Free Web NovelChapter 104: Chapter 104: Intentionally Tormenting Him
"What’s wrong?" Sonia Quincy put down her phone and looked up at Lynn Preston.
Lynn Preston came in empty-handed, but Liam Joyce, who followed behind her, had his hands full of bags, big and small.
"Mrs. Preston," Liam Joyce said, placing the items on the table. He greeted the women in the hospital room with polite, gentlemanly courtesy.
"Hello," Sonia Quincy replied politely.
"Hello, Mr. Joyce. Please, have a seat." Mrs. Preston didn’t know the full story with Liam Joyce. She just assumed he was a suitor approved by Lynn Preston, so she was quite warm and friendly toward him.
"Thank you, Ma’am." Liam Joyce didn’t stand on ceremony, pulling up a chair and sitting at the foot of the bed.
"Sister-in-law, guess who I just saw in the hallway?" Lynn Preston said, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. After setting her bag down, she sat next to Sonia Quincy and grabbed her hand to complain.
"Who did you see?" Sonia Quincy asked.
Lynn Preston: "I saw Cecilia Quincy, and her parents!"
"Oh..." Sonia Quincy raised an eyebrow, her expression showing no surprise at all. She even had the presence of mind to observe Liam Joyce’s reaction.
"So you saw them. There are only a couple of major hospitals in Aethelburg. It’s perfectly normal to run into them here."
"I know it’s normal, I just think it’s such bad luck." Lynn Preston rolled her eyes, a gesture meant for both Cecilia Quincy and the visibly uncomfortable Liam Joyce.
"Cecilia Quincy was holding an admission form, and her parents’ eyes were red from crying. Looks like someone in their family was admitted, and what a coincidence, they’re on the same floor as us."
Sonia Quincy’s lips curved into a faint smile. "The only person they’d be this worried about is probably Willow Quincy. Maybe Willow’s dying."
"...Huh?" Lynn Preston’s eyes widened in alarm. "Willow’s dying? For real? Sister-in-law, how do you know?"
Sonia Quincy gave a mischievous wink. "I just made that up. Willow Quincy is built like a horse. How could he die so easily?"
"..." Lynn Preston pressed her lips together in exasperation. "You scared me. I really thought Willow Quincy was about to die."
"Hmph..." Sonia Quincy let out a cold laugh, changing the subject. "Lynn, you saw Cecilia Quincy in the hallway, but did she see you?"
Lynn Preston shook her head. At the same time, she shot a sidelong glance at Liam Joyce and raised her voice slightly. "Nope. Cecilia Quincy looked like a total wreck, just dragging her parents along without looking at anything else. She didn’t have time to even notice me."
Sonia Quincy: "Mm, that’s normal."
Lynn Preston was still griping, "It’s just awful luck. The sight of anyone from the Quincy Family makes me sick! That includes Ethan Lockwood. He makes me sick, too!"
"Just bear with it." Sonia Quincy reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Lynn Preston’s ear, her meaningful gaze landing gently but pointedly on Liam Joyce.
"Cecilia Quincy is Ethan Lockwood’s fiancée, after all. With Willow Quincy seriously ill in the hospital, Ethan will have to come visit his future brother-in-law no matter what. That whole disgusting bunch will be gathered together. You’re going to have plenty more bad luck to deal with in the future."
Lynn Preston: "I know."
...
Liam Joyce, sitting to the side, didn’t dare to interject.
The two sisters-in-law kept deliberately bringing up Ethan Lockwood and Cecilia Quincy, tormenting Liam Joyce until he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He kept his eyes downcast, staring fixedly at his leather shoes, not daring to look over at all while Sonia Quincy and Lynn Preston were talking.
"It’s about time, Sister-in-law. I have to go." Lynn Preston glanced at her phone, reluctantly ending the satisfying topic of conversation.
"Where are you going?" Sonia Quincy asked, looking at her.
She stood up from the sofa, took Sonia Quincy’s arm to help her up, and guided her to the dining table at the side of the room.
"I have plans to meet a friend for a late lunch, so I have to rush over now. I know hospital food is terrible, so I made a special stop at a restaurant on the way here and got all this takeout for you and Mom."
"It’s all still warm. You two should eat it while it’s hot."
"Aren’t you going to have some with us?" Mrs. Preston asked, poking her head out as she put some folded clothes into the wardrobe.
Lynn Preston picked up her bag from the table and slung it over her shoulder. "I’m not eating. I’ll eat with my friend when I get there."
Mrs. Preston: "Alright, be safe on the way."
Lynn Preston: "Mm..."
"Let’s go, Lynn." Liam Joyce stood up from his chair, his voice tinged with an inexplicable urgency.
But Lynn Preston looked at him and hesitated for a few seconds before saying with a bashful expression, "Mom, Sister-in-law, Mr. Joyce picked out all these dishes himself. You two have to eat a lot, don’t let his kind gesture go to waste."
"..." Sonia Quincy remained silent, a half-smile playing on her lips.
"Yes, yes, of course," Mrs. Preston, on the other hand, agreed happily. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Joyce. You’ve gone to too much trouble."
A smile finally appeared on Liam Joyce’s face. "You’re too kind, Ma’am. Taking care of Lynn’s family is what I should do."
"Oh..." Mrs. Preston quite liked him. Hearing him say something so ambiguously intimate, she didn’t ignore it but instead responded with a cheerful laugh.
"Ahem..." Lynn Preston cleared her throat, her face blushing. "Well, we’ll be going now. You two, remember to eat."
Sonia Quincy stood where she was and watched her leave. "Go on, be careful."
...
Liam Joyce seemed to be in a great hurry.
After leaving the hospital room, he walked with long, quick strides, his pace so fast that Lynn Preston could barely keep up.
Watching his somewhat anxious back, Lynn Preston feigned ignorance and asked, "Mr. Joyce, are you in a rush for something? Why are you suddenly walking so fast?"
"Huh?" Liam Joyce turned his head at her question. "Am I walking fast?"
Lynn Preston: "Fast. So fast I can barely keep up."
"...Sorry." Liam Joyce gave a forced smile and reluctantly slowed his pace. "I heard a new wave of the flu is going around Aethelburg recently. This one is supposed to be really bad, and it can easily turn into pneumonia if you get infected. I was a little worried, so I guess I started walking faster without realizing it."
"Is that so..." Lynn Preston played along with his act. "If this flu is that bad, then we really should hurry. The lobby is full of people coming and going. If our luck is bad, we could get infected in an instant."
"Yeah," Liam Joyce nodded. "Then I’d better walk faster. If you can’t keep up, Lynn, just take my hand."
Lynn Preston: "Huh?"
Liam Joyce didn’t bother explaining further, acting directly by taking her hand and holding it firmly in his own.
"Let’s go. I’ll get you out of here quickly."
"..." Lynn Preston didn’t refuse, letting his large, warm hand envelop her own.
SLAM!
The car door closed, and the tension in Liam Joyce’s body visibly eased.
Lynn Preston sent him the location of the restaurant. He set the navigation and drove directly away from the hospital.
But partway there, he suddenly said, "Lynn, I might not have time to bring you to the hospital anymore in the future."
"Okay," Lynn Preston agreed first, then asked, "Did you land another big contract, Mr. Joyce?"
