On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 129: Waiting for You

Chloe Sterling had been quiet all afternoon. Maya Jacobs didn’t know how to comfort her—there was really nothing one could say about a situation like this.

’She really couldn’t fathom it. How could a mother as cold as Rose Lynch exist in this world? It would be one thing if she were cold to both her children, but that wasn’t the case. When it came to Esther Sterling, she was the picture of a doting mother.’

She knew Chloe Sterling had seen it all at lunchtime—had seen that mother and daughter laughing and chatting together. Although Chloe acted like it didn’t bother her, Maya knew she must be hurting inside.

Maya Jacobs suddenly sighed.

Wyatt Hank turned to look at her. "What’s wrong?"

Maya said sullenly, "Nothing."

Wyatt said, "It’s fine. It’s just a small setback. We’ll definitely find a way to solve it."

Knowing he was talking about the research project, Maya just nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Meanwhile, Chloe Sterling was completely absorbed in her experiment, trying and failing again and again, well into the evening.

Seeing her still at it, Maya Jacobs walked over. "Chloe, it’s already past seven. Stop trying for today. You can continue tomorrow."

Focused on her work, Chloe Sterling spoke slowly, "You guys go ahead. I have something tomorrow, so I won’t be able to come in. I’ll just try for a little while longer."

"Then just try again the day after tomorrow. We still have several unsolved problems anyway."

"I don’t have anything to do at home, so I might as well stay a little longer."

"Well... don’t stay out too late, then."

"Okay. You guys can go."

The others left one by one, leaving Chloe Sterling alone in the lab. She ran the tests over and over as the night outside grew darker and darker.

It wasn’t until her phone suddenly rang in her pocket that she noticed the clock on the wall. It was already past nine at night.

She pulled off her gloves, took the phone out of her pocket, and answered immediately. "Hello, Jasper Lockwood."

"Where are you? Why aren’t you home yet?"

"I’m still at the lab. I’m heading back right now."

"Why are you so late today?"

"The tests kept failing, so I ended up staying late." Chloe Sterling stood up, speaking as she walked. "Are you already home?"

"Yeah, I’m home."

Chloe Sterling turned off the lights and walked out of the lab. "There shouldn’t be any traffic at this hour. I estimate I’ll be home in about half an hour."

After a moment of silence, Jasper Lockwood suddenly asked, "If I hadn’t called, would you have kept going?"

Chloe Sterling replied, "...No, I was just about to leave."

"Have you had dinner?" Jasper Lockwood asked again.

Chloe Sterling answered, "...I ate."

Jasper Lockwood pressed, "What did you eat?"

"The cafeteria," Chloe Sterling said.

In reality, she hadn’t eaten dinner at all. In fact, she hadn’t even had a sip of water since that afternoon.

After a pause, Jasper Lockwood finally said, "I’ll wait for you."

"I know. I’m hanging up now."

"Okay."

Chloe Sterling put her phone away and continued walking. The entire building was deathly quiet, without a single sound.

After she stepped out of the building, the area under the dim lights was still silent. There was basically no one left near the lab building at this hour. Chloe Sterling walked alone through the night, her shadow stretching long behind her, creating a somewhat lonely figure.

Suddenly, a figure entered her line of sight. She looked closer and stared in astonishment. "Jasper Lockwood! What are you doing here?"

Jasper Lockwood walked up to her, his lips parting slightly. "Waiting for you, of course."

"Y-you, why didn’t you say so on the phone? When did you get here?"

"When I called you." As he spoke, Jasper Lockwood took her hand. "Come on, let’s go."

The two of them walked to the roadside. There was only one car and no one else in sight. Chloe Sterling glanced around and asked, "Henry Chamberlain isn’t with you?"

"No." Jasper Lockwood opened the passenger side door. "Get in. I’m your driver for tonight."

Chloe Sterling chuckled softly and got into the car.

Jasper Lockwood shielded her head as she got settled, then closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

The car pulled away slowly into the night.

It was the first time Chloe Sterling had ever seen Jasper Lockwood drive himself. Feeling a bit skeptical, she suddenly said, "How about I drive?"

Guessing what she was thinking, Jasper Lockwood glanced over at her, his expression serene. "Relax. I may not drive often, but I can absolutely guarantee I’ll get you home safely."

Chloe Sterling cleared her throat. "That’s not what I meant."

Jasper Lockwood didn’t say anything, but suddenly accelerated.

Watching the high-rises streak past the window, Chloe Sterling felt her worry was a bit excessive. Jasper Lockwood’s driving skills were actually quite good.

Before long, Chloe Sterling sensed something was off. This wasn’t the way back to the Lockwood Residence. "Jasper Lockwood," she said, "did you take a wrong turn?"

Jasper Lockwood said, "We’re not going home just yet."

"Then where are we going?"

"To eat dinner."

"Huh?" Chloe Sterling raised an eyebrow. "You haven’t had dinner yet?"

"Nope." After a pause, Jasper Lockwood added, "Is there anything you’re craving?"

"What do you want to eat?" Chloe Sterling asked.

"It’s up to you."

She hadn’t really felt it before, but now that they were talking about food, Chloe Sterling realized she was hungry. After a moment of thought, she said, "How about hot pot?"

The weather had turned cold, perfect for hot pot.

The corner of Jasper Lockwood’s mouth curved up. "Okay."

A few minutes later, the car pulled into the underground garage of a large building.

They got out of the car, took the elevator upstairs, and arrived at a hot pot restaurant.

Chloe Sterling knew Jasper Lockwood couldn’t handle overly spicy food, so she ordered a half-and-half pot: one side spicy, the other a mild mushroom broth.

But after the dishes arrived, Jasper Lockwood barely ate, spending most of his time serving her instead.

"You don’t have to keep getting food for me. You’ve barely eaten anything yourself," Chloe Sterling said.

Jasper Lockwood replied, "I was hungry a moment ago, but now I’m not really."

Chloe Sterling looked at him suspiciously and suddenly asked, "Did you bring me out to eat on purpose?"

’Jasper Lockwood must have people at The Medical College. He knows her every move, so of course he knew she hadn’t eaten dinner and had been working right up until he called her.’

"Yes." Jasper Lockwood didn’t deny it.

"You knew I hadn’t eaten dinner?"

"I knew."

After a moment’s thought, Chloe Sterling asked again, "You... arranged for someone to watch me at The Medical College?"

Jasper Lockwood pressed his lips together without a word, a silent admission.

Chloe Sterling had suspected as much; she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed. "Was it after Silas Coldwell came looking for me at The Medical College?"

"No, it was earlier than that. It was after he arrived in Crestfall. Back then, I didn’t even know you were Lynn Chester." Jasper Lockwood’s deep, intense eyes were fixed on her as he added, "I told you I would protect you."

Chloe Sterling was slightly taken aback. "That early!"

"Yes."

Chloe Sterling pressed her lips together, momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing her silence, Jasper Lockwood asked, "Are you unhappy about it?"

Knowing he was doing it for her own good, Chloe Sterling wasn’t angry. "No, I’m just a little surprised. I can’t believe I never noticed. My powers of observation have really slipped lately."

"It’s not that your observation skills are poor, it’s that it was genuinely difficult to notice."

Chloe Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Difficult to notice? It wasn’t one of the bodyguards from the Lockwood Residence?"

"No," Jasper Lockwood said. "It’s a student at The Medical College. Naturally, it would be difficult for you to tell."

Chloe Sterling was speechless for a moment. "...You bribed a student at The Medical College?"

Jasper Lockwood replied, "Not bribery, exactly. They already work for the Lockwood Group."