Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Slap

After Nina Walsh ran out of the restaurant, she realized no one was chasing her.

She stood rooted to the spot and looked back, her eyes glued to the exit. She waited for a long time in the biting wind as the snow fell harder and harder. Finally certain that no one was coming out for her, the tears she’d been holding back at last began to fall.

Jessie Sterling was true to her word. After dinner, she and Lynn Jennings returned to their cabin. Before they left, Jessie made a point of going to her room to get her luggage.

Serena Lynch was still angry with Roman Lynch and didn’t want to hang around the guys either, so she casually asked Jessie Sterling and Lynn Jennings if they wanted to play cards. Three people weren’t enough for a game of mahjong, but they could certainly play some card games.

Lynn Jennings and Jessie Sterling were both fine with that, so the three of them headed back together.

“You’re really not going back?” Lynn Jennings asked as she drove.

Jessie Sterling grunted. “I’m unhappy. Why should I go back?”

Lynn Jennings smiled. “Looks like even though I’m the one visiting Aethelburg, I’m still the one who has to put you up.”

Jessie Sterling glared. “…So I should kick Victor Morgan out? You can move in with me?”

Hearing that, Lynn Jennings’s brow twitched. “On second thought, never mind. I’m already scared of ending up on President Morgan’s hit list. If you kick him out just so you and I can mess around, wouldn’t I be usurping his place? Hahaha!”

Jessie Sterling and Serena Lynch both laughed when they heard this.

Serena Lynch said, “Speaking of which, I’ve never seen anyone reject Victor, let alone kick him out. I kind of want to see it.”

Lynn Jennings replied, “You mean you want to see me get my ass handed to me?”

“Hahaha—”

In the end, Jessie Sterling didn’t get to play cards with Serena Lynch that afternoon. Both she and Lynn Jennings were from Southaven, and their usual winter escape was a trip to a tropical island. And even if they’d been to the northeast and played in the snow before, for someone from the south, could the excitement of seeing snow ever truly fade?

So for the rest of the afternoon, the three of them, oblivious to the cold, started building a snowman outside. That somehow turned into a snowball fight, and no one was willing to give an inch.

By the time they’d worked up a sweat, their clothes were soaked through with melted snow. Huddled together and shivering, they ran back to their room. With a series of SPLASHES, all three of them plunged into the hot spring.

“Aaaah…” Enveloped by the wonderfully warm water of the hot spring, Jessie Sterling let out a sigh of pure bliss. “This is so nice.”

“Now *this* is the life!” Lynn Jennings exclaimed, leaning against a rock and tilting back her slender neck.

Serena Lynch swam two small laps in the hot spring before her head popped up. “I know, right! All of a sudden, I’m craving fried chicken…”

She shouldn’t have said anything. The moment she mentioned food, the other two, who had been romping around outside all afternoon, realized they were getting hungry too.

“Do they have that here?” Jessie Sterling asked.

Serena Lynch gave a mischievous grin. Half an hour later, the three of them emerged from the hot spring and went straight up to the second-floor lounge. Outside, the snow was falling thicker and faster, but the room was cozy and warm.

They sat together before the large floor-to-ceiling window, watching the thick snowflakes drift down outside. An entire table was covered with fried chicken and beer.

It wasn’t the most nutritious meal, but it was perfect for a day like this.

Jessie Sterling was a lightweight. Lynn Jennings had originally been keeping an eye on her, but somehow, right under Lynn’s nose, Jessie had managed to sneak several cans of beer.

By the time Lynn Jennings noticed, Jessie Sterling’s face was already flushed, and she looked drunk.

Jessie Sterling was not a quiet drunk. Just as Lynn Jennings and Serena Lynch were about to team up to haul her downstairs to the big bed on the first floor, the doorbell rang.

Lynn Jennings went to get the door. Standing outside was none other than Victor Morgan.

She opened the door but didn’t let him in, merely frowning as she asked, “President Morgan?”

The moment Lynn Jennings opened the door, Victor Morgan was hit by a strong smell of alcohol. A little while earlier, Lynn and Serena, who could both hold their liquor, had decided beer wasn’t hitting the spot and had room service bring up some red wine. The air in the room was now thick with the mixed aroma of booze.

“Where’s Jessie?” Victor Morgan asked.

Lynn Jennings replied, “She’s inside. But, President Morgan, you should know that Jessie already said she was staying here tonight. Did you need something from her?”

Though her words were formally polite, her expression was anything but deferential.

Victor Morgan took a deep breath. “I want to see her.”

A troubled look crossed Lynn Jennings’s face. She figured Jessie had no desire to see him right now. Besides, Jessie was drunk. If she just let Victor Morgan take her away, she’d have to answer to Jessie tomorrow.

As for what Victor Morgan thought, that wasn’t her concern.

“It’s not a good time,” Lynn Jennings said, blocking the doorway without any intention of backing down.

Just as Victor Morgan was about to speak again, Jessie came staggering toward the door.

“Who says I’m going back with you?” Jessie suddenly bellowed.

The shout made even Lynn Jennings jump and turn around.

Jessie was barefoot, ignoring Serena Lynch’s attempts to stop her. She shuffled forward, one hand braced against the wall. Her steps were wobbly, but she carried herself with an imposing air, as if she were ten feet tall.

“Jessie?” Lynn Jennings asked tentatively.

Jessie wobbled her head in a nod at her. “It’s fine. You can stand down. I’m going to have a little chat with him…”

Lynn Jennings: “…”

Hearing that, she seriously doubted if Jessie could even form a coherent sentence.

But the speaker was full of confidence. She pushed the person in front of her aside and headed toward Victor Morgan at the door. Unfortunately, drunk people don’t notice things like a step-down entryway. The moment Jessie pushed Lynn aside and took a step forward, her whole body tipped over, and she started to fall.

“Whoa!” Lynn Jennings reached out the instant she saw Jessie lose her balance.

But Jessie was falling faster than she could react. Lynn only managed to grab her fingertips before she watched helplessly as Jessie slipped from her grasp.

Victor Morgan caught Jessie in one smooth motion, his large hand landing on her shoulder.

The force of her fall didn’t even make him take half a step back.

The overwhelming stench of alcohol filled his senses.

“Jessie,” he said in a low voice, unsure if the woman in his arms was even remotely sober.

Then, the next moment—

SMACK—

The crisp sound of a slap rang out at the doorway.

Both Serena Lynch, who was standing further back, and Lynn Jennings, whose arm was still outstretched, froze in stunned silence.

Victor Morgan, too, was stunned for a moment.

In his thirty years of life, it was the first time Victor Morgan had ever been slapped.

In that same instant, the man’s expression darkened.

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