Delayed Passion: Miss Lynch's Unrequited Love-Chapter 87: I Won’t Hold On to Someone Who Doesn’t Like Me
In front of Stratus Company’s entrance.
Thea Lynch stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Ronan Bell.
"Aunt Ronan, what do you want to say to me?"
The other party had dismissed her second aunt and even offered to send her a junior.
She wasn’t naive enough to think it was just a simple gesture.
There had to be something to say.
As for what it was...
It wasn’t hard to guess.
Thea didn’t even need to think to know they’d be some unfriendly "reminders."
Or perhaps it should be called—a warning.
Now with just the two of them, Ronan Bell put away her previous fake smile. Thea, as a junior, had publicly embarrassed Ronan, so Ronan saw no need to pretend to be polite to her anymore.
"The matter with Norbert Rhodes and Sean Bell, don’t try to avoid it; I know it started because of you."
"Including the incident back then, they were all related to you."
"Thea, you shouldn’t have returned to the country. Since you came back, Ian Preston and Sean Bell have been revolving around you. You must be pleased to have them two brothers on a string, right?"
"Consider it my plea, could you stay away from those cousins? Out of so many people, why does it have to be them? Are you intent on opposing The Bell Family?"
"..." Taking a deep breath, Thea asked seriously, "Do you have a persecution complex? I suggest finding time to get a detailed examination at the hospital. At your age, health is crucial."
"I have simple sibling relations with both my third and fifth cousins. If you insist that we’re close, what about my fourth cousin? We keep in touch quite a bit too. We grew up together, always seeing each other; how could I avoid them?"
"You don’t need to lecture me. In my eyes, they’re just family brothers. I have no ulterior motives. You should go seek out those with impure intentions, not waste time on me."
"Even if you and I both agree to cut ties with them, other elders wouldn’t allow it. And when questioned, who would explain it then? You?"
The elders in the courtyard aren’t naive; at their age, they know better. With past events, all the elders know Ronan Bell doesn’t really like her.
Even if elders from the Bell and Preston families ask, Ronan Bell’s explanations aren’t going to work; no matter how nice the words are, they’re futile in front of the elders.
Thea pressed on, "Are you sure you can handle it?"
She didn’t care, but could Ronan?
Ronan’s expression turned unpleasant, showing signs of anger. Thea smiled, reacting entirely differently.
"Aunt Ronan, I admit, when I was seventeen, I had feelings for my third cousin. But I’m not someone who dwells in the past, and I never cling to someone who doesn’t like me back."
Upon hearing this, Ronan Bell’s face suddenly changed.
Thea’s insinuation was clear to her.
"After all these years, you’ve become more and more out of line with your words."
Thea: "Had I been clearer back then, these words wouldn’t have been left unsaid until now."
"I have harsher words to say if you’d like to hear them, Aunt Ronan?"
"Weren’t your words much harsher back then than mine now? I could handle it at a young age; surely you could too..."
She raised an eyebrow, "Right?"
"Truly an ill-bred girl!"
Mentioning her parents, any hint of a smile on Thea’s face vanished immediately, and when she darkened her face, she looked eerily similar to Ian Preston’s fearsome expression.
"Not as cutting as you, Aunt Ronan. In terms of upbringing, I believe mine is better than yours. Anyone can say I’m ill-bred, but you don’t seem qualified to."
"I still respect you as an elder, and I won’t say much more."
"If Aunt Ronan continues to make things difficult for juniors, the one thing I’m still capable of is complaining to the old man in the family."
Seeing the Bentley’s window roll down not far away, Thea didn’t linger to worry her second aunt and turned to leave.
There were a few steps at Stratus’s entrance, and as Thea stepped onto the last one, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She took it out, glanced at it casually, saw it was Ian Preston, hesitated for a moment, and then pretended not to notice, pressing mute and stowing it back in her pocket.
——
Thea kept her phone on silent all day, placing it in her office drawer without looking at it again.
As the saying goes, avoiding may be shameful, but it works.
It was already 8 PM by the time she finished her report and got off work.
Thea intentionally stayed until the end today, working overtime for a bit.
As she was leaving, she remembered her phone was still in the office when she got into the elevator.
Retrieving her phone, she leaned in the elevator, browsing missed calls and messages. As expected, not an overwhelming number, but there was a sense of pressure.
From Ian Preston to Silas Cheney, then to Sean Bell, they took turns calling her.
As she scrolled to the end, she also saw her aunt.
Her finger hovered over her aunt’s call before she finally decided to call back.
"Aunt, sorry, I just saw your call."
"Just getting off work, Thea?"
"Yes, I’ve been in the lab all afternoon without my phone."
"It’s okay, did you have dinner?"
"Yes, I did, Aunt."
Quickly, her aunt got to the point, "Did Ronan Bell come looking for you?"
"Who told you, Aunt?"
It made sense for Ian and the others to know; after all, Stratus was their turf. But how could her aunt know?
It couldn’t have spread to the courtyard so soon, right?
It wasn’t even important news.
"Don’t ask who told me first, is it true?"
"Yes, Aunt Ronan and my second aunt came to talk to me about my fifth cousin."
Thea exited the elevator, nodding politely to the cleaning lady. "Putting in more overtime, Foreman Lynch?"
"Today was alright, not too late. I’m heading off now, take care."
"Sure," the cleaning lady waved with a smile as she watched her leave.
Outside the company, Thea switched her phone to the other hand, continuing to chat with her aunt about the afternoon’s events.
"She’s up to no good, even bringing along Sean’s mother. What a fuss!" Her aunt was visibly angry, "What did she say to you?"
"It’s nothing, Aunt. Even if she had harsh words, my temper wouldn’t let me hold back. Don’t get upset."
"I just hope you don’t spare her feelings! If she said anything, you must tell me, understand? You don’t have to reason with her, she’s got a problem and won’t listen! I’ll handle her!"
Thea chuckled at her aunt’s words.
"Okay, okay, but I probably won’t meet with her alone next time. Mainly did it this time for my second aunt’s sake."
Almost at the unit entrance, Thea ended the call with her aunt.
Downstairs, before even entering, she noticed the Rolls-Royce parked to the side.
Seeing her, Ian Preston’s assistant got out of the car to open the unit door for her, "Mr. Preston is upstairs waiting for you."
"..."
This wasn’t just opening the door for her; it was clear they were worried she’d escape.
