After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 86: Habit

’Where there’s a will, there’s a way. How could there be no solution?’

The moment Victor Morgan grabbed her hand, Jessie Sterling knew she was in trouble.

She wanted to run, but how could she possibly overpower Victor Morgan now?

By the time he was finished, Jessie Sterling felt like her hand wasn’t even hers anymore.

Perhaps her earlier attempt to get something for nothing had displeased Victor Morgan, because when Jessie Sterling tried to beg for mercy, he refused to let her go no matter what she said.

Even as Jessie Sterling curled up in his arms, her cries morphing from "honey" to "bastard," her initial whimpering pleas turning into furious curses, nothing could make Victor Morgan relent.

After Victor Morgan carried her to wash up and brought her back to bed, Jessie Sterling absolutely refused to return to his embrace. She wrapped herself in the blanket, practically rolling herself into a caterpillar and pressing against the wall.

In that state, she probably looked more like a gecko.

With her back to the man beside her, Jessie Sterling vented her anger at Victor Morgan in her own way.

The back of her head might as well have had four big words written on it—

"I’m done with you!"

Victor Morgan didn’t try to force Jessie Sterling out of the blankets. He didn’t even seem to have any intention of making up with her right then.

Jessie Sterling, wrapped in her blanket, waited for the man behind her to coax her. But before she could hear Victor Morgan’s voice, she succumbed to her sleepiness, her head lolled to the side, and she was soon fast asleep.

Once he heard the sound of even breathing from beside him, Victor Morgan opened his eyes and gathered her into his arms.

He looked down at her and chuckled softly. ’She was tired from the long day, and on top of that, excited about going home.’ It was no surprise to him that she would fall asleep so quickly when left undisturbed.

As Victor Morgan inhaled the fragrance from the woman in his arms—a scent he had gradually grown accustomed to and now found familiar—he let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes.

Sometimes, habit can be a frightening thing.

Even Victor Morgan himself could never have imagined that one day he would find a sweet fragrance so conducive to sleep.

Victor Morgan had already lost a lot of time to the wedding and honeymoon, and year-end work was piling up. After returning to Southaven, he could only spare one night at home with Jessie Sterling before rushing off early the next morning.

Jessie Sterling, however, stayed at home for two days, which was a pleasant surprise for both Seth Sterling and Faye Fuller.

A daughter was still a daughter after marriage, of course, but now she had another role to play and had to devote the majority of her time to her own little family.

Mr. and Mrs. Sterling hadn’t expected Jessie to return to Southaven after her honeymoon instead of going directly back to Aethelburg.

The next morning when Jessie Sterling woke up, Faye Fuller was in the kitchen, personally making her a bowl of fresh congee.

Jessie Sterling leaned over the dining table. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Mommy, I get perks like this for getting married?"

Her saccharine voice reached Faye Fuller’s ears, prompting her mother to turn and shoot her an exasperated glare.

"It’s only because you so rarely come home now," Faye Fuller said.

Jessie Sterling took a bite of a freshly baked pineapple bun made by their housekeeper. She loved the crispy topping and devoured half of it in one go. "Well, I can always come back more often!"

Without turning around, Faye Fuller replied, "You should focus on living your life with Young Morgan in Aethelburg. What’s all this about running back to your parents’ house every other day? Are you and Young Morgan not getting along?" As she said the last part, she turned, her expression growing serious. "Is it true?"

Jessie Sterling sighed in exasperation. "Your imagination is running wild. Of course not."

Seeing that she didn’t seem to be lying, Faye Fuller breathed a sigh of relief.

"Even if Young Morgan says it’s fine for you to visit often, you can’t always be running back home. And if you do come back, you should discuss it with him and come to Southaven together. Who gets married and doesn’t want a thoughtful person waiting for them at home?" Faye Fuller and Director Sterling had always been incredibly sweet with each other. Married for decades, they had almost never argued. Their wonderful relationship had given the sisters, Jessie and Quincy Sterling, a very happy childhood, completely unlike children from other families who were forced to mature too quickly.

Of course, Faye Fuller hoped her daughter’s marriage would be more than just a cold, empty title.

"Young Morgan works hard every day. I’m not saying you need to handle all the housework, but there’s a huge difference between coming home to a lit lamp and an empty, lifeless house." Faye Fuller continued to lecture as she carried a bowl of congee out from the kitchen and placed it in front of Jessie Sterling. "A good marriage is something you have to work at."

"Oh," Jessie Sterling said. She looked obedient and didn’t argue with her mother.

Before, she had only thought that even if she married Victor Morgan, she would never compromise who she was. She would be the same person with him as she was at home.

But her mother’s words today gave her something new to think about.

’If even I don’t want to be alone after being intimate with Victor Morgan,’ she thought, ’could it be that he wants to rely on me, too?’

The thought startled Jessie Sterling as soon as it appeared.

’Would a man like Victor Morgan really want to rely on someone else?’

"...You may think you’re tolerating someone, but how do you know they aren’t tolerating you, too?" Faye Fuller said, sitting across from Jessie Sterling and continuing her lecture. "Come back with Young Morgan for a bit on the weekend. The housekeeper can make you two some soup to build up your strength."

Faye Fuller’s words pulled Jessie Sterling from her thoughts. "Huh?" A hint of confusion lingered in her eyes. "Build up Victor’s strength? I don’t think that’s necessary."

’That man has plenty of energy as it is!’ she thought.

Jessie’s comment earned her a light smack on the head from Faye Fuller. "Just do as you’re told."

Even though it was the weekend, Lynn Jennings still had to go to the research institute in the morning.

At noon, Jessie Sterling drove her Lamborghini to the entrance of Scitech Pharma’s research institute to pick up Lynn Jennings for lunch. She arrived a little early, worried she might miss her friend if she wasn’t paying attention.

When she spotted Lynn Jennings, Jessie Sterling stuck a hand out the car window and waved toward the main gate.

She was just about to call out when she saw someone else walk out, following closely behind Lynn Jennings.

Jessie Sterling prided herself on having a good memory, and she recognized the man trailing Lynn Jennings at a glance. It was the same one from her wedding.

Jessie Sterling couldn’t remember his name, but she sat in her car, watching as the two of them at the gate seemed to get into some kind of argument.

Finally, Jessie Sterling couldn’t just sit there any longer and honked her horn.

Lynn Jennings impatiently pushed the man’s hand away, and when she turned her head, she saw the familiar Lamborghini parked in the shade.

"I have plans for lunch," Lynn Jennings said, rubbing her temples. She glanced at Cyrus Sheridan and gestured toward Jessie Sterling’s car. "Whatever it is, we can talk about it later."