You're not leaving this time.

Zane Lancaster shook his head, so Lynn decided not to press the issue.

After dinner, the three of them got into the driver’s car and headed to a bar owned by Zane Lancaster.

Lynn turned her face to the window, remaining silent the entire way. Joel Winslow opened his mouth, wanting to speak to her, but Zane Lancaster stopped him.

Zane Lancaster shook his head at him, and Joel Winslow had no choice but to swallow his words.

The car stopped at the entrance of the bar. After getting out, Lynn started to walk inside.

She stared straight ahead, but Zane Lancaster and Joel Winslow saw someone standing not far away. They both gasped, their feet frozen to the spot.

“Lynn.”

Lynn’s eyes flew wide. In disbelief, she slowly turned her head toward the sound of the voice.

The man looked somewhat disheveled and had grown even thinner. His wrist was wrapped in a strange-looking gauze bandage, stark white and piercing to the eye.

He took a few steps forward and said cautiously, “Lynn, I’ve come for you.”

Lynn even took a step back. She stood there, stunned for a long moment, before rasping, “Y-You… why are you here?”

“Lynn, I…” Ian Sterling sensed something was wrong with her. He strode forward and grabbed Lynn’s wrist, asking with difficulty, “Don’t you remember? In Quartos, you—”

Lynn shook his hand off and said coldly, “We already broke up. What are you doing here?”

Ian Sterling stared at her, stunned. He recklessly reached out and cupped Lynn’s face, searching her eyes as he demanded, “No, this isn’t right. You don’t remember? You’re lying to me, aren’t you? Are you angry I didn’t listen to you, so now you’re deliberately messing with me?”

His eyes had already turned red the moment he saw Lynn. Now, tears streamed down, tracing paths along his thin, pale cheeks.

Seeing that his actions were hurting Lynn, Zane Lancaster and Joel Winslow frowned and stepped forward to pull Ian Sterling’s hands away.

Zane Lancaster said coldly, “Are you crazy? Can’t you see you’re hurting her?”

Shoved away, Ian Sterling’s hands trembled as he slowly shook his head. A tear slid to the corner of his mouth, seeping past his lips. Ian Sterling tasted his own tear.

Lynn watched him quietly. A flicker of heartache crossed her eyes, but she still said faintly, “Ian Sterling, I don’t know what you’re talking about. We broke up a long time ago. Everything that needed to be said was said. You should go home.”

Her retreating figure looked flustered and panicked. Joel Winslow followed her worriedly, but Zane Lancaster remained standing there, gazing at the silently weeping man before him.

He had seen photos of this man on Lynn’s phone before. He had also seen him, through video calls, clinging to Lynn’s side, impossible to drive away, back when they were passionately in love.

To this day, the background image on Lynn’s social media profile was still a photo of the two of them together.

“Ian Sterling, why did you come here?”

He asked seriously, without any other emotion.

Ian Sterling looked up at him, and after a twitch of his lips, he said, “I thought she would still remember. Remember what happened later… Never mind.”

He raised a hand to wipe away his tears, then turned his face to gaze at the brightly lit street in the distance. He murmured, “As long as she’s okay, nothing else matters for now.”

‘I need to think this through. I have to be fully prepared before I can see Lynn again. Coming here so rashly… I was so flustered I couldn’t even speak clearly.’

A supercar was parked not far away, and Zane Lancaster found it somewhat familiar. He watched as Ian Sterling walked over to it. A person got out of the driver’s seat—it was none other than Zane’s older brother. Unlike illegitimate sons like him, this man’s mother was Cruz’s lawfully wedded wife.

He thoughtfully opened the car door for Ian Sterling. Only after Ian was seated did he say, “I’m going to go see my dear little brother.”

Zane Lancaster couldn’t hear what Ian Sterling said from inside the car; he only saw his older brother walking over with a smile.

“Little brother, you know the young master of Veridia’s Sterling Family?”

He was feigning ignorance. If he could bring Ian Sterling here to find Lynn, how could he not know what was between them?

Zane Lancaster said coldly, “Brother, you’re quite good at playing dumb.”

He spoke in Chinese, using a Veridian proverb. Edward chuckled. Their father admired Veridian culture, so naturally, he understood Chinese as well.

Edward shrugged, a malicious smile playing on his lips. “I see. Well, he and I will be leaving then. After much effort, Father finally managed to wrest the Sterling patriarch’s commission from the other families. He wants us to take good care of their precious young master. Father has entrusted this important matter to me, so in the coming days, he and I might just be appearing before you and Miss Winslow again.”

Zane Lancaster narrowed his eyes at him, but Edward suddenly leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “You didn’t know, did you? As long as I take good care of him, Father will give the partnership with Veridia to me. So what if the Winslow family has your back? Everything you’re fighting for will end up mine.”

Zane Lancaster gritted his teeth, watching as Edward shot him a provocative smile before turning and walking away. He remained standing there for a long time.

He couldn’t return to Veridia freely. His father had always wanted to expand into the Veridian market and planned to send one of his sons there. Zane Lancaster had been fighting for this opportunity, but he never expected that Ian Sterling’s arrival would completely disrupt his plans.

The supercar nearly brushed past him as it drove off. Zane Lancaster finally snapped out of his daze, composed himself, and walked into the bar.

Lynn saw him come in and asked tentatively, “What did you say to him?”

“Not much. I just asked him why he came, but he didn’t give a clear reason.” Zane Lancaster sat down beside her, a dull ache throbbing in his head.

His expression was too awful to hide, and there was no way Lynn wouldn’t notice. She frowned and asked seriously, “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Or did he—”

“No, it’s Edward,” Zane Lancaster decided not to hide it from her and sighed. “With Ian Sterling coming here, the Sterling Family made all the arrangements for his visit. The Cruz family ended up winning the bid to host him, and my father gave the job to Edward. Which means… I probably won’t be able to go to Veridia anymore.”

Lynn froze for a second. She opened her mouth, but she didn’t know how to comfort Zane Lancaster.

Zane Lancaster’s mother was from Veridia. She had been forcibly brought to his father’s home by Cruz and never returned to her beloved homeland before she passed away. That’s why Zane had always made going to Veridia his goal, doing his utmost to please the father he detested most.

Zane Lancaster had even mentioned during dinner that Cruz was about to relent. And now, it was all disrupted by Ian Sterling’s arrival…

Lynn didn’t know what to say. After all, Ian Sterling had come here for her, and this was a matter the Winslow family couldn’t interfere in.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. I’ll go find Ian Sterling and ask him to help you.”

“Don’t. It’s not necessary.” Zane Lancaster stopped her, his gaze lowered in deep thought.

Lynn pressed her lips together, feeling guilty.

Zane Lancaster noticed and looked up at her, suddenly smiling. “You two have already broken up, yet you’re still taking the blame for this.”

Lynn stared blankly at Zane Lancaster.