Chapter 569: Chapter 569: Hiding This Matter for Zoe Morgan

Aria Sinclair was physically fine. The doctor said she could be discharged that afternoon, but she didn’t want to go home.

She didn’t want to return to the house that brought her so much sorrow or face the people who caused her so much pain.

Her mind was a complete mess, and she had no idea how to deal with this awful situation.

Vincent Morgan understood her and completely respected her decision.

Worried she might get lost in her thoughts if left alone, he even brought his work to the hospital.

"Vincent, you should go to the office. Don’t worry about me," Aria Sinclair said, watching her son sitting on the sofa with his laptop propped on his legs. He was staring down at the screen, and she worried he’d get uncomfortable holding that position for too long.

"Mom, I’m fine," Vincent Morgan said gently.

"Your neck is going to get sore later."

Vincent Morgan chuckled. "If it gets sore, I’ll stop. I’m not a child."

"Alright." Aria Sinclair nodded. "Rest if you get tired."

She picked up her phone, only to find it had died. "Vincent, do you have a charger? My phone’s dead."

"I do." Vincent Morgan set down his laptop and pulled a power bank from his computer bag.

Aria Sinclair plugged it in. Once it turned on, she saw a missed call from Zachary Morgan and a message he’d sent last night.

[Aria, your phone was off. I have something to take care of, so I’ll be away for two days.]

Aria Sinclair stared blankly at the message.

’Something to take care of...’

’Is he also trying to figure out how to handle this?’

’Or is he considering whether or not to cover for Zoe Morgan?’

At the thought of this possibility, Aria Sinclair’s eyes darkened, her expression a mixture of anger and solemnity.

She gripped her phone tightly, her breathing growing heavy.

After a moment, Aria Sinclair seemed to come to a realization. She sent a simple reply to Zachary Morgan and tossed the phone aside.

**

Renee Jennings had just finished breakfast when Michelle Fuller called.

"Renee, are you busy today?"

"Not at the moment. What’s up?" Renee Jennings asked with a laugh.

Michelle Fuller: "Then I’ll drive over and pick you up. The bag I bought last week just arrived, and I’m taking it out today."

Renee Jennings was helpless against her. "Alright, I’ll get ready now."

"Love you~"

"You love your bag."

"But I love you more~"

After hanging up, Renee Jennings went back to her room to change into the dark gray, knit, schoolgirl-style skirt set that Michelle Fuller had bought her a while back.

As she came downstairs, Rhea Dempsey was just walking in from the courtyard. "Going out?"

"Yeah, Michelle is coming to pick me up," Renee Jennings said. "We’ll probably do some shopping. Do you need me to buy anything for you?"

"I don’t need anything." Rhea Dempsey sank into the couch, leaning back lazily. "I’m not lacking anything... except a son-in-law."

Renee Jennings: "...?"

She blinked, thinking she must have misheard.

’Lacking a son-in-law?’

She said coolly, "Well, I’m off."

Michelle Fuller hadn’t arrived yet, so Renee Jennings spent about ten minutes playing with her furry friends in the courtyard.

Once in the car, Michelle Fuller immediately handed over her new bag. "What do you think? Cute, right?"

"It’s cute. Perfect for a sweet girl like you," Renee Jennings nodded, looking less than interested.

The tiny bag was purely for show; it couldn’t even fit a phone. At most, it could hold a compact and a lipstick.

As they chatted, Renee Jennings opened a streaming app and saw that Reina Vance had sent her a private message in the wee hours of the morning.

The previous night, after apologizing to her fiancé, Howard Shaw, and receiving his forgiveness, Reina Vance had asked about Sheryl Sterling.

"Honey, I have a question for you, but I want to make it clear first—I’m not doubting you at all."

Howard Shaw, who was peeling a shrimp for her, nodded. "Go on, then."

Reina Vance bit her lip and asked cautiously, "It’s just... Sheryl... has she ever chatted with you?"

"Yeah, she has," Howard Shaw said. "But we haven’t talked about much."

Reina Vance blinked. Just as she was about to ask if she could see their chat history, Howard Shaw offered it himself.

"You can take my phone and look. But why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"I just feel like Sheryl is acting weird," Reina Vance explained. "Back when you were helping out at the coffee shop, she told me she saw you shopping with another woman."

"But didn’t she later say she was mistaken?" Howard Shaw fed her a peeled jumbo shrimp.

"But the fake nail this time was hers, too," Reina Vance said, her brows knitting together. "But when I asked her, she didn’t admit it. Instead, she told me you might have a girlfriend."

Howard’s face immediately darkened. "What the hell? Is she crazy or something? Does she just not want to see us happy?"

"That’s why I thought it was so weird."

"Damn, does she have that big of a problem with me?"

"Exactly! That’s why I asked if she ever chats with you."

"We’ve chatted, but it all seemed pretty normal. She didn’t say anything bad about me," Howard Shaw urged. "You should just take my phone and look at the chat history yourself."

"Okay." Reina Vance knew his passcode and unlocked the phone.

She easily found Sheryl Sterling in his chat list. They had just messaged yesterday.

Reina Vance’s frown deepened.

She tapped open the chat. The last message was from Sheryl Sterling.

[Howard, Rain can be bad-tempered, willful, and likes to stir up trouble, but as her friend, I hope you can be patient with her.]

’What the hell?’

Reina Vance was stunned.

’Is that something a friend should say?’

’Unbelievable. She’s really hoping I’ll break up with Howard!’

Reina Vance scrolled up through the chat history, growing even more speechless.

Sheryl Sterling had sent Howard photos of the two of them hanging out. In every single one, Reina Vance looked awful.

On top of that, she noticed Sheryl had Photoshopped herself to have fair skin, a beautiful face, a bigger chest, and longer legs!

Even worse, mixed in with these group photos was a solo picture of Sheryl.

Sheryl had even added a typically manipulative, cutesy explanation: [So embarrassing, I accidentally sent a photo of myself. I can’t unsend it, so just pretend you didn’t see it.]

Howard had replied: [Rain makes a lot of funny faces.]

Sheryl Sterling: [Those are already some of her most presentable pictures.]

Howard hadn’t replied.

Reina Vance clenched her fists, her blood pressure soaring as she read.

’How had she never realized Sheryl Sterling was such a green tea before?’

Scrolling up further, she saw that Sheryl Sterling had sent a video call request, which Howard had rejected.

Reina Vance played the voice message that followed. She heard Sheryl Sterling’s coquettish, cutesy voice. "Rain, I’m drunk... I feel so awful. Can you talk with me for a bit, please?"

"HOLY SHIT!" Reina Vance was livid.

Howard popped another shrimp into her mouth. "What’s wrong?"

"Why didn’t you tell me she was sending you all this stuff?" Reina Vance demanded, glaring at him with puffed cheeks.

Howard said nonchalantly, "She said she sent them by mistake, so I didn’t think anything of it."

Reina Vance looked at her clueless fiancé and couldn’t help but sigh. "Oh my god. If you had even the slightest ulterior motive, that shameless bitch Sheryl Sterling would’ve already succeeded."

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