Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Who’s Really the Bossy One?

The oppressive mood that had weighed on him ever since he’d accidentally overheard Jessie Sterling’s conversation with Lynn Jennings finally eased, just a little, in that moment.

Jessie Sterling was nearly stunned speechless by the accusation in her ear. Her mind went blank, and she asked dazedly, “Huh?”

’How was I bullying Victor Morgan?’

’From the looks of it, isn’t it more like *he’s* bullying *me*?’

’Isn’t he just turning the tables on me?’

More frustrating to Victor Morgan than a direct confrontation was his wife’s complete obliviousness.

Realizing Jessie Sterling had no idea what he was talking about, Victor Morgan couldn’t help but open his mouth again. As if venting his frustration, he bit down hard on her lower lip in a forceful kiss.

“You’re so dense,” he said.

Jessie Sterling yelped in pain and pinched the man’s waist.

Victor Morgan: “…”

’She just can’t stand being on the losing end, can she?’

“Jessie Sterling, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Victor Morgan sighed into Jessie’s ear. “You talk about kids with Lynn Jennings, but you won’t say a single word about it to me. And in the car, you talked about other people’s children. You’re just doing it on purpose.” Victor held Jessie tight, not even thinking of letting go, despite the sharp pinch she’d just given the soft flesh of his waist.

The room was still completely dark; Victor Morgan held Jessie Sterling, not letting her turn on the lights.

He had his pride to maintain, after all.

Even if it was just in front of his own wife.

If the lights were on and he had to say these things face-to-face with Jessie Sterling, Victor Morgan couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to get the words out.

’It makes me seem so petty, getting jealous of a woman.’

Jessie Sterling listened for a moment. She had been trying to squirm free from Victor Morgan’s embrace, but when his words finally sank in, she froze.

Jessie Sterling never thought Victor Morgan would overhear what she’d said to Lynn Jennings today.

“You heard everything?” she asked, then immediately felt the question was redundant.

Victor Morgan gave a muffled, “Mhm.”

The hands Jessie Sterling had around Victor Morgan’s waist involuntarily curled into fists.

Saying she didn’t want to have children with Victor Morgan in front of Lynn Jennings was one thing, but saying it in front of Victor Morgan himself was another matter entirely.

She knew perfectly well that even if she brought this up with their parents, she wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

’Who gets into an arranged marriage and doesn’t have children?’

Jessie Sterling wanted to let go.

But she hadn’t expected it. The very instant she was about to release her grip, Victor Morgan, as if sensing her intent, caught her hand with his large one before she could pull away.

“Why are you letting go?” Victor Morgan asked in a low voice.

Jessie Sterling just kept the crown of her head facing the man holding her, not making a sound.

Seeing this, Victor Morgan was so exasperated he almost laughed.

He was clearly the one being bullied by Jessie Sterling, but from the way she was acting now, you’d think he was the one who had wronged her. She was the one acting all aggrieved first.

He reached out, tilted Jessie Sterling’s chin up, and forced her to meet his gaze, giving her no chance to look away.

“You didn’t want me to know?” Victor Morgan asked.

Jessie Sterling fell silent for a moment. “…I didn’t expect you to eavesdrop. And that’s not what I meant.”

Victor Morgan: “Then what did you mean?”

“…”

“I never said we had to have kids right now,” Victor Morgan said.

Jessie Sterling’s eyes lit up. “So, can we just not have them at all? Besides, you said it yourself! You don’t even know if you like kids. What if you can’t stand them either?!”

Victor Morgan didn’t answer, but he was genuinely furious at Jessie Sterling’s words.

’When it comes to taking things out of context, no one’s better at it than the woman in his arms.’

’Using his own words against him… She sure has some nerve.’

Jessie Sterling felt a little uneasy under Victor Morgan’s intense stare. She knew she’d gone a bit too far and was about to say something to ease the awkwardness she’d created, but the moment she opened her mouth, a heavy kiss landed on her lips.

“Jessie Sterling, you’re really something else.”

Immediately after, Victor Morgan’s voice, tinged with gritted-teeth frustration, reached Jessie Sterling’s ears.

If Xavier Warren and Roman Lynch were here right now, they would definitely give Jessie Sterling a big thumbs-up. After all, a scene like this—where Victor Morgan was furious yet completely helpless—was a rare sight indeed, even for those who had grown up with him.

’For Jessie Sterling to be able to push him to this point, isn’t that pretty impressive?’

“Fine. Have it your way.”

This sentence, sounding even more defeated and compromising than his last concession, also fell into Jessie Sterling’s ears.

This was something Jessie Sterling had never expected.

She had thought Victor Morgan might be disappointed, might be angry, might even argue his case with her, but this was the one thing she hadn’t anticipated.

Victor Morgan had actually compromised with her.

And on the matter of children, no less.

Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but widen her eyes. In the darkness, they seemed to shine brightly.

“Really?” she asked.

Victor Morgan felt a surge of resentment.

Resentment at Jessie Sterling’s heartlessness. ’Can she really not see how unwilling I am?’

At the same time, he resented himself.

He resented how easily he had let her off the hook and even compromised with her.

So, when he heard the trace of pleasant surprise in Jessie Sterling’s voice, Victor Morgan felt even more suffocated.

He raised a hand and covered the eyes of the woman looking up at him from his arms, his tone laced with helplessness.

“Jessie Sterling, if you anger me to death, you’ll be out of a husband.”

Victor Morgan sighed.

Jessie Sterling knew it was inappropriate to laugh right now, but she couldn’t hold it in. With a “PFFT,” she burst out laughing in front of Victor Morgan.

“Find another one?” Jessie Sterling ventured, testing the waters.

“You dare!”

The next second, Victor Morgan’s undisguisedly angry voice fell upon Jessie Sterling’s ears.

Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but laugh while buried in his embrace. She poked Victor Morgan’s chest. “You’re the one who said it! You can’t be such a tyrant, angering yourself to death and then not letting me find someone else.”

Victor Morgan felt his head start to buzz. Jessie Sterling really knew how to get under his skin.

“Who’s the real tyrant here?” Victor Morgan asked speechlessly, kneading the earlobe of the woman in his arms.

“You.”

Hearing that, Victor Morgan let out a short, low chuckle.

He was finally starting to understand the weight behind the rumor that Jessie Sterling was a spoiled princess.

Of course, the princess was never wrong.

For a while, neither of them spoke again, letting silence fill the space.

But this silence felt different from the one in the car earlier.

Listening to the strong, steady heartbeat thumping in her ear, Jessie Sterling realized Victor Morgan’s words had, in fact, had quite an impact on her.

She knew that while Victor Morgan seemed easygoing with her, he had lines he wouldn’t cross. They were just a couple who had gotten together hastily; she didn’t feel he had any obligation to tolerate everything about her. But before their marriage, when she lived at home, she had always been the one everyone tolerated.

Understanding that rationally was one thing, but emotionally accepting such a change took time.

She never thought Victor Morgan would back down on the issue of children, but he had done so, just like that.

“…Can you give me a little more time?” Jessie Sterling murmured, leaning against the chest in front of her.

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