365 Days of Rejected Proposal: CEO's Rebellious Pet-Chapter 159: He Told Her to Leave Too

The Sterling couple are Jenson’s godparents. The Sterling Family is quite different from other prestigious families near Veridia, marked by dwindling family members.

The Sterling couple is deeply in love, and Raquel, their only child, has long since inherited the Sterling enterprise.

Theodore Sterling has retired behind the scenes for many years now; Raquel is the pillar of the Sterling Family and also Jenson’s good friend.

The relationship between Jenson and Raquel is even better than with his cousins from the Forrest Family.

"Are these news reports mere rumors? Just a couple of days ago, I saw financial news about Sterling’s Star-Tech going public, and Raquel personally attending the bell-ringing ceremony..."

Zinnia exclaimed in shock, not realizing it.

But her voice gradually lowered, as she recalled that when she saw the news, Raquel was heavily dressed and wearing a large mask in the photos.

At that moment, she wondered for a brief period why someone would cover their face in such an important and formal business occasion.

Soon she thought perhaps it was due to a cold and not wanting to spread it to others—Raquel was always a gentle, kind, and considerate person.

But now, thinking again, could it be that the figure wasn’t Raquel himself?

Zinnia looked up in shock at Jenson, whose eyebrows were tightly knit with undeniable pain in his eyes.

Zinnia’s heart sank, "Could this news be true? Was the person at the bell-ringing ceremony a stand-in?"

Jenson turned to Zinnia, nodded, and said, "Star-Tech has been the Sterling’s major investment project for the past five years and the foundation for their future. It was Raquel who founded and developed it. Right now, if the founder dies, it would greatly impact the company. My godfather had no choice but to resort to this approach..."

Zinnia exclaimed, "But concealing the death of the actual controlling person, if done wrong, could constitute economic crime!"

Jenson slightly pursed his lips, "The Sterling Family needs to first get past the immediate crisis. Concealing the death of the actual controller itself is not illegal; only if it involves gaining large amounts of illegal profits and causing significant economic loss will it constitute a crime. It depends on the subsequent operations, but still, it was unexpected that the news of Raquel’s death was prematurely exposed."

Zinnia thought about the situation of the Sterling Family and felt quite troubled. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Raquel’s death is indeed a devastating blow to the Sterlings.

Ryder spoke up, "Mrs. Sterling saw the news; it’s not good. The doctor is currently rescuing her."

Jenson’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Zinnia stepped forward to help him and worriedly asked softly about his injuries.

"Can I go with you?"

Zinnia asked hesitantly. In the past, Jenson wouldn’t let her involve herself in his matters excessively.

"Let’s go." The man’s voice came almost without hesitation.

Zinnia curved her lips. She was his wife; at this moment, she wanted to be by his side, not always like a little girl protected and put behind.

They arrived at Mrs. Sterling’s ward; the doctor had finished the treatment and left.

Mrs. Sterling lay pale and weak on the hospital bed. Her eyes could not see, appearing deeply clouded, yet tears silently lay there.

Seeing this scene, Zinnia felt quite uncomfortable.

Jenson carefully held Mrs. Sterling’s hand, "Godmother, I will handle the online situation; I won’t let Raquel continue to be cursed. With my godfather and me, the Sterling’s situation will stabilize, and once the Sterling Family pulls through the crisis, the stock price will rise, naturally allowing Raquel to rest in peace."

A bit of vitality appeared on Mrs. Sterling’s pale face.

Theodore Sterling also approached, gently smoothing his wife’s disheveled hair with careful movements and comforting her.

"Listen to what Jenson says, with me here, I won’t let our son die with grievances. Even if you don’t trust my ability, you can trust Jenson, right?"

Zinnia was moved watching this scene.

Mrs. Sterling and Theodore Sterling were famously loving couples in the high society circle.

In recent years, Mrs. Sterling had been blind and in poor health, and Theodore had steadfastly remained with her, invoking envy.

The death of their only child brought endless sorrow.

Zinnia stepped forward, "Aunt, you have to take care of your health, so Raquel can be at peace in heaven."

Mrs. Sterling looked in Zinnia’s direction.

She held Jenson’s hand and asked, "Who is it?"

Jenson took Zinnia’s hand, brought her closer, "Godmother, it’s my wife, Zinnia."

Jenson pulled Zinnia’s hand over to join his own, holding Mrs. Sterling’s hand together.

But Mrs. Sterling’s expression turned cold and abruptly shook off Zinnia, "What spirit in heaven? My Raquel is clearly fine; he’s abroad dealing with business. You, woman, stop cursing my son! Get out of here!"

Mrs. Sterling reacted intensely, and Zinnia was startled by the sudden shake and harsh scolding.

She stumbled a step back, and Theodore Sterling worriedly stepped forward, further pushing Zinnia aside.

Zinnia’s lower back hit the bedside cabinet, causing a sharp pang.

"Lillian! Alright, alright, Raquel is abroad. Get some rest and call our son later."

Theodore Sterling comforted Mrs. Sterling.

Jenson slightly frowned; Mrs. Sterling might have been overly stimulated by the online curses, becoming overly distressed and somewhat disoriented.

"Godmother, don’t get excited..."

Mrs. Sterling lay heavily breathing in the hospital bed but insisted on pointing in Zinnia’s direction.

"Jenson, she’s spouting nonsense! Make her leave, make her leave!"

Zinnia stood there dazedly, her expression extremely awkward.

She just wanted to comfort others, never expecting to cause such results.

She looked at Jenson; the man glanced at her and said.

"Zinnia, you wait for me outside first."

He also asked her to leave, making Zinnia feel aggrieved and frustrated inside.

Zinnia pressed her lips together; her lips moved slightly, wanting to say something, but Jenson had already turned to console Mrs. Sterling.

"Alright," Zinnia’s voice was dry as she murmured a reply, and the man didn’t look at her again.

She felt entirely ignored by him, causing Zinnia to feel somewhat hurt and stifled inside.

But under such circumstances, it seemed she couldn’t blame Jenson for anything.

She silently turned, walked out of the ward, and closed the door.

She walked to the long bench next to the ward and sat down with support from her sore lower back.

The place where she had been struck was still a bit painful, likely bruised.

She wondered if she was just overthinking things; she felt as if Mrs. Sterling didn’t really like her.

She remembered once as a child when Jenson took her to pay New Year’s greetings to the Sterling Family, Mrs. Sterling prepared red envelopes for everyone, except for her.

But she and Mrs. Sterling bore no grievances or hostility, so Mrs. Sterling had no reason to deliberately target her.

Zinnia stopped contemplating; she sat on the bench, unknowingly becoming more prone to sleep due to her pregnancy, and she soon slid down the bench in a doze.

As Zinnia’s body leaned over, a large hand reached out to catch her.

It was Alaric.

He supported Zinnia’s head with one hand and steadied her.

Zinnia slept heavily, showing no sign of waking.

Alaric hesitated for a moment, then removed his coat and draped it over Zinnia.

He sat beside her, accompanying her, and not long after, felt a weight on his shoulder.

Alaric’s breath hitched as he slowly turned his head—it was Zinnia, who had fallen asleep, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

The woman’s soft strands brushed lightly over his neck, and the subtle scent of gardenia unique to her wafted, unsettling him.

Alaric tensed up; he knew she was asleep, unaware of everything.

He should have distanced himself or woken her up.

But in this moment, he couldn’t bear to; his fists clenched tightly on his knees, allowing himself a brief indulgence.

He turned his head to look at the woman, her lips slightly parted in sleep, and slowly drew near...