Chapter 131: Chapter 131: All for Nothing

Then, before Victor Morgan could speak, she added, “Director Sterling and the others are still in the dining room next door. Have you had dinner yet, sir?”

Victor Morgan frowned. He’d barely heard the second half of what the housekeeper said, only catching the first part.

“She’s gone? Where did she go?”

The housekeeper didn’t know where the young miss went, either. All she knew was that she’d seen her board a plane with Miss Jennings earlier today.

“I don’t know…”

Victor Morgan gave a slight nod, then turned and strode toward the dining room next door.

The Sterling family was stunned by Victor Morgan’s sudden appearance.

Director Sterling was the first to react, calling out for the housekeeper to bring another place setting.

“Victor, come, come! Perfect timing. Sit down and eat with us,” Director Sterling said, beckoning him over.

Victor Morgan’s expression tightened. There were only three people at the dining table, and he noticed Jessie Sterling’s absence the moment he walked in.

The last flicker of hope in his heart died.

Seth Sterling’s voice pulled Victor Morgan from his thoughts.

“That’s alright, Dad…”

But Seth Sterling wouldn’t take no for an answer.

At this hour, it was obvious Victor Morgan hadn’t eaten dinner.

“Sit, sit. What could be more important than eating?” Seth Sterling said.

Victor Morgan had no choice but to sit down.

The housekeeper quickly brought him a place setting.

“Here for Jessie?” Seth Sterling gestured for Victor Morgan to have a bowl of soup first, to settle his stomach.

“Mm.”

“Had a fight?”

Victor Morgan replied, “I handled it poorly.”

Seth Sterling had been about to give his son-in-law a piece of his mind, but hearing Victor Morgan so readily admit his mistake—without a single word of blame for his daughter—left him momentarily at a loss for words.

Quincy Sterling, however, wasn’t about to give Victor Morgan the same courtesy as her father. She scoffed at his words. “You must have really screwed up. Otherwise, our ’young miss’ wouldn’t have just packed up and bolted overnight.”

“Quincy!” Mrs. Sterling hissed.

’No matter how she looked at it, her own daughter was blameless, but they still had to let Victor save some face.’

From the moment he decided to come after Jessie Sterling, Victor Morgan knew he had already lost this tug-of-war. So now, even hearing Quincy Sterling’s jeering words, he didn’t argue. He took it all in stride.

“I’m just telling it like it is.” Quincy Sterling put down her chopsticks. “Jessie Sterling… she’s a pampered princess, and a crybaby to boot. But her biggest strength is that she doesn’t hold grudges, especially not against the people closest to her. So she’s actually very easy to placate. As long as you know how to soothe her, there’s almost no problem that can’t be solved.”

Quincy Sterling stared at Victor Morgan. “So, tell me, did you actually try to soothe her?”

Victor Morgan said, “…I’m sorry.”

Quincy Sterling snorted, picked her chopsticks back up, and couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on him.

’In her opinion, placating Jessie was ridiculously easy.’

’For Jessie to come all the way back from Aethelburg, only to turn around and go on an overseas trip without a word… it had to be Victor who’d run out of patience.’

’There were plenty of men willing to dote on Jessie. Quincy actually thought Jessie would be better off with someone else.’

Although Mr. and Mrs. Sterling privately agreed with their second daughter, they exchanged a look. They knew that for Jessie to just up and leave without telling Victor wasn’t entirely defensible either.

“Ahem.” Mr. Sterling cleared his throat. “Victor, what exactly happened between you two?”

Victor Morgan gave a wry smile. He didn’t hide anything, briefly recounting what had happened.

“Well, you had it coming, then.” Quincy Sterling spared him no mercy. She seemed to have forgotten that before he married Jessie, she’d actually considered the man before her quite capable.

’As for now? Quincy felt Jessie would be better off with her instead.’

Mrs. Sterling offered a placating smile. “What you did was a bit out of line, Victor. But Jessie can have quite a temper. Is your face alright?”

’Mrs. Sterling hadn’t expected her own daughter to actually slap her son-in-law.’

How could Victor Morgan dare say he wasn’t fine? Jessie wasn’t very strong; what could she possibly have done to him?

“I’m fine, really. It was my fault,” Victor Morgan said.

Mr. Sterling said, “Since it’s already happened, there’s no point assigning blame. Does Jessie know you came to Southaven?”

’If his eldest daughter knew her husband was coming to Southaven and still ran off to the other side of the globe without giving him a chance, then she was also at fault.’

’What young couple doesn’t fight? But you have to give the other person a chance to explain themselves.’

Victor Morgan gave another wry smile. “She’s not answering my calls.”

Mr. Sterling was speechless.

“Where did she go?” Victor Morgan couldn’t help but ask.

Mr. Sterling was surprised. “She didn’t tell you?”

Victor Morgan’s silence was answer enough. Obviously, Jessie hadn’t told him.

“…Jessie is being a little unreasonable,” Mr. Sterling said with a helpless smile. Of course, he wasn’t going to hide his daughter’s whereabouts from Victor. “She went to Finland with Lynn. Based on their past trips, they’ll be gone for ten days at most. She’ll definitely be back before New Year’s Eve.”

At the word “Finland,” Victor’s hand, which had been resting on the table holding his chopsticks, tightened.

A direct flight to Finland took eight or nine hours. And Victor didn’t even know Jessie’s exact location. Even if he tried to contact her, his messages would probably meet the same fate as before—ignored, sinking without a trace.

With a heavy heart, Victor Morgan finished his dinner.

Director Sterling invited him to stay the night, but Victor Morgan shook his head and declined.

Jessie wasn’t even there; there was no point in staying at the family estate. Besides, tomorrow was the first workday after the holiday, and he had meetings of all sizes to attend at the corporation.

“I’ll come back to Southaven to get Jessie when she returns,” Victor Morgan said.

After Victor Morgan left, Mr. Sterling ordered Quincy to tell Jessie not to pull this “running away from home” stunt, and that wherever she was, she had to check in with the family—and with Victor—to let them know she was safe.

Quincy Sterling pouted. “It’s fine if she tells us. Why does she have to tell *him*?”

Mr. Sterling shot her a glare. “What’s with this ’him’ business? That’s your brother-in-law.”

“Oh, the brother-in-law who made Jessie so mad she left?”

Mr. Sterling was speechless.

“I think Jessie is right to ignore him,” Quincy Sterling said. “There are plenty of other fish in the sea. She shouldn’t get hung up on one tree.”

The words were barely out of her mouth before she earned a sharp rap on the head from Mrs. Sterling.

Mrs. Sterling’s eyes narrowed warily. “You’re not in a serious relationship, and you don’t want to get married… Quincy, don’t tell me your head is filled with ideas like that?”

’Going out and finding a bunch of men…’

Mrs. Sterling felt a pang in her chest.

Quincy Sterling scoffed. “Tch. No, I don’t have the nasty habit of spending money on men.”

Mrs. Sterling was speechless.

’Why did that somehow make her chest feel even tighter?’

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