too* confident, either.”

All the men at the table, whether they had spoken or not, fell silent.

In the end, Ian Sterling didn’t stay the night at Aerie Garden, and the excuse he gave was impossible to argue with.

”I’ll just go home. That way, I can head out directly tomorrow. If I stay here, I’ll have to take a detour in the morning.”

With a stony expression, Spencer Sterling waved him away. After Ian left, he said to Nina Norton, ”That son of ours... feels like we raised him for nothing.”

Nina Norton smiled gently. ”Well, not entirely for nothing. He did find us a wonderful daughter-in-law, after all.”

—

The next morning, Lynn Winslow woke early. Ian Sterling was not beside her.

She got up, washed her face, and glanced at the time. They still had three hours before they had to leave.

She stretched languidly and took the elevator downstairs. Ian Sterling was standing in the living room, watching the butler direct the staff as they loaded luggage into the car.

”Why are you up so early?”

Ian Sterling turned to look at her, a light chuckle in his voice. ”It’s not that early.”

When he had come home last night, the custom ring he’d ordered still wasn’t ready. So, just in case, he had brought back a different ring from his company—one he intended to give Lynn just for fun. But this morning, he got word that the custom ring was finished, so he had gotten up early to go and pick it up.

He touched his pocket, and when Lynn Winslow saw the small gesture, her heart gave a little squeeze.

She had a feeling Ian Sterling was planning to propose during this trip, but the thought of the actual moment still made her a little nervous.

”Where are the grandfathers? Are they not up yet?” Lynn Winslow glanced around. Even Zane Lancaster and Aiden Powell were nowhere to be seen.

”They’re in the backyard. Their daily routines are much healthier than ours.”

Lynn Winslow let out a soft huff and walked down the long corridor to the backyard to find them.

Mr. Powell and Elder Winslow were standing by the fishpond with their hands clasped behind their backs, watching the fish. Aiden Powell was leaning against Zane Lancaster, wheedling him to take him on some thrilling activities like skydiving during the trip.

Zane Lancaster was about to die of annoyance from the pestering. ”Go ask your cousin and your future cousin-in-law,” he said, exasperated. ”If they say yes, I’ll take you.”

”They’ll definitely say no! Come on, man, just take me this one time.” Aiden Powell knew full well who was the easy target here. As for his future cousin-in-law, when that man’s face went grim, who in all of Quartos wasn’t intimidated—besides his cousin, of course?

Hearing Aiden Powell’s plea, Lynn Winslow frowned and called out, ”Aiden Powell, what do you think you’re doing?”

Aiden Powell jumped in fright, retracting his hands and not daring to say another word. Zane Lancaster shot him an amused glance.

’He sure knows who to be afraid of.’

Lynn was already approaching. Aiden Powell tried to hide behind Zane Lancaster, not daring to look at his cousin’s face.

”Aiden Powell, what was that you just said you wanted to do?”

Zane Lancaster, who loved nothing more than to stir the pot, grinned. ”He was asking me to take him skydiving.”

”Oh, really? You’ve gotten bold, have you? How old are you, thinking you can go skydiving? You can go when you start getting good grades.”

”Well, that’s a wrap then. Guess he’ll never be able to go in this lifetime. What a shame.”

Lynn shot a glare at Zane Lancaster, who was still laughing at the spectacle. Zane raised his eyebrows and held up his hands in surrender, stepping aside to watch Lynn plant her hands on her hips and lecture her cousin.

’Wow... hmm, what an interesting sight. I’ve never seen this before.’

Aiden Powell was seeing stars from the lecture. He took a step forward and, in a rare show of intimacy, grabbed Lynn’s arm. ”Cousin, I won’t go! I won’t go!” he said frantically.

”Really?” Lynn looked down at Aiden Powell’s pathetic, pleading expression.

’It’s different from the wronged look Ian Sterling usually puts on,’ she thought. ’Aiden looks genuinely upset...’

”Fine.” Lynn let him off the hook. Only then did she notice that Aiden was still affectionately holding her arm.

She froze for a second. Her fingers tensed, but then she squeezed Aiden’s small hand back.

She looked up and called out to Mr. Powell and Elder Winslow, ”Breakfast is ready!”

The five of them headed back together, with Aiden holding onto Lynn’s hand the entire time.

The butler had already left with the luggage. Ian Sterling was on the phone by the floor-to-ceiling windows. When he heard footsteps, he turned, and his brow furrowed at the sight of Aiden Powell holding Lynn’s hand.

”Gotta go.” He hung up, not caring what the person on the other end was still saying. He walked over to Lynn, slapped Aiden’s hand away, and snatched Lynn’s hand for himself.

Lynn was amused. ”What are you doing?”

”Nothing. I thought I saw a red mark on your hand and wanted to check it,” Ian Sterling said with a light laugh, while secretly shooting a glare at an innocent-looking Aiden Powell.

Zane Lancaster strolled past them, chuckling as he teased, ”Ah, men. The air in here is so sour. Did someone knock over a bottle of vinegar in the kitchen?”

He continued toward the dining room as he spoke. Ian Sterling snorted, led Lynn over to wash her hands, and then meticulously dried them with a warm towel.

”There’s no need for all that. He’s just my cousin.”

”What does being cousins have to do with it? There’s an old saying about how even a grown son should keep his distance from his own mother, let alone a female cousin.”

”...”

Lynn was speechless. No matter what point she tried to make with Ian Sterling, he always had some ridiculous comeback ready.

He was like a professional contrarian, automatically arguing against everything.

After breakfast, Lynn went to her room to change clothes. The group then headed to the private airfield built exclusively for the private jets of these wealthy heirs.

The plane cruised smoothly through the sky. Bored, Lynn flipped through a fashion magazine, folding the corner of a page whenever she saw something she liked.

Although Ian Sterling rarely went into the office, he never neglected his duties. He sat beside Lynn, replying to emails.

”Sweetheart.”

Lynn looked up, confused. ”What is it?”

Beaming, Ian Sterling took a small box from his pocket and handed it to her.

Lynn froze, her eyes wide with disbelief. ”You’re not... proposing to me right here, are you?”

”Propose? What?” Ian Sterling was dumbfounded for a second before he caught on and laughed. ”What are you thinking? I just bought it for you to wear for fun.”

”Oh... haha, I thought it was, you know...” Lynn laughed, taking the box and opening it for a look.

She took the ring, slid it onto her finger, and admired it, her sparkling eyes filled with delight.

Ian Sterling watched her out of the corner of his eye, his heart pounding in his chest.