Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Consequences

Before letting Victor Morgan leave, Director Sterling also inquired about the source of the conflict between the young couple.

Victor Morgan paid no mind to people he didn’t care about, so he truly had no idea what Nina Walsh’s current situation was.

But even though Victor Morgan didn’t know, Director Sterling had someone investigate the matter thoroughly.

He found it hard to accept that the main culprit responsible for the couple’s conflict was still enjoying life without any consequences.

After returning home from The Caldera Resort, Nina Walsh collapsed onto her bed.

She had moved out of the Lynch family home and bought her own place ever since starting university.

Naturally, living alone offered much more freedom than living with a group of people.

With New Year’s Day just two days away, Nina Walsh invited some old classmates and friends over for a party at her place before they all headed out to a bar.

There was no shortage of sycophants among them. Many knew she had a close relationship with Roman Lynch and his sister, and they’d heard she had lived with the Lynch family since childhood. Even now, she could come and go from their home as she pleased.

Listening to their fawning praise, Nina Walsh felt herself growing smug.

The people she surrounded herself with were so much more pleasant than Serena Lynch’s crowd. Nina loved hearing their flattery.

For Nina Walsh, these two days were fulfilling and carefree.

On the last day of the holiday, Nina Walsh was out with her friends. When it was time to pay the bill, a server approached her, handed back her credit card, and said quietly, “Miss, this card has been frozen.”

Nina Walsh, who had been in high spirits, was so taken aback she thought she must have misheard.

“What did you say?” she asked, her expression darkening as she stared at the server.

“Your card has been frozen. Please use another one to pay.”

“Impossible!” Nina Walsh blurted out without a second thought.

This was the credit card she used for her daily expenses. She’d used it while studying abroad, too. It was a supplementary card linked to Roman Lynch’s account.

Roman Lynch paid for her living expenses, tuition, and everything else. ’How could he possibly freeze this card?’

The server looked helpless. Seeing that Nina Walsh didn’t believe him, he had no choice but to ask her to come to the payment counter.

“Nina, what’s wrong?”

One of her companions at the table asked curiously when they saw her stand up.

Nina Walsh replied, “It’s nothing. There seems to be an issue with my card. I’m going to go check on it.”

Hearing this, her companions nodded immediately. Whenever their group went out, Nina Walsh was always the one who paid.

“You’d better go, then.”

Nina Walsh’s expression turned ugly after she saw with her own eyes that the credit card was indeed frozen.

She was used to being a spendthrift and had always seen herself as no different from the wealthy young ladies of Aethelburg.

Whenever she treated her friends to a meal, she always chose high-end restaurants where the bill would be at least one or two thousand per person.

The bill for their table was over ten thousand, and she didn’t have nearly that much cash on her. She didn’t even have that much in her debit account.

Left with no other choice, Nina Walsh could only call her mother.

After getting an earful from her mother, just as her patience was about to run out, Nina Walsh finally received a transfer of twenty thousand.

After settling the bill, Nina Walsh was in no mood to party anymore. The first thing she did when she got home was call Roman Lynch.

“Brother, there seems to be a problem with my card.” Nina Walsh didn’t question Roman Lynch directly; her voice sounded aggrieved.

Roman Lynch replied, “I canceled it.”

Nina Walsh had already suspected as much, but her heart still sank when she heard Roman Lynch admit it himself.

“Brother, did I do something wrong? Why did you suddenly cancel my card?” Nina Walsh asked, sounding pitiful.

Roman Lynch sighed. “What do you think?”

“…Is it because I upset Miss Sterling the other day?” As Nina Walsh spoke, her reflection in the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window revealed a face filled with resentment.

Before Roman Lynch could answer, Nina Walsh’s voice grew tearful. “But I’d already left that day! I wasn’t getting in Miss Sterling’s way. Why… why does she still have it in for me?”

Roman Lynch had always thought of Nina Walsh as young. And since her mother had worked for the Lynch family for many years, it seemed normal to look after her, especially since she was his god-sister. But now—perhaps because of the harsh talking-to he’d gotten from Serena Lynch—as he took Nina’s call, he suddenly realized this “sister” of his was far too self-centered.

In reality, Jessie Sterling had never said a single bad word about Nina Walsh in front of any of them.

Yet here was Nina Walsh, convinced she had done nothing wrong and that Jessie Sterling was the one stirring up trouble.

Roman Lynch felt like Nina Walsh was a stranger.

Or perhaps, he had never truly seen the person he had treated like his own sister.

“Nina.” Roman’s voice was uncharacteristically grave. “This has nothing to do with Jessie Sterling. And I didn’t cancel your card solely because of what you did.”

“Then why?”

Roman Lynch said, “These things were never yours to have in the first place.”

After Roman Lynch said this, the other end of the line went silent for a long time.

Roman Lynch didn’t care what Nina Walsh might be feeling. Since they had reached this point, he felt it was necessary to lay everything out for her.

“Your college entrance exam scores weren’t good enough to get into a decent university here, so my mother and I supported your decision to study abroad. I paid for everything. But, Nina, look at yourself. How many years have you delayed your graduation? You went abroad at eighteen, and now you’re twenty-four, almost twenty-five, and you still haven’t graduated. Are you even studying over there?” Roman Lynch sounded deeply disappointed. “So, yes, I’ve canceled your supplementary card, and I’ll be closing the account. You have the next six months to figure things out on your own. If you can graduate, then come back with your diploma. If you can’t, then whether you get a job or drop out is your business. I’m done with it.”

Roman Lynch’s words struck real fear into Nina Walsh.

Although Roman Lynch had already paid her tuition, her living expenses abroad were enormous; she spent at least tens of thousands every month.

The salary the Lynch family paid her mother was certainly much higher than average, but it was nowhere near enough to cover Nina’s living expenses.

“Brother, I was wrong, please don’t do this. I’ve been studying really hard this semester, I promise. I can definitely graduate this year, you have to believe me,” Nina Walsh said in a panic.

She had some savings from over the years, but compared to the cost of studying abroad, it was a drop in the bucket. Besides, Nina wasn’t at all confident she could earn her bachelor’s degree in just six months.

Roman Lynch replied, “If you’re so sure you can graduate this year, then you’d better work hard.”

He said nothing more about resuming payment for her living expenses before ending the call.

Hearing the BEEP BEEP BEEP of the disconnected line, Nina Walsh’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

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