Since there was no work the next day and it was everyone's first time at such a place, with little chance of coming again, everyone lingered until the early morning before reluctantly heading back.
After declining a coworker's offer for a ride, Thea Lynch said, "I live near the office, just a few minutes' walk away."
After watching her colleague's car drive away, a black Bentley approached from the outer lane and parked steadily in front of her.
The driver quickly got out and smiled at Thea Lynch, "Miss Lynch, do you remember me?"
"..." Thea Lynch sized up the middle-aged man opposite her, cautiously asking, "Are you the driver for the Preston Family?"
"Yes, that's me! I'm surprised you still recognize me!"
"Is there something you need?"
"Master Ian asked me to wait here for you."
Thea Lynch instinctively glanced at the back seat of the Bentley. Sensing her concern, the driver relayed the explanation Ian Preston had given him, "There's no one in the car; Master Ian left a few hours ago."
"He insisted on having you dropped off safely, otherwise, it would be hard for me to explain when I get back."
——
Getting into the car, Thea Lynch wasn't surprised.
After all, their previous meeting had ended unpleasantly, and meeting again so soon would indeed be awkward. It's only normal he wasn't here; if he had appeared again, there would be only one explanation.
He wanted a falling out with her.
Although she also felt her interactions with Ian Preston were forcedly cordial every time now, it was all she could manage.
She couldn't return to the state of their relationship from seven years ago, as if nothing had happened. Neither could she completely sever ties with him.
Coronet wasn't big, and they were part of the same social circle. Their family elders had long-standing friendships, so it was impossible to avoid him.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have left the country with her uncle seven years ago.
Since her return, their meetings had been anything but cordial, just as Ian Preston said, she was simply uneasy.
If this continued, a complete break with him didn't seem far off. When that time comes, he couldn't blame her.
She had been avoiding him as much as possible; he was the one deliberately complicating things.
What could she do?
Thinking about her current situation working at his company, Thea Lynch found her insomnia returning.
She had a persistent feeling that things were unresolved.
Sure enough, by noon on Saturday, she received a phone call from Ian's mother. What seemed like casual conversation about her recent activities was in fact probing into why she had gone to work at Stratus.
Thea Lynch hadn't slept all night; by the time she took the call, her head was spinning.
She didn't say much, finding an excuse to hurriedly hang up the phone.
When she woke up again, it was already early Sunday morning.
As she was eating, she looked at the call log on her phone, frowning deeply.
Ian's mother didn't like her and didn't want her and Ian getting too close. Back then, Ian would drive to Westmere every day to pick her up from school, spending every waking moment together.
Ian's mother had argued with him when she found out. It didn't seem to make much difference since Ian's mother eventually came to Thea directly...
Silas Cheney got back in the afternoon. He asked in the group chat if everyone was free next week.
Silas Cheney: "Now that Thea's back, I was occupied the whole last week and only just got some free time now, so I thought of hosting a welcome party for her."
The fifth brother replied promptly, "I won't be able to make it back next week."
The second brother: "I estimate I'll be transferred back to the country next month."
Silas Cheney: "Great, asking was pointless. Again, it's just me and the third brother with no plans."
Not counting Thea, their group comprised five people, a lineup unchanged since childhood.
Thea and her brother Aaron Lynch had a ten-year age gap, making Aaron their big brother whom everyone listened to when they were young.
Below him were the Zimmermans' second brother, Ian Preston, and Silas himself. Coincidentally, the three of them were the same age, with the second brother born a few months earlier. The fifth brother was only two years older than Thea.
What was special about them was that although they had grown up with the influence of the compound, only Aaron Lynch followed in their ancestors' footsteps.
As for the others, the second brother went into politics and now worked at an embassy abroad. Ian Preston and Silas went into business, which was to be expected, while the fifth brother of the Bell Family had become a reputable lawyer with his own firm in Coronet.
Ever since Thea went abroad, only a few of them were left in the group.
In private, they all appeared to maintain contact, but in reality, their paths had diverged significantly, with a palpable tension that none could reconcile over the years.
Silas was slightly luckier. Master Cheney was actually his grandfather, and after his mother divorced, she took him back to The Cheney Family, where the old man had him change how he addressed him, hence the grandfather title. So back when he was managing urgent matters with his father's family elsewhere, he was oblivious to everything.
By the time he returned, Coronet had changed drastically, and Thea had vanished without a trace.
The news of Thea going abroad came from Aaron Lynch's aunt later on. However, because before leaving, Thea lived in Westmere, the aunt didn't know when exactly she left, nor when she might return.
Eventually, bits and pieces about Thea abroad were discovered by Ian Preston through various means.
For instance, she was receiving treatment, her hearing was recovering, and she was also seeing a therapist.
She got into MIT and even secured a direct entry to a Ph.D. program with a scholarship.
She completely dispensed with her hearing aids and her personality returned to its former liveliness.
She graduated from university, with no plans of returning to the country...
——
The group last agreed to host Thea's welcome party when the second brother returned so everyone could be there, preventing an awkward scenario with just Ian and Silas present.
With the recent developments out in the open, Silas hadn't dared to chat with Thea these past few days. Though Ian was the mastermind, he undoubtedly played the shameful accomplice.
He figured the girl probably didn't want to see him now, so a few days of distance wouldn't hurt.
On Monday morning, Silas made a point of going to the office. After wrapping up the project files with Valiant, he noticed it was lunchtime and dialed Thea's office number on the internal line.
The phone rang for a while before someone finally answered, but it wasn't Thea's voice on the other end.
"This is the R&D center office. Who are you looking for?"
"Is Thea there?"
"She was in earlier this morning but then left. She probably... took leave."
"Is she sick?"
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Didn't she give a reason for her leave?"
"No."
A bunch of question marks filled Silas's mind.
He dialed Thea's personal number but got no answer. Perhaps she had moved him to her blacklist.
He felt restless and stood up, intent on checking her apartment for answers.
Just as he exited the office, the HR manager bumped into him.
"Mr. Cheney, Mr. Cheney!" The manager rushed over in high heels, an urgent expression on her face.
"I just received a resignation letter - from Foreman Lynch!"
"If someone wants to resign, let them. Why make a fuss over it? Do you really need to report this to me?" Silas waved her away, signaling not to block his way.
The HR manager was taken aback, not expecting his reaction.
Everyone privately speculated that Foreman Lynch was Mr. Cheney's lover, and now, this situation... Could it be a breakup?
Wait! Silas's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He sharply turned around:
"Who did you just say wants to resign?"
"Thea, Foreman Lynch, of course."
Silas: "..." Oh no!!!