Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Leaving

Victor Morgan’s words nearly left Roman Lynch speechless.

How could he possibly admit that was his plan?

But when Roman realized Victor might actually be angry and had no intention of going to Jessie first, he found himself even more anxious than Jessie herself.

How could he not be anxious? If Victor Morgan and Jessie Sterling kept this up, he would be indirectly responsible for the newlyweds’ rift.

If he got stuck with that label, he’d be a laughingstock wherever he went.

“Who said anything about taking credit? I heard from Serena that Jessie hasn’t left her room all day. I was worried she’s still upset about yesterday,” Roman Lynch said. He and Xavier Warren had no idea that not only had Victor Morgan gone to find Jessie Sterling last night, but he’d also been slapped by her.

“…So, should we go check on her?” Roman Lynch asked.

Victor Morgan didn’t say a word, just looked up and shot him a glance.

Once they were outside, Roman Lynch asked Xavier Warren, “What was with that look from Old Man Morgan just now?”

Xavier Warren rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It means he wants us to stop meddling.”

“???”

Xavier Warren said, “Can’t you tell the two of them are still giving each other the cold shoulder?”

Roman Lynch was silent.

“Besides, Old Man Morgan probably went to see Jessie last night,” Xavier Warren said. Though he hadn’t seen it himself, based on Victor Morgan’s prior attitude toward Jessie Sterling, it was very likely the two had a nasty fight when they weren’t around.

“Forget it, forget it.” Xavier Warren felt frustrated just thinking about it. He never imagined the trip he’d arranged would turn into such a huge mess just because Nina Walsh showed up.

When it came to matters of the heart, the more outsiders like them got involved, the messier things became.

Since Jessie Sterling wasn’t going out, Xavier Warren could only arrange for the kitchen staff to send more treats over to her.

That evening, Jessie Sterling, holding her tablet, finally took a break from drawing. However, her readers, who had eagerly clicked on the new Chapter notification, were completely floored by the update.

Normally, Jessie Sterling’s comic was a heartwarming slice-of-life story, but today’s update had suddenly turned into a romantic battlefield.

The male lead with the black earring, a fan favorite since his first appearance, was nowhere to be seen in tonight’s installments. Instead, the female lead met a host of new characters.

There was a younger, innocent virgin college boy; a dashing swordsman transported from ancient times; a yandere surgeon in a white coat; and even one of the trendiest new character types: a beast-man husband!

A whole smorgasbord of male love interests seemed to flood in all at once. Although none of them got much panel time, there was no denying that every single one Jessie Sterling drew had a breathtakingly handsome face.

“I thought I was a die-hard 1v1 shipper, but today I realized, no, I’m just a die-hard stan for pretty faces.”

“I don’t like love rivals; I just like a sweet, slow-burn romance, preferably with zero drama! After all, I’ve had enough of love’s bitterness in the real world, so I want something beautiful and romantic in my 2D world. That’s not too much to ask, right? But now, AHHHHHH, I just have to say, Author, this is amazing! We modern women have to go all in!”

“Is the author mentally okay? This plot development is so unhinged! AHHH! But what do I do? I think the plot is insane, but I also think the new love interests are kind of amazing!”

“New reader here. I didn’t like the author’s old style, but I love this kind of romantic battlefield, I love male competition! Bring it on, bring it on! I want to see one girl with five husbands! A different one every day of the week, with weekends off!”

“Excuuuse me, but I’m here for the human x beast-man pairing, hehe. More, please, I don’t mind.”

Of course, there were also “pure romance” fans who didn’t understand why the author’s style had taken such a drastic turn, begging her not to throw in any crazy plot twists. But Jessie Sterling had no desire to glance at the online comments right now. She was busy packing.

“Are you really leaving?” Lynn Jennings asked from the side, her own suitcase also wide open.

Half an hour earlier, Jessie Sterling had suddenly asked her if she wanted to go to Finland to see the northern lights.

Lynn Jennings found the proposal incredibly tempting. She hadn’t traveled abroad in a long time, not since she started working at the research institute.

But the thought that Jessie Sterling was planning to run off to another country without telling Victor Morgan made her hesitate.

Jessie Sterling was the type of person who acted on her impulses. “Doesn’t he want to give me the cold shoulder?”

All day, Jessie Sterling hadn’t received a single message from Victor Morgan. Her initial, stifled anger had now given way to calm.

“Are you serious, or are you just throwing a fit?” Lynn Jennings suspected Jessie was just being difficult. If so, she would much rather Jessie talk things over with Victor, have him apologize, and let the young couple’s little tiff blow over.

Jessie Sterling stopped what she was doing. She turned her head, arched an eyebrow, and smiled at Lynn Jennings.

“Of course I’m serious.”

Jessie Sterling didn’t consider this to be throwing a fit just to “teach Victor Morgan a lesson.”

She had already thought it all through by dinnertime.

Before they married, during their second meeting, she had proactively told Victor Morgan that she wouldn’t interfere in his private life. As long as he didn’t cause a public scene that would embarrass her, she didn’t care what he did.

At the time, she was determined not to become the kind of wife who desperately tried to control her husband’s every move, especially if their relationship was already one in name only.

But then Victor Morgan had proposed a different kind of marital arrangement. They had reached a consensus, and so, in the days that followed, she had unconsciously raised her expectations.

Now she was upset because she saw Nina Walsh in the hot spring with Victor Morgan. If she got angry about it, wouldn’t she become the very type of person she used to look down on?

Even if she wanted to keep a tight rein on Victor Morgan’s private life, she wouldn’t do it by throwing a hysterical fit, nor would she do it by constantly trailing after him.

Unless Victor Morgan offered something to her willingly, she couldn’t be bothered to ask for it.

Having figured this out, Jessie Sterling immediately booked a flight back to Southaven.

If Victor Morgan wasn’t going to come and coax her, she could find her own fun.

“It’s not fun staying here anyway. And if we want to go to a hot spring, why not Kanto or Kaitos? But we just went last year, so let’s try a new place this year,” Jessie Sterling said.

After saying this, she couldn’t help but mutter, unsure if she was saying it for Lynn Jennings’s benefit or her own.

“I was perfectly happy before he came along, wasn’t I? It makes no sense to be unhappy after marrying him.”

’No matter where I am, being happy is what matters most.’

Seeing how serious she was, Lynn Jennings decided to throw caution to the wind and join her friend.

And she really was risking it all; the research institute definitely hadn’t given her that much vacation time.

She stepped out to make a call to Cyrus Sheridan.

After Xavier Warren and Roman Lynch left, Victor Morgan stared into space for a while before getting back to his work.

He wasn’t very productive today.

By the time he heard that Jessie Sterling and Lynn Jennings had left, it was already noon the next day.

He hadn’t gone looking for Jessie, and given his attitude in the room yesterday, Xavier Warren—who knew they were gone—didn’t dare approach him.

When Victor Morgan went to the restaurant to eat today, he was actually hoping to try his luck.

’Maybe Jessie will be out and about, too?’

But just as he entered the restaurant, he overheard Xavier Warren talking about how Jessie had driven off.

“Who left?” Victor Morgan walked forward and asked, his face darkening.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep