Chapter 176: Chapter 177: Wait for Me a Little Longer
Thea Lynch defended herself, "No, this time it was an accident."
"I ran into a senior executive from Wynne at dinner last night. They tried to set me up, but it didn’t work, and I managed to sign a contract smoothly."
Last night’s dinner, she didn’t plan to talk about work; it was simply out of courtesy to Abby, just having dinner together.
Who knew that later someone from Wynne had inappropriate thoughts about her, clearly wanting to take advantage of her being drunk to do something bad.
So she played along with their plan, and before they could drink her under the table, she secured the contract.
If you provoke her, you have to pay a price.
The other party got drunk, directly called someone to draft the contract and sent it over.
They were more impatient than her.
She hadn’t expected such efficiency.
As for the wine, she couldn’t entirely blame Wynne; she spent most of her time drinking with Abby.
But the after-effects of the wine were stronger than she imagined; initially, after a few glasses, she didn’t feel anything, but later, she felt uncomfortable.
Just as she felt uncomfortable, she pulled her senior brother and quickly made a run for it.
When she just returned to the hotel, she only wanted to vomit; later in the night, she didn’t know why her stomach kept hurting.
"And you’re quite proud?" Ian Preston stood by the bed, examining her. His expression was solemn, his aura intimidating, full of pressure.
The man seemed to be holding back, "For all this, you disregarded your health?"
If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn’t hold back so much; a lot of unpleasant words he didn’t dare to utter to her.
Thea Lynch knew she made a mistake; this incident deviated entirely from her plan, and this out-of-control situation wasn’t what she wanted to see.
"It won’t happen again." Initially, she focused on dealing with Wynne’s people, felt relieved after drinking, and forgot about Abby.
Her senior brother was right; Abby is like a big boss.
Yesterday, at the table, Abby drank with everyone in turns and remained unchanged.
Compared to Abby, the others were really just ordinary people.
Soon, she had learned her lesson.
Her sudden compromise left Ian Preston, who had been afraid of saying something harsh unintentionally, speechless.
He thought of many responses Thea Lynch might give, she was known for her stubbornness; how could she possibly admit wrong?
But now, like this, Ian Preston realized he really didn’t know how to handle her.
"Can I be discharged today?" Thea Lynch tested the waters.
She had heard him say to the doctor earlier about staying for observation for another day, but she couldn’t waste too much time here.
"I need to oversee the exhibition, if possible, I should be discharged this afternoon?"
Ian Preston slipped one hand into his pocket, lowered his head to meet her gaze.
Despite being sick, her eyes were still bright, and he could even see a hint of yearning in their depths.
Usually, this one look would be enough for Ian Preston to abandon his principles.
But not today.
"No." The man remained impartial, casually shifting his eyes away, not falling for her alluring tricks.
Thea Lynch: "..."
Thea Lynch sat up, trying to struggle again.
Before she could speak, Ian Preston already knew what she wanted to do, giving a quick sentence to shut her up:
"You rest now, and you can be discharged tomorrow morning. If you utter another word, then it will be postponed to the day after tomorrow."
Thea Lynch was speechless.
She widened her eyes, found him somewhat ridiculous, "I..."
Ian Preston turned his head, looked at her.
With just one glance, Thea Lynch understood his meaning, swallowed her words, and ultimately shut her mouth obediently.
As the saying goes, don’t try to reason with Ian Preston.
It’s not a wise choice.
Better to use that energy to take a nap.
Thinking of this, Thea Lynch lay back, turned to her side, and pulled the quilt higher, saying nothing more.
She had been sleeping from last night until this morning. Now, she was sulking with Ian Preston, slept for half an hour, then woke up. Initially wanting to go back to sleep, but she wasn’t sleepy at all; her mind was very clear.
Hesitating, she slightly turned over to look at Ian Preston.
The man was seated on a chair by the bed, a computer on his lap, working.
He wore glasses, looking down at the screen, focused, appearing gentle and refined.
With the corner of his eye catching the movement in bed, Ian Preston looked up simultaneously, removing his glasses to place them on the bedside table at the side. Asked her, "Not sleeping anymore?"
Thea Lynch shook her head.
"Hmm," he responded, "Sleep more and you’ll have trouble sleeping tonight."
"What would you like to eat?"
Thea Lynch was indeed hungry but wasn’t sure if she could eat.
"Can I eat now?"
Ian Preston realized and looked at her, "Sorry, no."
Thea Lynch: "..."
"You’ll be able to eat tomorrow."
"So long?" Although Thea Lynch was somewhat weak, her stomach has always been quite strong over the years.
She used to be careful with food, hardly touching heavy or spicy stuff.
That’s why her stomach hadn’t had problems, this was the first time.
"Later, you could eat a little liquid food, I’ll ask someone to prepare it."
"Forget about it." Thea Lynch looked up at the ceiling and sighed, "Might as well not eat."
Ian Preston wrapped up his work, commented, "Seems like you’re not really hungry."
"..."
Seriously, so frustrating.
Thea Lynch couldn’t help sitting up to argue with him, "Do you really regret these years?"
If he felt regret, he should cherish now; at least when she’s ill, his attitude should be slightly better, right?
Ian Preston paused his actions. Two seconds later, he closed the computer and put it aside.
Seeing him like this, Thea Lynch became inexplicably apprehensive.
"What I doubt is..." she attempted to clarify.
But Ian Preston didn’t listen, stubbornly answered her previous question, "Yes, I feel regret."
"How could I not feel regret."
"I know what you want to say." Ian Preston nodded.
Thea Lynch silently shut her mouth.
"Every day over these years, I’ve felt we shouldn’t have reached this point."
"This isn’t the ending we should have. Especially after knowing you like me too."
"Thea Lynch, one reason I’m so insistent is also because I don’t want to leave the same regret as back then, and I think you don’t want that either."
"This time, I’ll make it clear to you, I’m set on you, Thea Lynch."
"I also hope your feelings for me can be a bit more firm. Even if it’s just a little bit."
"We can’t hold the same good cards and lose the game again, can we?"
Ian Preston lifted his head, plainly telling her, "I’m unwilling."
"Silas Cheney said earlier that if we truly drift apart in the future, this result doesn’t match our past twenty-plus years."
"It’s even unfair to every day of that year in Westmere."
"I’m not asking you to choose me without reserve every time you face a decision in the future, but at the very least, I want to be one of the options."
"No matter what fraction, you get what I mean?"
After a long silence, Thea Lynch lowered her eyes and replied quietly, "Understood."
He had spoken to this extent, what was there that she couldn’t understand.
"You... wait for me a little longer."
Soon it’ll be better.
She’s already trying very hard to run forward.
