Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Man and Woman in the Photo

The person who caused the trouble should be the one to solve it.

She wasn’t Julian Grant’s mother; she wasn’t going to clean up his messes.

Julian Grant’s gentle voice soon came through the phone. “What’s wrong, Jessie?”

Jessie Sterling didn’t look at the woman across from her, so she naturally missed the surprised and uncertain look Yara Finch, who was sitting beside Arya Thorne, gave her.

“Miss Thorne seems to have something to ask you. Why don’t you two have a nice chat? I never asked about your affairs in the past, I don’t care about them now, and I won’t care in the future.” Although Jessie Sterling was speaking to Julian Grant, her eyes were fixed on Arya Thorne.

At her words, both the person on the other end of the phone and Arya Thorne seemed to freeze, neither responding for a long moment.

In the end, Julian Grant was the first to speak.

“Jessie, I’m sorry,” Julian Grant said.

Just as he was about to say more, Jessie Sterling suddenly felt someone approach her. “Running into friends?”

Just then, a familiar male voice sounded by Jessie Sterling’s ear.

It was a steady voice, one that inexplicably gave off an impression of immense reliability.

Jessie Sterling looked up and met the gaze of Victor Morgan, who had appeared at some point without her noticing.

Victor Morgan had sharp eyes. As he walked over, he had already spotted the call screen on Jessie Sterling’s phone, which was on the table.

He had no dealings with Julian Grant, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t heard of the man.

When the Morgan family first proposed a marriage alliance with the Sterling family, Victor Morgan knew that his future father-in-law had initially refused.

With a little digging, he found out why.

Even though an alliance with his family would have been far more beneficial, the Sterlings had been willing to give it up and instead choose the Grant family, who were in venture capital, all because Jessie Sterling was in love with Julian Grant.

Jessie Sterling had just looked up, about to say, “Not really a friend, actually,” when she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her whole body into what felt like Victor Morgan’s embrace.

For a moment, Jessie Sterling’s mind went blank.

A crisp, unfamiliar scent instantly enveloped her. Every breath she took seemed to be filled with the man’s fragrance.

Before, she had thought his scent was somewhat faint and cool, carrying a sense of distance. But now, Jessie Sterling realized how ridiculously wrong she had been.

This scent was clearly domineering, making her breath quicken.

“…Um, not really. Just someone I’ve met a couple of times,” Jessie Sterling said.

Hearing this, Victor Morgan’s gaze swept calmly over Arya Thorne and Yara Finch. Since they weren’t Jessie Sterling’s friends, they naturally had nothing to do with him.

“Then what are you still doing here? Shall we go back?” Victor Morgan asked.

Jessie Sterling nodded. “Let’s go.”

Jessie Sterling didn’t spare Arya Thorne another glance before she left.

The moment Victor Morgan appeared by her side, she knew tonight’s little drama was officially over.

Jessie Sterling had already hung up. She figured she’d achieved the desired effect on both Julian Grant and Arya Thorne.

Back in the private room, Jessie Sterling finally snapped out of the daze from her brief confrontation with Arya Thorne.

Facing Victor Morgan, Jessie Sterling felt a subtle flicker of awkwardness.

Victor Morgan wasn’t a man of many words. He didn’t take the initiative to ask about what had just happened.

And Jessie Sterling, for her part, couldn’t figure out where to begin. The room fell silent.

Just as Jessie Sterling found herself nervously picking at the edge of her seat cushion, the silence in the room was finally broken.

“Did you find the flavor you wanted?” Victor Morgan asked.

“Ah,” Jessie Sterling exclaimed, slapping her forehead. “I think I left it out there…” she said, annoyed with herself.

Victor Morgan had already rung for service, and a waiter knocked on the door moments later.

After saying, “Come in,” Victor Morgan looked at Jessie Sterling. “What flavor was it?”

“Cherry…”

It was a new, seasonal flavor that was about to be discontinued.

Victor Morgan then turned to the waiter. “A cherry-flavored cone, please.”

The waiter said, “Right away,” and quickly left the room.

Jessie Sterling looked a little sheepish. “You saw all that just now, didn’t you?” she asked.

She really wasn’t one to keep things bottled up.

Victor Morgan raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised that Jessie Sterling would bring it up herself.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Actually, the person who called out to me… she’s the ex-girlfriend of a neighbor I grew up with…” Jessie Sterling tried to figure out how to explain the strange tension between herself and Arya Thorne. After all, anyone could see they didn’t get along.

’But why would I have bad blood with the ex-girlfriend of a neighbor?’

“Mm. You already said she wasn’t a friend, didn’t you? Then there’s no need for an introduction.” Victor Morgan cut in smoothly, saving her from having to rack her brain for an explanation.

’He’d known that his fiancée had been in love with someone else before he ever agreed to the marriage alliance with the Sterling family.’

’But knowing about it was one thing; he didn’t particularly want to hear another man’s name from Jessie Sterling’s lips.’

Hearing this, Jessie Sterling felt a wave of relief.

’She was certain that her relationship with Victor Morgan was just a standard family alliance. A physical relationship was fine, but an emotional one… it seemed Victor Morgan wasn’t interested in that either, which was perfect.’

’Playing the part of a model couple shouldn’t be too hard.’

When Jessie Sterling and Victor Morgan left the private room, Arya Thorne and Yara Finch were nowhere to be seen in the lobby.

Yara Finch was now sitting in a car, still looking thrilled.

When she had been sitting across from Jessie Sterling, she’d thought the woman looked a little familiar, but for the life of her, she couldn’t place where she’d seen her before.

Logically, with a face like Jessie Sterling’s, if she had met her before, she would have remembered.

But when Victor Morgan appeared, it all clicked into place for Yara Finch.

Weren’t they the owners of that courtyard house from the photo she’d shared with Arya Thorne?

The blogger had only posted a photo of their backs, but it was a brand-new picture that had just been taken that afternoon.

The clothes were a perfect match to what the couple she just saw were wearing!

“Arya, so that courtyard house next to the Forbidden City is theirs!” In the car, Yara Finch held out her phone to Arya Thorne, showing her the somewhat blurry photo.

Arya Thorne heard her and turned to look.

Her gaze lingered on the phone screen for a long moment. Thinking of the man who had appeared by Jessie Sterling’s side tonight, Arya Thorne couldn’t help but bite her lower lip.

’A man who was in no way inferior to Julian Grant… and he was so intimate with Jessie Sterling…’

Just then, her phone rang. Arya Thorne looked down and saw that Julian Grant was calling her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep