Delayed Passion: Miss Lynch's Unrequited Love-Chapter 22: I’m the Only One Left

"..."

With just two short sentences, Ian Preston made Thea Lynch question her life choices.

She sat on the sofa, looking at him with an unnatural expression, her mind unable to process for a while.

Because she had been drinking, her eyes and cheeks were slightly flushed with a delicate pink. Ian felt a squeeze in his heart as he met her innocent and bewildered gaze; perhaps she herself didn’t realize how captivating she looked at this moment.

The man’s Adam’s apple moved up and down, and he gently caressed her soft face, "Have you been working too hard lately? You seem to have lost weight again."

He heard from Silas Cheney that recently Stratus has been rushing to meet project deadlines, especially the research team, which has been working overtime for a whole week. Silas told her to take a break, but she didn’t listen.

Today was Saturday, she was clearly supposed to be resting.

"With an employee like you, Silas got a bargain. Are you going to the company again tomorrow?"

Their gazes met in the air and collided, the warmth rising, suffocating them.

Coming back to her senses, Thea lowered her eyes, her long lashes fluttering, "I’m resting tomorrow."

For some reason, her voice was very soft. She was as obedient as when she was seventeen or eighteen, relying on him. Back then, her heart and eyes were all for him...

"Hmm, shall I take you out to play tomorrow?"

Without a second thought, Thea declined, "I’m going to sleep tomorrow, not going out."

Sensing the strange tension between them, she glanced at the time and urged, "It’s getting late, I need to sleep now."

The meaning of her words was too obvious.

Just a moment ago, she was still immersed in his warmth, and the next she withdrew quickly, looking at him coldly.

Thea got up and walked towards the bedroom, leaving behind a quick remark, "When you leave, take the trash with you and clean up the hallway."

Ian: "..."

As she heard the sound of the door closing, Thea slowly exhaled.

She didn’t know what had just happened, as if something was spiraling out of control, veering off track while she wasn’t paying attention.

After taking a shower, she felt a bit more clear-headed.

When she returned to the living room, Ian was indeed not there, but the card he left was still on the table. Underneath it was a note with just one sentence:

[This is my supplementary card, you know the password.]

——

That night, she slept very soundly, dreamless.

In the afternoon, she received a call from Human Resources, saying that her assistant Leo was pregnant.

HR: "She’ll probably need to take leave in the future. So, Foreman Lynch, do you have a suitable person in mind now? To replace her as your assistant."

"Whatever," Thea said, watering her plants in the living room, "I’m fine with anyone."

"Do you have any specific requirements? After all, you will be dealing with this person every day, it’s best to choose someone you’ll be comfortable with."

"Just follow your standards, doesn’t matter if it’s a man or woman, or how old they are. As long as they’re professional enough."

The HR side was silent for a moment, then responded with resignation, "Then I’ll make arrangements, and check with you later if needed?"

"No need, you decide."

"Alright, alright."

"Hmm, thank you."

After hanging up, Thea unintentionally opened WeChat and saw the messages in the company group chat.

It was a small group from their R&D department, early in the morning Foreman Chandler and the others had been frantically apologizing, saying they got too drunk last night and mixed up her drink.

She hadn’t responded to any messages, and they were all on edge.

"Foreman Lynch hasn’t woken up yet? Looks like she was really drunk yesterday."

"It’s your fault! Why did you mess up her drink, that spirit was so strong, and you mixed it with the beer!"

"I was really drunk at the time, you all know how low my alcohol tolerance is! I was almost ready to die from shame when I thought about it this morning!"

"Apologize to Foreman Lynch before you die!"

"..." Thea sent a series of ellipses, and someone in the group immediately replied.

"Foreman Lynch, you just woke up now? How are you feeling, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, don’t worry."

After a good sleep, she felt refreshed, with no hangover symptoms at all.

"Foreman Lynch, your alcohol tolerance is impressive, let’s have another round next time!"

After replying to each of them, Thea changed her clothes and went out to eat.

With the Qixi Festival approaching, Coronet could not escape a bout of rain. The weather forecast had said it would rain from afternoon to evening; before leaving, Thea searched for a long time but couldn’t find an umbrella, so she didn’t bother giving it much thought.

She took a cab to a popular restaurant recommended by her colleagues. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The restaurant was only a few kilometers away from the cemetery, so after eating, Thea went to visit her parents.

Today was the weekend, and there were more people compared to her last visit.

This time, it didn’t surprise Thea at all to see fresh bouquets next to her parents’ tombstone.

She crouched down to straighten the bouquet blown over by the wind, stared at her parents’ photo for a long time, and then started telling them about recent events.

After a while, she paused, lowered her head in melancholy, "I haven’t seen my brother for a long time."

"When I first returned to the country, I planned to visit him, but just never felt mentally prepared. Knowing his temper, he would surely scold me for not visiting him all these years."

"When I used to make mistakes as a child, I could still rely on my fourth brother to cover for me. When my brother scolded me, my second brother would step in to defend me. Now, I’m really all alone."

She let out a sigh, glancing towards the bouquets, and instinctively asked, "In these years I’ve been away, has he been coming regularly?"

Thinking about past matters, Thea shrugged with resignation, complaining, "I’ve never understood him ever since we were kids."

"He’s always so hot and cold."

"Someone like him, if he ever finds a wife, it’ll be thanks to good karma from his ancestors. Out of all the people in the courtyard, he’s honestly the hardest to deal with."

Of course, Thea only dared to secretly say this here for now.

The sky was gloomy, and it looked like it was about to rain. As Thea moved with the crowd towards the exit, it started to drizzle.

She stood under a pavilion to avoid the rain, trying to book a ride, only to see that the app showed a waiting queue. She wasn’t in a rush to leave, so she waited patiently.

Her driver’s license was from abroad, and she hadn’t had time to convert it during her busy return to the country. It would likely be next month before she could drive.

As the rain intensified, Thea yawned, leaned against a pillar, and continued to wait.

"The rain is heavy, why don’t you come inside and sit for a while?" The security personnel, having made a phone call in their booth, came out and invited her to shelter inside.

"It’s okay, I won’t get wet here. I’ll be leaving soon."

Thea liked rainy days very much, even if she was stuck right now, without a hint of impatience on her face, and even a trace of enjoyment. It was a perfect time for thinking.

Suddenly, headlights flashed in the distance, shining directly over, making Thea squint, thinking her ride had arrived.

She turned her head, seeing someone approaching with an umbrella. She thought to herself, this driver is pretty considerate, coming over with an umbrella is worth a tip for sure.

Her gaze swept to the item on the wrist of the person holding the umbrella, and her smile froze.

In that moment, it seemed to prove what he had said before—

You don’t need to go anywhere, I will come to find you.

[Author’s Note: Is anyone really reading this? T_T]