On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 73: She Likes Hard Liquor

Rose Lynch was about to go find Chloe Sterling when she got a call from Ruby Lynch, telling her to come to the hospital.

Esther Sterling couldn’t take the blow. Preferring death to prison, she had slammed her head against a wall when no one was looking and had been rushed to the hospital.

Upon hearing the news, Rose Lynch rushed to the hospital. The wound on Esther Sterling’s forehead was already bandaged. She lay weakly on the hospital bed, still unconscious.

"How could this happen..." Rose Lynch murmured, her heart twisting in pain.

Ruby Lynch said coldly, "It’s all Chloe Sterling’s fault! That wretched girl drove her to this! What is going on with Chloe Sterling? Who’s backing her? And why would Vincent Henson help her?"

At the mention of Chloe Sterling, Rose Lynch’s eyes grew cold as she recalled Chloe’s resolute, heartless expression from earlier. "I don’t know. Who knows where she learned these tricks!"

Warren Sterling was outside, taking a phone call.

Ruby Lynch glanced outside and lowered her voice. "Charles Sterling is back. Did you know?"

"What!" Rose Lynch’s face was a mask of shock. "He’s back? You’ve seen him?"

"I haven’t, no, but someone else has. And he’s living in his family’s old residence." After a pause, Ruby Lynch snorted mockingly. "Goes to show he didn’t make much of himself all those years abroad! It’s a good thing you didn’t stay with him when his family went bankrupt and married my brother-in-law instead. Otherwise, who knows what kind of miserable life you’d be living right now."

Rose Lynch bit her lip and said nothing.

Charles Sterling and Warren Sterling were distant relatives. Back then, she had first fallen in love with Charles Sterling, who was more handsome and had a more distinguished air. The two were even on the verge of marriage, but disaster struck. Charles’s family suddenly went bankrupt. Unable to handle the blow, his father died from the stress, and his mother passed away shortly after. This left Charles alone to pick up the pieces.

She met Warren Sterling at a party. She was stunningly beautiful, standing out even in a room full of gorgeous women. Warren Sterling was taken with her at first sight. Even though he knew she and Charles Sterling were a couple, he made no effort to hide his intentions. And when Charles lost everything, Warren began to pursue her relentlessly.

Looking at Charles Sterling, who now had nothing, she couldn’t find the courage to face such a life with him. In the end, she chose Warren Sterling.

Reeling from one blow after another, Charles Sterling chose to leave Crestfall. He was gone for twenty years, and no one heard from him in all that time.

It was only after she married Warren Sterling that she discovered she was pregnant with Charles Sterling’s child. That child was Chloe Sterling.

"That’s all ancient history. Let’s not talk about it again."

Rose Lynch did feel some guilt about leaving Charles Sterling back then.

Ruby Lynch glanced at her sister but said nothing more. She knew that while Rose might feel guilty, she would never regret her decision. Her sister was too proud and cared too much about appearances to ever endure a life of hardship.

Chloe Sterling left The Medical College early today and returned to the Lockwood Residence.

The moment she walked in the door, she saw Jasper Lockwood on his way out.

"When did you get back? Are you going out?"

Jasper Lockwood stopped in his tracks. "I have a little business to take care of. I’ll be back soon."

"Company business?"

"Mhm."

"Oh." Chloe Sterling stepped aside. "Go on, then. I’ll just head upstairs." With that, she started up the stairs.

Watching her retreating figure, Jasper Lockwood could tell she wasn’t in good spirits. After a moment of thought, he instructed Henry Chamberlain, "You go by yourself. Just send all the design plans to my phone."

Henry Chamberlain paused, surprised. "Sir, you’re not going in person?"

Chloe Sterling’s birthday was in a week, and Jasper Lockwood was planning to throw a romantic birthday party for her on a cruise ship. He wanted to be personally involved in the design and setup.

"My wife is in a bad mood. I’m going to stay and keep her company. We have plenty of time, anyway. I’ll go tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. I’ll head over now."

Jasper Lockwood then headed upstairs.

Chloe Sterling went back to her room and sat in a chair on the balcony, quietly gazing out the window.

She noticed a bird’s nest under the nearby eaves. Three baby birds were inside, chirping and flapping their wings, seemingly calling out for something.

After a little while, the mother bird returned, feeding the morsels in her beak to her hungry chicks.

The sight made Chloe Sterling think of her late adoptive mother. The woman had been mentally unstable, drifting between lucidity and madness, but she never forgot her own daughter. She would call out her name, even though her daughter was never coming back.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled Chloe from her thoughts. She looked into the room and was slightly taken aback to see Jasper Lockwood. "I thought you had to go out for something. Why are you back?"

"It’s been handled." Jasper Lockwood came over and sat down across from her. "So I came back," he said softly. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Chloe looked at him dubiously. "Really?"

"Really." After a pause, Jasper Lockwood asked, "What were you thinking about just now? It took you a while to notice me."

With Chloe Sterling’s sharp senses, she should have noticed him the moment he walked in.

Chloe Sterling gazed out the window. "I was thinking about my adoptive mother," she said quietly, "but... she’s gone now."

"Your... adoptive mother from the countryside?" Jasper Lockwood asked gently.

"Mhm."

"Was she good to you?"

"Yes, very good." Chloe Sterling nodded, but didn’t elaborate.

’Her adoptive mother really had been good to her. When she was lucid, she would cook delicious meals and tell her stories. When her mind was clouded, she would mistake Chloe for her own deceased daughter, calling out another girl’s name over and over again, constantly apologizing.’

’And she had responded every time, telling her it was okay, that she didn’t blame her.’

’But in the end, her adoptive mother had passed away, carrying the guilt she felt toward her real daughter, leaving Chloe and this world behind.’

Seeing that she didn’t want to say more, Jasper Lockwood didn’t press the issue. But he could still see the sadness hidden deep in her eyes.

Remembering that Jasper Lockwood had also grown up without his parents, Chloe didn’t want the oppressive mood to spread and dampen his spirits, so she quickly changed the subject.

"You didn’t go to the office today, did you?"

"I went. I just got back a little before you did."

After a moment’s hesitation, Chloe asked, "Silas Coldwell hasn’t been causing you any trouble lately, has he?"

Jasper Lockwood: "...No."

Chloe Sterling cleared her throat. "That’s good, then."

After a pause, Jasper Lockwood added nonchalantly, "It wouldn’t matter if he did cause trouble. I’m bored anyway. One more problem or one less, it makes no difference to me."

"..."

During dinner, Jasper Lockwood opened a bottle of red wine.

Seeing this, Chloe immediately said, "I want some, too."

"Of course." Jasper Lockwood poured her a glass.

Chloe Sterling raised her glass and took a sip, but it wasn’t satisfying. She preferred hard liquor.

’She found the fiery burn gratifying.’

’She decided she would buy some to stock the cellar.’

One glass after another, Chloe started to feel a little dizzy. Her tolerance seemed lower today, probably because of her mood.

Gazing at her beautiful, hazy eyes, Jasper Lockwood said, "Don’t drink any more. You’ve had a lot already. You’ll be drunk if you keep going."

Chloe Sterling’s lips curved into a dazzling smile. "Of course not! I can hold my liquor just fine." After a pause, she propped her chin on her hand, gazing at him. "Or are you just feeling sorry for your precious wine?"