On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 78: It’s Actually Him

Chloe Sterling stood to the side, silent. She had given the items to Chase Langdon, and she didn’t care who he gave them to.

She was just a little surprised at how quickly their friendship had formed.

But Chase Langdon was indeed easygoing and enjoyed making friends, unlike her, with her cold personality.

Damian Rivers’s phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen, then stood up. "I’m going to step out and take a call."

Once outside the office, Damian Rivers answered the call. "Hello? What is it?"

Phoebe Sinclair’s voice came through the phone. "Damian Rivers, can you win over Chloe Sterling or not?"

Damian Rivers chuckled, his tone flippant. "Whether or not I can win her over has nothing to do with whether or not you can win over Jasper Lockwood. Stop fixating on Chloe Sterling. Even without her, it’s a completely different matter whether Jasper Lockwood would want you. With all this spare time you have, you’d be better off figuring out how to hook Jasper Lockwood."

"I know what I have to do, but I need Chloe Sterling to disappear."

"Phoebe Sinclair, I’m telling you again: don’t you dare touch Chloe Sterling." Damian Rivers’s voice grew colder.

"Well, that depends on your actions, doesn’t it? If you can make her yours, I promise I won’t lay a single finger on her."

"You dare to cross Jasper Lockwood?" Damian Rivers sneered.

Phoebe Sinclair laughed. "I don’t dare, but someone else does. Don’t forget that President Coldwell from the Nocturne Group is still in Crestfall."

Damian Rivers’s eyes darkened. He said in a low, serious voice, "Phoebe Sinclair, let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t provoke that monster from the Nocturne Group. Be careful you don’t play with fire and get burned."

With that, he hung up the phone.

Back in the office, Chase Langdon asked, "You were quiet for a while there. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing, I was just listening to you two talk." Chloe Sterling poured herself a cup of tea. "I just didn’t expect you guys to become friends so quickly. But, Chase, next time you decide to give away something I gave you, could you please not do it right in front of me?"

Chase Langdon raised an eyebrow. "You don’t care about that stuff."

Chloe Sterling: "..."

Chase Langdon knew her too well. Of course, he hadn’t given everything away; he’d kept some for himself.

"It’s almost noon. What do you want to eat? It’s my treat."

"I’m not eating with you. I have plans with Jean."

"Oh." Chase Langdon nodded. "Okay. By the way, do you and President Lockwood have any plans for the day after tomorrow?"

"Huh?" For a moment, Chloe Sterling didn’t understand what he meant.

"It’s your birthday the day after tomorrow. You haven’t forgotten, have you?"

Chloe Sterling genuinely hadn’t remembered. She said nonchalantly, "You know I don’t care about things like that. And Jasper Lockwood doesn’t know my birthday either."

"I know you don’t care. Still, let me arrange it. Your twentieth birthday is a new beginning. It should be celebrated properly."

"Don’t bother," Chloe Sterling said faintly. "There’s nothing to celebrate."

Just then, Damian Rivers returned. "It’s almost noon. Let’s have lunch together. There’s a decent restaurant nearby."

Chloe Sterling checked the time. "You guys go ahead. I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving soon."

Hearing this, Damian Rivers frowned slightly. "Do you really have something to do, or do you just not want to eat with me? We’ve gotten to know each other, after all. Can’t we even share a single meal?"

"She really does have something to do," Chase Langdon said.

Damian Rivers sighed softly. "All right, then."

A short while later, Chloe Sterling left the martial arts studio.

Damian Rivers slumped onto the sofa, a dejected look on his face.

Chase Langdon poured another cup of tea and handed it to him. "Have some more. Green tea helps you cool down."

Damian Rivers watched him for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you know why Chloe married Jasper Lockwood? Is there some kind of deal between them?"

"Do you want the truth?"

Damian Rivers sat up straight. "Of course!"

"I don’t know if there’s a deal between them, but I know Chloe. She’s cold by nature and doesn’t get close to people easily. She especially dislikes it when strangers get too close. So, no matter her reason for marrying Jasper Lockwood, the prerequisite must be that she already had a favorable impression of him. Otherwise, she would never have done something like that."

