On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 180: Defeated by This Demon

The car door closed, and Jasper Lockwood still held her in his arms.

Chloe Sterling kept her eyes tightly shut, resting quietly in his arms. Even after they returned to The Lockwood Residence and Jasper placed her on the bed, she didn’t stir.

It was as if she’d passed out completely.

Jasper Lockwood sat on the edge of the bed, his deep eyes fixed on the sleeping woman. He was a little puzzled. ’She’s been drunk before, but she’s never slept this deeply.’

After a moment of thought, he raised his hand to her pale cheek and noticed her eyelids twitch unnaturally.

As if he’d figured something out, Jasper Lockwood let out a low laugh. "Chloe."

She didn’t respond.

Jasper Lockwood suddenly leaned over her, his face so close he was almost kissing her. His lips parted as he murmured, seemingly to himself, "How are you sleeping so soundly?"

Still, she didn’t react.

The corner of Jasper Lockwood’s mouth twitched into a smile. He deliberately planted a kiss on her lips, then got up and left.

Hearing the door close, Chloe Sterling let out a soft sigh of relief and opened her eyes.

She had genuinely dozed off at the club, but she’d woken up on their way out. She’d even heard another woman’s voice. In such an awkward situation, she’d simply decided to keep pretending to be asleep.

Then, after they got in the car, Jasper had held her and watched her the whole time, which made her even less inclined to open her eyes. So, she’d kept up the act until now.

About a minute later, Chloe Sterling got up, intending to take a shower. But just as she stood, she saw Jasper Lockwood walking out of the bathroom. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Chloe Sterling: "..."!!!

’He didn’t leave! He just went into the bathroom!’

Seeing the shocked and mortified look on her face, Jasper Lockwood gave a nonchalant smile. "Awake so soon?"

Chloe Sterling stood frozen for a good ten seconds before managing a soft "Mm." She started walking calmly toward the bathroom, but her legs still felt a little weak from the alcohol.

As she passed Jasper, he suddenly spoke. "Taking a shower? Need a hand?"

Chloe Sterling: "...I don’t!"

Jasper Lockwood: "No need to be so formal."

"..."

Chloe Sterling shot him a sidelong, warning glance before silently walking into the bathroom. Just as she was about to close the door, Jasper suddenly followed, pushing it open and stepping inside.

Chloe’s eyes went wide as she stared at him.

Jasper said deliberately, "What? Since you didn’t say anything, I took it as your consent."

Chloe Sterling: "You’re quite good at twisting things, President Lockwood."

Jasper smirked. "You flatter me."

With that, his long fingers began to unbutton his black shirt, revealing the pale skin beneath.

Chloe Sterling could no longer keep her composure. Her face flushed red. "Jasper Lockwood, get out! I don’t need your help!"

Jasper Lockwood said, "Then I won’t help you. We’ll just wash ourselves."

In the end, Chloe Sterling lost to this devilishly charming man.

She had no idea how much time had passed before she was finally able to sleep. Chloe felt herself drift off the moment her eyes closed.

「The next day.」

Even through the curtains, the room was brightly lit.

Chloe Sterling slowly opened her eyes. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and was suddenly wide awake.

’It’s already ten-thirty, almost noon.’

The person beside her was long gone.

Chloe Sterling rubbed her temples and sat up. After confirming Jasper wasn’t in the room, she got dressed, washed up, and went downstairs.

The butler greeted her with a smile. "Madam."

Chloe Sterling acknowledged him and then asked, "Where is the Second Master?"

"The Second Master went to the office early this morning. He said you should call him when you wake up."

"..."

"Lunch is ready. Please, go have something to eat."

"Understood."

A peculiar expression flickered across Chloe’s face as she headed for the dining room. She did not call Jasper Lockwood.

「The Sinclair Family Residence.」

Mrs. Sinclair asked anxiously, "Have they found Phoebe yet?"

Chairman Sinclair shook his head. "No, and we still can’t reach her."

"What on earth is going on? It’s been days and no one can reach her!" Mrs. Sinclair clutched her phone, muttering, "Do you think... could it be Jasper Lockwood? Could he have discovered our plans?"

"That’s unlikely," Chairman Sinclair said. "If he knew, why wouldn’t he have done something? That’s completely out of character for him. Besides, we’ve been very discreet. He couldn’t have found out so soon."

"Then why did Phoebe suddenly disappear?"

"Maybe she went off somewhere to have fun. I’ll send more people to look. It’s not like she hasn’t disappeared suddenly before. She runs off to travel whenever she’s in a bad mood."

"But she’s never cut off all contact with us like this."

"Yes, she has. You’re just not remembering correctly. All right, stop letting your imagination run wild. We have to meet Old Rivers and his wife soon."

After a moment of thought, Mrs. Sinclair added, "No, I have to send more people to search. I won’t be able to rest easy otherwise."

Chairman Sinclair said with some impatience, "Fine, fine, go ahead."

A moment later, an assistant walked over with a grim expression. "Chairman Sinclair, we have a problem."

Chairman Sinclair’s brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"The Valengard project has been shut down by the local authorities."

"What?! Shut down? For what reason?" Chairman Sinclair’s expression changed drastically. He had invested heavily in that project. A massive amount of capital was tied up in it, and he was desperately counting on the returns this year. If it was shut down, any hope of a return this year was gone.

"I just got the news myself. They’re saying it’s non-compliant with standards and have ordered an immediate work stoppage."

After a moment of thought, Chairman Sinclair muttered, "Someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes. Go find the Young Master. Tell him to go and fix this."

"But didn’t you tell the Young Master to go to Country A?"

"Forget Country A! He needs to solve this problem first!"

"Understood. I’ll go find the Young Master right away."

「Meanwhile.」

Tristan Sinclair was sitting in Jasper Lockwood’s office at the Lockwood Group. He stared at Jasper and asked, "What have you been so busy with lately? I’ve tried to get together with you a few times, but you’re never free."

Jasper Lockwood said, "Just a lot of miscellaneous stuff lately."

"Silas Coldwell hasn’t been giving you trouble lately, has he? He’s been pretty quiet."

"Only on the surface."

Just as Tristan was about to speak again, his phone rang. It was his father’s assistant.

"Hello? What’s up?"

On the other end of the line, the assistant asked, "Young Master, are you not at the office?"

"No, I’m out. Just tell me what’s going on."

"There’s a problem with the project in Valengard that we invested heavily in two years ago. Chairman Sinclair wants you to head over and deal with it as soon as possible."

Tristan knew all about the Valengard project. More than half of the Sinclair family’s fortune was riding on it; it was a huge deal. He didn’t ask any more questions, simply saying, "Wait for me at the office. I’m on my way back."

Hanging up, Tristan stood. "Something’s come up at the office. I have to go deal with it. You’ll have to have lunch on your own."

Jasper Lockwood watched him with his deep eyes. "What’s wrong? Is it serious?"

"I’m not sure yet. I’m leaving now, I need to get back and find out what’s going on."

"Then you’d better go."

Tristan left in a hurry.

Watching his retreating figure, the look in Jasper’s eyes grew deeper and more complex.

His phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen and answered.

A man’s voice came through the phone. "Second Master, everything in Valengard is taken care of."

"Mm," Jasper replied coolly. He added, "Tristan Sinclair is on his way there now. Don’t give him a hard time. Just avoid meeting with him."