Kicked Out, Flash-Married, and Now He Won't Let Me Go

Wendy Wynn was on the ground.

A look of urgency flashed in Henry Sterling’s eyes. He rushed forward a few steps and helped Wendy Wynn to her feet.

The injured Wendy Wynn was clearly unsteady. She immediately fell into Henry Sterling’s arms, whispering, "Henry, you’re here?"

"It hurts so much. Can you hold me?"

"..."

Vivian Lowell nearly broke out in goosebumps.

She watched with a cool detachment for a moment, and it was enough to piece together what was happening.

’Perhaps—’

’Wendy Wynn must have found out somewhere that Eleanor Rhodes was coming to Aethelburg University to see Henry today. And clearly, at the dinner party last night, Wendy had noticed that the relationship between Henry and Eleanor went beyond simple friendship.’

’Wendy Wynn came back to the country, perhaps hoping to get back together with Henry.’

’But Eleanor’s presence was a threat to Wendy, so she deliberately orchestrated this scene, faking that Eleanor had pushed her to the ground?’

’All to sow discord and, at the same time, get Henry’s attention and sympathy?’

Vivian Lowell didn’t want to be so cynical.

But, watching Wendy Wynn nestled in Henry Sterling’s arms, she had to admit—the woman was playing the part of a scheming innocent to perfection.

"Professor Sterling."

Vivian Lowell wasn’t about to let her friend be put at a disadvantage. She took a step forward and said, "She’s a woman. I think it would be more appropriate for Tanya and me to help her right now."

"What do you think, Professor Sterling?"

Vivian Lowell’s sudden words snapped Henry Sterling out of his daze. He had been holding Wendy Wynn, his expression worried and his mind clearly elsewhere, but now he slowly came back to himself.

He glanced at Vivian Lowell, and seeming to think she had a point, he made a move to let Wendy Wynn go.

But Wendy Wynn wasn’t having it.

She put on a look of terror, as if Vivian Lowell was about to attack her, and shrank deeper into Henry’s embrace. "Henry. A moment ago... they pushed me!"

"And... I don’t even know them, but she knows my name. Henry, who are these people?"

Wendy Wynn’s tone was cloyingly sweet. As she finished speaking, she glanced at Eleanor Rhodes.

Eleanor Rhodes had, in fact, just called out Wendy Wynn’s name.

Since they had presumably never met before, it was indeed a bit strange that Eleanor Rhodes knew her name.

Hearing Wendy Wynn’s words, Henry Sterling frowned as well. He looked up and asked, "What exactly is going on?"

He didn’t blindly believe Wendy Wynn, but a sliver of doubt crept into his mind. ’Could Eleanor have gotten so emotional that she accidentally pushed Wendy?’ he wondered.

"A moment ago..."

Wendy Wynn had clearly come prepared today.

She jumped in again before anyone else could speak. "When I came looking for you, I saw you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you. I just thought I’d take a walk around the outside of the lab."

"I didn’t expect to find a few kittens when I came around back here. You know how we used to feed the stray cats all the time when we were studying abroad."

"Seeing them reminded me of the old days, so I picked one up to have a look. Who knew that was the exact moment those two would show up."

"Before I even had a chance to say anything, she told me these were your kittens from behind the building and that I couldn’t touch them. I just wanted to look at the kitten. I was just standing up to explain, and she..."

As Wendy Wynn spoke, she shot a look at Eleanor Rhodes, making it obvious she was trying to tell Henry that Eleanor was the one who had confronted and then pushed her.

"You’re lying!"

Falsely accused, Eleanor Rhodes froze for a second. She seemed completely blindsided, as if she couldn’t believe Wendy Wynn’s ability to lie so brazenly to her face was this incredible.

"It wasn’t like that, Professor Sterling! It wasn’t!"

Refusing to be framed, Eleanor Rhodes, her eyes welling up with tears, quickly explained what had really happened.

The two sides presented completely different stories.

And Henry Sterling, for his part, was momentarily at a loss as to who to believe.