Free Web NovelChapter 258: Chapter 261: There’s Something Between Them
"...Of course it is!" Renee Sinclair cast a shifty glance at Felix Preston. The moment he caught her eye, he knew exactly what she was holding.
"Don’t just stand around out here. Let’s go inside and talk," Felix Preston called out before turning and heading back into the living room.
"You slapped her so many times. Does your hand hurt?" Mason Shaw asked as he helped Hannah Sutton up the steps, tenderly rubbing her red, swollen palm.
"Of course it hurts!" Hannah Sutton pouted, but a few seconds later, she broke into a grin. "But it felt so good! If Cecilia Quincy had dared to stick around for a few more seconds, I definitely would have slapped her again!"
"*Ewww... of course it huuurts...*" Lynn Preston sang in a mocking imitation as she walked past, catching Hannah completely off guard.
"You..." Hannah Sutton’s face immediately flushed. "What’s with the sarcastic tone?"
Lynn Preston glanced back at her, pouting cheekily. "I’m not being sarcastic. I’m just purely envious. Envious that Hannah has someone to rub her little hand for her~~"
"Hmph!" Hannah Sutton arched a proud eyebrow. "What’s there to be envious of? If you want someone to do that for you, just grab the guy standing right next to you."
As she spoke, she shot a look at Jasper Linden, a smirk playing on her lips.
Lynn Preston caught her look and immediately got flustered. "Wh-what are you talking about?"
Seeing her reaction, Hannah Sutton knew she’d hit the nail on the head. She pulled her hand away from Mason Shaw, hurried over to link arms with Lynn Preston, and dragged her over to Renee Sinclair for a hushed conversation.
"Lynn, be honest with me. Is there something going on between you and Jasper Linden?"
"...S-something going on?" Lynn Preston asked, playing dumb even though she knew exactly what Hannah meant.
"Why are you playing dumb?" Renee Sinclair called her out mercilessly. "It’s obvious there’s something going on between you and Jasper Linden. All of us have noticed."
"Hey..." Lynn Preston, embarrassed, scrambled to cover Renee’s mouth. "Don’t talk nonsense. There’s nothing going on between me and Jasper Linden."
"Besides, Jasper Linden is my sister-in-law’s ex-boyfriend. I’d have to be crazy for there to be something between us."
Hannah Sutton was more open-minded and didn’t see the issue. "So what if he’s her ex? Charlotte and he are ancient history. They both moved on ages ago. Are you still hung up on it?"
"And Felix Preston gets along with him as a friend. That proves the people actually involved turned that page a long time ago. There’s no need for you to be hung up on it," Renee Sinclair added sharply.
Lynn Preston scratched her head, frustrated. "I’m not hung up on it... I just think, he was my sister-in-law’s boyfriend, after all. If there was something between us, wouldn’t that be weird?"
’This is just like one of those internet stories, "My First Love Ended Up Becoming My Brother-in-Law."’
"Oh, come on!" Hannah Sutton gave her arm a light smack. "Who cares what people on the internet say? This is about you, not them. Besides, even Felix doesn’t mind Jasper’s past and is willing to be friends with him, so you can stop caring about all this too."
"Exactly!" Renee Sinclair nodded emphatically.
Hannah Sutton suddenly grabbed Lynn’s hand. "And look at Sinclair! Didn’t she used to like your brother, and even got into a few nasty fights with Charlotte over it? But look now! Hasn’t Charlotte let bygones be bygones and become friends with her?"
With the conversation suddenly turning to her, Renee Sinclair looked rather embarrassed.
"Oh, come on..." Renee Sinclair swatted Hannah’s hand away, her cheeks flushing red. "I was young and foolish back then. I did a lot of stupid things in a daze. Now that I’ve come to my senses, I realize my feelings for Felix Preston weren’t love at all. It was just a youthful obsession with something I couldn’t have."
"Charlotte and I already cleared the air, so we just naturally became friends."
"Mhm!" Hannah Sutton shot a look at Lynn Preston, raising her eyebrows. "See? Two prime examples, right here in front of you. What are you still hesitating for? If you like him, just go for it!"
"I..." Lynn Preston mumbled, looking down, conflicted. A moment later, she seemed to snap out of it. "Wait a minute. When did I ever say I liked him?"
"..." Hannah Sutton blinked. "You basically admitted it."
Renee Sinclair nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh."
"...Oh, screw you guys!" Lynn Preston shot them both a glare, then left them in the corner and walked away.
"Heh," Hannah Sutton said with a laugh, watching her go. "Look at her. We barely said anything, and she’s already getting all worked up."
Renee Sinclair replied, "Getting worked up means there’s something there. Sutton, looks like the Preston and Shaw clans are about to have another wedding on their hands."
Hannah Sutton nodded. "And once Charlotte is back, it’ll be a double celebration."
"Sigh..." The mention of Charlotte Shaw made Renee Sinclair sigh.
"Come on." She grabbed Hannah Sutton and pulled her back into the living room.
The group gathered together to briefly recap what just happened, which only made them more certain that Willow Quincy was the one who had kidnapped Charlotte Shaw.
Mason Shaw pulled out his phone. "I’m calling Uncle Collins right now to tell him how Willow Quincy acted on the phone."
"Mmm," Felix Preston responded coolly. As he adjusted his glasses, he exchanged a look with Evan Yates.
Mason Shaw made the call right there in front of everyone. As soon as he hung up, he rushed off to his company for a meeting.
Hannah Sutton had a mess to deal with at her clothing boutique, so she also had to leave before long.
But since she was still preoccupied with Lynn Preston and Jasper Linden, she took the two of them with her when she left. Four of the seven people were gone in an instant, leaving only Felix Preston, Evan Yates, and Renee Sinclair in the living room.
With everyone else gone, it was easier for the three of them to talk.
"Did you find something?" Felix Preston asked Renee Sinclair, getting straight to the point.
Renee Sinclair hummed in affirmation, placing the manila folder she’d been clutching to her chest onto the coffee table and pushing it toward Felix.
"I’ve got a full background check and recent movements for that blind date guy. Take a look."
"...You found all that already?" Evan Yates asked in shock.
Renee Sinclair said, "I did. I even did a deep dive on his entire circle of friends."
"He has a lot of friends, and about a dozen of them fit our criteria. A broad search would be time-consuming and prone to error."
"So I suggest we stick with Felix Preston’s method."
"Wait!" Evan Yates suddenly raised his hand. "Renee, how did you find all this so fast? I asked my underworld contacts to look into him, and they said it would take two days to get results. What kind of connections do you have?"
"Uhh..." Renee Sinclair was at a loss for words.
Felix Preston had been focused on the file, but when he heard Evan’s question, he too looked up at Renee Sinclair, curious.
"Renee," he asked, "how are you always able to get your hands on things the rest of us can’t?"