Damian Rivers frowned. "You’re saying... she likes Jasper Lockwood?"

"I can’t say for sure if she *likes* him, but she definitely isn’t opposed to him. You can tell just by looking at her attitude toward you."

Damian Rivers: "..."

"So..." Chase Langdon patted his shoulder. "Take my advice: stop going after Chloe."

Damian Rivers slumped lazily back onto the sofa, not saying a word.

"Why so quiet?"

"You’ve already made your point. What else is there for me to say?" Damian Rivers huffed. "You’re obviously not on my side!"

Chase Langdon: "...I’m just looking out for you."

Chloe Sterling arrived at an old-fashioned restaurant.

Jean Kensington was already waiting. Seeing Chloe walk in, she immediately waved. "Chloe, over here!"

Chloe Sterling walked over and sat down across from her. "I can’t believe you found a place so out of the way."

Jean Kensington smiled. "Oh, I didn’t just discover it. I used to come to this restaurant all the time as a kid. It’s been open for over thirty years—it’s older than I am. I brought the baby here a few days ago, and the food hasn’t changed a bit. It still has that same delicious, nostalgic taste from my childhood."

As she spoke, she handed over the menu. "See what you’d like to eat."

"Since you know the place, you can just order for us."

Jean Kensington giggled. "I already ordered everything I wanted."

Chloe Sterling picked up the menu and took a look.

Just then, an elegant, middle-aged man in a sharp suit walked through the door.

A waiter immediately rushed over to greet him enthusiastically. "Sir, you’re here! How many in your party?"

The man said, "Just one."

The waiter was visibly stunned for a moment before recovering. "Of course. Right this way, please."

The man followed the waiter further into the restaurant.

Jean Kensington glanced over, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the man’s face. "It’s him!"

"Who?" Chloe Sterling followed her friend’s gaze.

"It’s the President of Apex Group from Country A who was looking for you, Charles Sterling! I can’t believe he’s here. Don’t tell me he used to be a regular?"

The scene that followed confirmed Jean Kensington’s suspicion.

Not long after Charles Sterling sat down, the restaurant owner came out and headed straight for his table. "Charles, you’re here."

The owner wasn’t young, probably around sixty, about the age of Charles Sterling’s parents’ generation.

"Yes," Charles Sterling said with a slight smile. "The food here still suits my palate best."

The owner chuckled. "I can tell. You’ve been here every day for a week. How come you’re alone today?"

"They weren’t hungry," Charles Sterling said.

"More like they didn’t want to come with you, huh? Eating the same thing every day must get tiring."

"Not at all."

Watching Charles Sterling, Jean Kensington whispered, "Looks like I was right. He’s so familiar with the owner, he must have been a regular in the past. He seems quite sentimental."

Chloe Sterling looked away and went back to studying the menu.

Then, she heard Jean Kensington add, "That Charles Sterling must be in his early forties, right? He looks so young for his age. Refined, elegant, and exceptionally handsome. You’d never guess he was over forty."

Chloe Sterling wasn’t interested. She picked out two dishes and called the waiter over to add them to their order.

Meanwhile, after chatting with Charles Sterling for a bit, the restaurant owner left, intending to cook the meal himself—something he hadn’t done in a very long time.

Charles Sterling was very busy. While waiting for his food, he took two back-to-back calls to handle business matters.

After hanging up, he placed his phone back on the table. He suddenly noticed two young women a short distance away. They were very beautiful, and as he looked at one of them, he froze for a second. He was subconsciously reminded of Rose Lynch.

The woman who had betrayed him and married another man when he was at his lowest point.

At the thought, a hint of coldness touched his handsome face, and he immediately looked away.

Jean Kensington had already looked away from the man and suddenly asked, "By the way, why did you let Esther Sterling off the hook? Why not send her to prison to think about what she’s done?"

"Because I didn’t want to see that couple again."