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Ian Sterling hurried upstairs to find Lynn Winslow sitting on the rug by the bed, wincing as she rubbed her wrist.

“What’s wrong? Did you fall?” Ian Sterling quickly scooped her up, set her on the edge of the bed, and knelt in front of her, asking worriedly.

Lynn Winslow pouted aggrievedly and hummed in confirmation. A faint glint of light from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Looking down, she noticed that Ian Sterling was wearing a watch on his wrist, as well as their matching couple’s bracelet.

She looked up, and saw that Ian Sterling had also put in his stud earring.

“I thought your piercing would have closed up by now.”

They had gotten those piercings together not long after they first started dating. At the time, Lynn Winslow had read somewhere that couples who get pierced together stay together forever, so she had dragged Ian Sterling along to get it done.

When they were together, Ian Sterling wore it with her. But after they broke up and got back together, Lynn Winslow had never seen him wear it again. She’d assumed it had closed, leaving only a faint mark.

Ian Sterling coughed lightly and turned his face away, saying shyly, “I’ve always worn it. I just took it out because I didn’t want you to see it, and then I forgot about it.”

“No wonder.” Lynn Winslow leaned in with a grin, draping her arms over Ian Sterling’s shoulders to hug him. She let out a small yawn and asked softly, “What time is it?”

“A little after eight.”

It was only when Ian Sterling saw the time on his watch that he realized he had been up all this time without any sleep.

The curtains in the room were drawn tight, blocking out the sunlight, so Lynn Winslow couldn’t tell if it was day or night. She hadn’t slept enough. Letting go of Ian Sterling, she burrowed back under the covers, patted the space beside her, and mumbled, “Sleep with me. Don’t go. What if I fall again after you leave?”

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together, trying to hold back a smile, but traces of it still escaped as he spoke.

“Okay, I’ll stay with you.”

Lynn Winslow let out a delicate huff and rolled over to face the other way, her mind still fuzzy from just waking up.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Ian Sterling quickly surrendered, grinning. “How would I dare?”

He extended his arm, and Lynn Winslow, well-practiced, rolled into his embrace. She raised a hand to cover his eyes and planted a kiss on the corner of his lips before sprawling on top of him and murmuring, “Hurry up and sleep. What if you get ugly from staying up so late?”

Her hand remained where it was, warm against Ian Sterling’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was just psychological, but it really did seem to soothe his somewhat strained eyes.

He sighed deeply, rolled over to embrace Lynn Winslow, and was enveloped in her scent under the covers. Drowsiness washed over him, and he fell asleep within minutes.

———

With only two days left until the engagement ceremony, Ian Sterling was dragged to Nys by his good friends. Besides them, there were also a few other somewhat well-known playboys from Quartos.

Ian Sterling was extremely reluctant to go. It was only when Lynn Winslow said he should go have fun with his friends—since she was going to meet up with Chloe Clayton and Flora Fairfax—that Jasper Jennings and the others were finally able to get him out of the house.

“Your wife’s out having fun, so what are you doing at home? Having a staring contest with your two cat-sons?”

Ian Sterling, one leg crossed over the other and swinging lightly, lifted his chin with a hint of pride. “Yeah, so what? My cat-sons are very protective of me.”

Just now, when Jasper Jennings and the others had come to his house and were dragging him out, his two cats, Kiki and Hmph-hmph, had completely bristled. They had sprung sideways toward the group, and if it weren’t for their thick early winter clothes, his friends would have definitely gotten scratched up.

Kenneth Keller snorted and sat down next to Ian Sterling, gesturing for him to look at the group of people sitting not far away.

“See those guys over there?”

Ian Sterling frowned. “What about them?”

“One of them is a distant relative from your maternal grandfather’s side.” Kenneth Keller’s lips curled, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

‘When has any distant relative of the Norton family ever behaved themselves? In the end, though, they were all scared off by Mrs. Sterling.’

Ian Sterling looked away in disgust and said coldly, “Who let them in?”

“He wasn’t invited. Somehow he latched onto Nigel’s cousin and got brought along,” Zachary Quincy said, his lips twitching. “We just invited these playboys to liven things up. Who knew we’d hit a landmine?”

This cousin of Nigel Abbott’s was a real piece of work. Relying on his connection to the Abbott Family, he basically ran wild in Quartos. More magnanimous people couldn’t be bothered with him, while the petty ones would raise a fuss at their door. Then Mrs. Abbott, forced by her own family, would have no choice but to step in and handle it.

Ian Sterling propped his forehead on his hand and listlessly took a few sips of his drink.

Seeing that he seemed to be in a decent mood, Zachary Quincy took the initiative to ask, “You’re about to get your heart’s desire. How does it feel? Happy?”

At the mention of this, Ian Sterling’s lips curved into a smile. Before he could answer, Nigel Abbott had already walked over, sat down beside them, and interjected, “How could he not be happy? His tail’s about to stick straight up in the air.”

“Why are you just getting here?” Jasper Jennings asked, walking over with a bottle of wine and raising an eyebrow.

Nigel Abbott drawled, “Just escaped from home. Isn’t Finn about to get engaged? My family’s been nagging me, afraid Zoe will run away.”

As Zoe Sterling’s biological younger brother, Ian Sterling scoffed at this but didn’t comment.

The drinking party officially began. Ian Sterling was glued to his phone, chatting with Lynn Winslow, until Kenneth Keller, unable to watch any longer, confiscated it. Left with no choice, Ian Sterling had to join his friends.

After finally getting his phone back, he was anxious to know when Lynn Winslow would be home. The private room was a bit noisy, so Ian Sterling took his phone out to the quiet hallway to call her.

As luck would have it, he was just heading to the restroom to wash his hands. As he reached the door, he heard two voices from inside.

Ian Sterling frowned, lowered his hand, and listened quietly.

“If you ask me, with your cousin’s status, he should be finding a rich heiress in Quartos for a marriage alliance. What’s the point of finding someone from Morelia?”

“What are you talking about? Isn’t the Winslow family at the top of the pyramid in Morelia? My cousin is spoiled rotten. Everyone in the Sterling Family dotes on him. He doesn’t even have to ask; my uncle and aunt would agree to him being with anyone he wants.”

“Tch. No matter how powerful they are, they can’t compare to your cousin’s family.” After saying this, the person continued, “You came to Quartos this time… don’t tell me your family still hasn’t given up on the Nortons?”

The other person shot back, “If it were you, wouldn’t you be jealous of the Norton family’s power now? Tanner Sterling is so cheap. He has enough money to donate every year but won’t give a single bit to his own relatives.”

“Tanner Sterling is a total hypocrite. He looks all smiley, but he’s actually ruthless.”

Ian Sterling’s eyes narrowed, and a cold smirk played on his lips. He shoved the door open and leaned against the frame, chuckling lightly. “I thought you two would behave yourselves here. I didn’t realize you were so shameless.”

The two men jumped in fright. Seeing it was him, they immediately put on ingratiating smiles and explained, “Just some idle chatter, that’s all. Finn, you need the restroom? We’ll get out of your way.”

The two of them had a pretty good read on Ian Sterling’s temper. They knew he was angry and wanted to bolt.