Chapter 916: Chapter 17: For Her, He Changed His Return Date (Second Update)

Horne Family.

Lena, who’d just said she hadn’t had breakfast yet, had actually already eaten—at Julia’s place.

After hanging up on Ivan Horne, she smiled and said to Julia, "Auntie, I feel like this time I can finally sell my big brother off."

Ruby immediately tapped her daughter’s pretty little nose. "Girl, what are you saying, your big brother is that unwanted?"

Julia sided with her sister. "I think Lena’s right, I’ve been wanting to sell Ivan off for ages, but no one will take him. He’s basically dead stock."

"Aunt, if you say that, Brother Ivan will be heartbroken." Camila Ruiz happened to walk in just then, caught Julia’s line, and naturally picked up the topic.

Camila was still holding her adorable daughter, with the nanny trailing behind.

Lena Horne stood up to greet them, took the little girl from Camila’s arms, and planted a bunch of loud kisses on the baby’s chubby face. Maybe she kissed a bit too hard, or maybe she’d lightly nibbled her; the little one pushed her away in protest, even swatting at Lena’s mouth and face with her tiny hands.

"Lena, no classes today?" After greeting Julia and Ruby, Camila sat down beside Julia and then asked Lena in curiosity.

"If I had class, how could you possibly see me here, Cousin?" Lena teased the baby as she spoke. She really liked her cousin’s daughter—fair, plump, so cute that every time she saw her, she wanted to take a bite.

Camila laughed. "I haven’t seen you for so long, and even when you’ve got time you don’t come over to my place." Then she turned to Julia. "Aunt Julia, I just heard you talking about Brother Ivan’s marriage. Has something finally come up?"

She and Jimmy Horne probably wanted Brother Ivan to find happiness more than anyone.

Camila knew very well that Brother Ivan didn’t love her; he’d only ever treated her like a little sister. But Jimmy had always worried that the only reason he’d managed to marry her was because Ivan had stepped back and let him have her.

Now the couple were blissfully happy, with both a son and a daughter, while Ivan was still single. In a city full of high-society heiresses, there wasn’t a single one he’d treated differently. No wonder Aunt Julia was anxious and Jimmy felt guilty.

Although, in Camila’s eyes, her own man was mostly just jealous.

"Where? We don’t even have the faintest stroke of the first character yet." Julia did hope there’d be some progress on her eldest son’s marriage, but that was just a hope, not reality.

Camila let out an "oh." "Then what were you all just talking about?"

"It’s this girl Lena, deliberately creating opportunities for Ivan and Lia Aiken. Who knows if the two of them can spark anything?" Julia said that, but there was a smile at the corner of her lips. She felt her eldest son treated Lia a bit differently—maybe because of that back-view painting.

Of course Camila had heard of Lia Aiken; that back-view painting was something her own man had bought and sent over to the Horne Family.

"Cousin, if my big brother asks my cousin to dig into my senior’s background, tell him not to help. Let my big brother stay curious and witness some things with his own eyes. That way he’ll feel bad for my senior—and then there might actually be a chance."

Camila laughed. "Lena, aren’t you afraid your big brother will skin you alive when he gets back for pulling something like this?"

Lena stuck out her tongue playfully. "He might be grateful to me in the future. At worst, I just won’t collect as many gifts from him for now."

Everyone laughed.

Almost thirty and still not married—the eldest Young Master Horne was pretty pitiful, getting schemed against by his whole family like this.

What Lena didn’t know was that Jimmy had already done exactly what she was talking about. Ivan had long ago asked Jimmy about Lia Aiken, but Jimmy only told him the basic facts and refused to reveal anything else.

Because of her family situation, Lia Aiken was quite an independent girl. Aside from the trouble she’d brought Ivan due to Ethan Aibileen’s sudden appearance, she hadn’t bothered him at all these last few days—not even taking the initiative to contact him.

Ivan was busy with work to begin with, leaving early and coming home late every day. The two of them actually went several days without seeing each other once.

Only after Ivan finished his business and was about to return to T City did he suddenly remember Lia.

By then, a whole week had passed.

That evening at dusk, Ivan deliberately waited for her in the lounge area on the first floor of the hotel.

Lia didn’t come back until after dark. She had no idea Ivan was waiting for her, and walked straight toward the elevators when she entered the hotel.

"Miss Aiken."

Ivan called out to her. Lia followed the voice and finally saw him.

She quickly walked over and asked politely, "Mr. Horne, you’re here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ivan gestured for her to sit down.

Lia took the seat opposite him. As they sat face-to-face, Ivan’s gaze grew focused. Lia, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, which made Ivan look at her in a new light. With a man as handsome as him staring at her with that level of attention, she could still stay composed, without the shyness or awkwardness other people showed.

"Have you been enjoying yourself here, Miss Aiken?" Ivan started with that. Lia nodded. "G City is great. My senior was right—just walking around here can really spark inspiration. I’ve gained a lot these past few days." Not only was her mood better, but her inspiration for painting was overflowing.

These days she went out during the day to wander and look for inspiration, and at night she came back to the hotel, set up the new easel she’d bought, and painted quietly in her room.

Her work was very detailed. After a whole week she’d only finished one and a half paintings—one landscape, and the half-finished one was... well, a portrait of Ivan. Portraits were harder; she wanted to capture the spirit in his eyes, so she worked very slowly.

Hearing her say this, Ivan fell silent for a moment.

He’d planned to take the red-eye back to T City that night, and had originally wanted to ask if Lia wanted to leave with him. But she liked it here so much that he felt asking her to leave now would just be a buzzkill.

"Mr. Horne, are you about to leave?" Lia wasn’t stupid. Normally when she got back to the hotel, Ivan wasn’t around yet. Today he was just sitting here, so she figured he must have wrapped things up.

The Horne Family’s industry in G City fell under the Valence Group’s local branch. There was no way Ivan could stay here long-term. He managed the massive Valence Group alone and was extremely busy. Now that things had been settled, he’d definitely be heading back.

"Mm. I was going to ask if you’d like to go back with me. But if you like G City, then stay and enjoy it a few more days. I’ll have someone accompany you. If anyone else tries to give you trouble, you can just use my name. I think my name still carries some weight." This was the first time, apart from his family, that Ivan had ever allowed someone to use his name as a shield.

Lia wasn’t the type to use his power to throw her weight around.

He trusted her.

"Thank you, Mr. Horne. Then I’ll stay a few more days." Lia didn’t stand on ceremony with him. She felt that after accepting so much of his help, too much politeness would just seem hypocritical.

Ivan pressed his lips together, then after a moment said, "May I treat you to dinner tonight, Miss Aiken?"

"Are you leaving tonight or tomorrow, Mr. Horne?"

"Tomorrow." Ivan couldn’t help changing his return flight.

Lia smiled. "Then let me treat you tonight. I’ve been wandering all over these past few days, taken in a lot of beautiful scenery and tasted a lot of great food. Just in time for me to take you to try some."