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Chapter 200: Chapter 200: A Man’s Mouth, a Deceiving Ghost

It suddenly started raining in the early morning. Lynn Winslow had left the window open before bed, and the sound woke her.

Lynn frowned, reaching over to pat the other side of the bed. She wanted Ian Sterling to close the window, but her hand only met empty space.

Confused, Lynn opened her eyes. She sat up and called out twice.

”Babe?”

There was no response. Lynn got out of bed to look for him, searching the living room, walk-in closet, and bathroom, but there was no sign of Ian Sterling.

She grabbed her phone and called him. It took a long time for him to pick up.

”Babe, where are you?”

It was noisy on Ian’s end—the sound of car horns and wind—and his voice was rushed.

”I’m almost at the hotel. We’ll talk when I get there.”

Lynn frowned in confusion, but she hung up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to look down.

The rain had filled the air with a layer of mist. Their floor was high up, so she couldn’t make out the scene below, only the bright headlights of cars on the road.

She went back to the bedroom, found her cigarettes by the headboard, and lit one on the balcony. She’d only smoked about half of it when she heard the front door open. Knowing how fussy Ian Sterling could be, she quickly stubbed it out. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Ian Sterling walked in, wearing a short, coffee-colored leather jacket and bringing the damp chill of the rain with him. Lynn walked up to him and frowned. ”Where have you been? Why are you all wet? Didn’t you have the driver take you?”

”I was just in the neighborhood, so I didn’t have the driver come.” He chuckled, taking off his leather jacket and tossing it onto a bench in the entryway. ”I’m going to hop in the shower. We’ll talk when I get out.”

Lynn watched his retreating back, thoroughly confused.

When Ian Sterling stepped out of the bathroom, he found Lynn Winslow sitting on the sofa just outside the door, watching him with narrowed eyes.

”You don’t sneak out every morning before I’m awake, do you?”

She had her arms crossed. The red slip she was wearing made her skin seem even paler, and it was dotted with the red marks Ian Sterling had left the night before. She looked utterly enchanting, yet she was staring at him with the attitude of an interrogator.

Ian Sterling was hardly one to be intimidated by her expression. He stepped forward with a smile, leaning down to brace his hands on the armrests on either side of her. ”Of course not,” he whispered. ”It was just this morning, and wouldn’t you know it, you caught me.”

”’Caught?’” Lynn picked apart his words. ”Did you do something you feel guilty about? Is that why you’d use a word like that?” Her slender fingers hooked the edge of the towel wrapped around Ian’s waist, and she gave it a firm tug.

Ian’s lips twitched in a resigned smile. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. ”I only said ’caught’ because of that look on your face. What else would I be up to?”

Lynn pushed his face away and pouted. ”Maybe you sneak out to see other women while I’m sleeping.”

”Am I that kind of guy? Besides, I give you everything I’ve got. Where would I find the energy for someone else?”

”What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Move!” Flustered, Lynn slipped out from under his arms. She shyly cursed, ”Pervert. Jerk.”

Ian Sterling stood his ground, running a hand through his still-damp hair and pushing it back. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

’Who would have thought Lynn would wake up so early? She was sleeping so soundly when I left. I even called her name a few times and she didn’t stir.’

He followed Lynn and saw her pull back the covers, about to get back in bed. ”I ordered breakfast on my way up,” he said. ”Want to eat before you go back to sleep?”

”Oh,” Lynn replied, rolling onto her side and playing on her phone.

Seeing her occupied, Ian went to change into his pajamas. The forecast called for rain all day, and since it was no fun to go out in the rain, they might as well just spend the day at the hotel.

Room service arrived with breakfast shortly after. Ian carried Lynn to the table, and seeing that she was still absorbed in her phone, he took on the role of attentive caretaker, feeding her bite by bite. He only started on his own meal after she had finished.

Lynn looked up. ”You still haven’t told me where you went this morning. And no vague answers.”

Ian sighed and said with a serious expression, ”I saw online there’s a dessert shop nearby I thought you’d love. You have to queue up for it in the morning, so I wanted to go get some for you. But who knew they’d be closed because of the rain? It was a wasted trip.”

”Really?” Lynn asked, skeptical.

Ian raised his hand as if taking an oath. ”Really.”

Lynn watched him quietly for a long moment. Seeing no trace of guilt on his face, she decided to believe him—for now. In any case, she could just make him take her there once the rain stopped.

’He’d already planned for this. If Lynn pressed him, he would use the dessert shop as an alibi.’

Lynn waited until Ian finished his meal, then she went back to the bedroom. After a quick wash, she crawled back into bed to play on her phone. Out in the living room, Ian messaged the people he had left at the site. Then, worried Lynn might check his phone, he deleted the conversation history before heading back to the bedroom.

He lay down and pulled Lynn into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head. Peeking at her phone screen, he was surprised to see a familiar face: Selene Sterling.

Ian frowned. ”Why are you watching Selene?”

”It’s hilarious. Selene is the best on shows like this.” Lynn’s lips curled into a smile as she explained the reality show to Ian. ”Look. I don’t know where this talent show dug up these absolute train wrecks, but they’re all so confident. And Selene is holding back so hard, she’s not even being passive-aggressive with them.”

”What’s so great about this? Change the channel.” Ian was still stewing about how Selene had mocked him and reveled in his misfortune recently. Frowning, he reached for Lynn’s phone.

Lynn snatched the phone away. ”What are you doing?” she said, annoyed. ”If you don’t want to watch, go look at your own phone. Why do you have to bother me?”

Ian put on a wronged expression and turned Lynn’s face toward him. ”She bullies me,” he said, looking pathetic, ”and you’re still watching her show.”

”I bully you too, and you still have to look at me every day.” Lynn was a master at redirecting blame and starting trouble for the fun of it. She tossed her phone onto the pillow, rolled over to face Ian, and pinched his cheeks. ”So? Are you sick of looking at me?”

”How could I ever be!” Ian exclaimed. He wished he could hold her in his arms twenty-four hours a day.

Lynn pouted, her expression screaming, ’Lying men and their sweet words.’ Ian had to concede defeat. He leaned down and gave her cheek a playful bite. ”Fine, watch it,” he said slowly. ”I won’t stop you, alright?”

Satisfied, Lynn turned back to the show, giggling at the on-screen antics. Ian really didn’t want to watch a show starring the sister who always bullied him, so he resigned himself to checking messages from his subordinates on his own phone.

His brow was furrowed, his expression grown serious. Lynn noticed his sudden silence and turned to glance at him. Seeing his look, she grew curious and craned her neck, trying to see his phone screen.

”What are you looking at? Did something happen?”

She startled him. Ian flipped his phone over in a flash, hiding the screen. When he looked up, he was met with Lynn’s slowly freezing expression.