Chapter 303: Chapter 303: Charlotte Rhodes is Critically Ill

"Congratulations! How did it happen? Tell me everything."

Rory Linden was genuinely happy for Sherry Walsh.

Of course, she was also curious about how they got together.

"Well..." Sherry Walsh scratched her head awkwardly. "I don’t really remember."

"You don’t remember?"

Rory Linden didn’t quite understand what she meant by that.

"Sean Harrison isn’t with you, is he?"

Sherry Walsh asked in a hushed voice.

After getting confirmation, she recounted the events of the past two days.

"To put it simply, I went to sleep, and when I woke up, Noah Sterling was my boyfriend."

As Sherry Walsh mentioned this, an undeniable sweetness colored her tone as she continued:

"To be honest, I’ve wanted to turn our fake relationship into a real one for a while now. Seeing his ex-girlfriend, Jane Jenkins, and her personality, I thought he was into the sweet, innocent type. I never dared to imagine he’d agree to be my boyfriend."

"I don’t think Lawyer Sterling is the type to compromise on his feelings. He must have liked you first for anything else to have happened."

Rory Linden had always felt that everything about Sherry Walsh was perfect.

She had loving parents eager to protect her and a warm family atmosphere.

She herself was frank and open, dared to love and hate, and had a kind heart.

Her looks were second to none.

"Really? But I was drunk and don’t remember a thing." True to form, Sherry added, "I’m worried I might have forced myself on him."

"...There’s such a big difference in size and strength between you two. He would have had to be willing."

"Aren’t all men bastards who’ll take any advantage they can get? Maybe that’s what he was thinking."

"Well..."

"Oh, but I don’t actually think he’s that kind of person."

Sherry Walsh immediately dismissed her own thought.

She had always tended to view men with a critical eye.

But deep down, she felt that Noah Sterling wasn’t like that.

Then she asked Rory Linden, "By the way, when are you coming back to Celestria?"

Sitting alone in her room, Rory Linden said, "We should be heading back this week, but I haven’t booked the tickets yet. It depends on what Leo wants."

Over the past two days, they had gone to the zoo and seen the local historic buildings.

Leo Linden had a lot of fun.

Rory Linden saw how happy he was and truly wanted him to have a few more days of fun, to make up for lost time.

"Okay, when you get back, if he and I haven’t broken up yet, I’ll arrange for the three of us to have dinner."

After saying this, Sherry Walsh exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up.

-

The next day, their destination was a famous local theme park.

This theme park was part of a global chain.

The country they used to live in, as well as Celestria, both had one.

But because of her work, Rory Linden had never had the chance to take Leo Linden.

In the morning, Leo Linden was the first one up.

The little boy was full of energy, got dressed by himself early, put on his little sun hat, and stood waiting at the door of the room.

Since they had booked a guided tour package, a private guide accompanied them, allowing them to enjoy all the attractions an unlimited number of times without waiting in line.

However, Leo Linden was too young and not tall enough, so there were some rides he couldn’t go on.

By the time they were done with the rides, it was just a little after one in the afternoon.

The guide took them to the castle restaurant for lunch.

As the three of them were finishing their meal, cast members dressed in character costumes came in to interact with everyone and take photos.

Lunch ended.

Rory Linden asked her son, "Leo, are there any rides you want to go on again? We can take you."

"I want to go on that little roller coaster!"

Leo Linden immediately made his request.

The roller coaster he mentioned was one of the most popular attractions in the theme park.

They hadn’t had to wait in line earlier, but when they passed by the entrance, they had seen a sign indicating a 120-minute wait time.

"I’ll contact the guide then."

Sean Harrison, naturally, had no intention of waiting in line.

"No need. We can buy an Express Pass, then we won’t have to wait."

Rory Linden took out her phone, ready to buy the tickets.

The man asked, "Express Pass?"

Rory Linden explained simply, "Yeah, you pay a bit of money to use a fast lane. It’s not as quick as having the guide with us, but the wait time is still much shorter than the regular line."

The man asked about the price and how it worked, then quickly bought Express Passes for all three of them.

The family returned to the hotel for dinner around five-thirty.

Leo Linden was very young, and a full day at the park had taken a huge toll on his energy.

During dinner, his eyelids were already drooping.

Back in the room, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The hotel they were staying at was right next to the theme park.

Standing in the room, you could see the changing lights and hear the cheerful music from the theme park.

Rory Linden stood by the window, thinking about the day’s events.

It wasn’t until she heard Sean Harrison coming out of Leo Linden’s room that she turned and asked, "Have you never been to this kind of theme park before?"

For the first six hours of the day, the guide had led them around.

The guide had explained the rules, content, and precautions for each ride in meticulous detail.

Leo Linden would ask questions from time to time, and the guide answered every one.

Throughout the entire process, Sean Harrison had barely said a word.

Only before some of the rides would he occasionally ask about the safety precautions.

’It’s almost as if he’s never been to one before.’

Sean Harrison walked over to her side in a few steps, looking out at the same view. "No, I’ve never been."

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be strange.

Not every child gets to visit a high-end theme park like this growing up.

Rory Linden’s mind went blank for a second, then she suddenly realized something. "Have you... never even been to a park?"

"Mm," the man answered matter-of-factly. "Most of the places we’ve taken Leo these past two days are places I never had the chance to visit as a child."

"..."

Rory Linden’s heart clenched involuntarily.

On this trip, they had taken a cruise and gone to the zoo.

When she was young, Miles Harrison had taken her to all of these places.

Although her role back then was more like that of a nanny following Miles Harrison around, she had still gotten to enjoy everything.

"This may be my first time being a father, but I was a child once, too. I know I haven’t been a good one."

Sean Harrison watched the shifting lights outside the window and continued,

"When I was little, I never had the chance to go to amusement parks or the zoo with my parents like other kids. And after I grew up, I barely spent any time with my own child, and I let you bear so many years of hardship alone..."

Outside the window, the largest castle in the theme park was visible.

As the man’s voice trailed off, the castle began to change colors.

The next second, a streak of fire shot into the sky, and a firework blossomed, lighting up the night.

Yet the room remained quiet.

Rory Linden quietly watched the fireworks before her. "If you’re not busy, let’s make this trip a little longer."

The man replied, "Okay."

-

The trip finally came to an end a week later.

When their plane landed in Celestria, it was 11:00 AM on Wednesday, local time. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Rory Linden bent down to help Leo Linden put on his shoes.

Beside her, Sean Harrison’s phone began to chime with a stream of text notifications.

She glanced up. "Is that work? If you need to go, you can leave first. I’ll take Leo home."

Sean Harrison looked at the messages on his phone, his expression turning slightly grim.

After Rory Linden finished putting Leo Linden’s shoes on, she turned off her phone’s airplane mode.

The moment her phone got a signal, a WeChat message popped up.

It was from Director Jason Stone.

The message contained only four words:

[Charlotte Rhodes critically ill.]