Chapter 379
‘Do you have time? I’d like to treat you to a meal,” Megan said.
Lena hesitated for a moment.
She had been planning to say no. But then she remembered Megan’s old feelings for Sean. That made her reconsider.
Megan had returned to the country specifically to attend the funerals of James and Mrs. Jasper Sr. She had clearly already seen
Sean.
There was no way this lunch was just about catching up.
Lena figured Megan probably wanted to fish for information about Sean. At the same time, she was curious too–curious to see whether Megan still had feelings for him.
“All right,” Lena replied. “Let me go home and change first. You pick the place.”
“Sounds good,” Megan said. “I’ll message you.”
Lena gave a flat, indifferent “Mm,” and Megan turned to leave.
Watching her walk away, Lena let out a quiet sigh.
“Should I tell Lottie that Megan was back?” she wondered.
Charlotte and Sean might have already broken up, but it was obvious they still had feelings for each other. With Joseph arrested and Mrs. Jasper Sr. gone, there might actually be a chance for them to reconcile.
At 7:30 p.m., Megan and Lena sat across from each other in a private dining room at one of the Stone Corporation’s upscale, members–only restaurants.
After some small talk and polite catching up, Megan took a sip of her tea and finally asked, “Is it true that Sean and Charlotte broke up?”
Although she had been living abroad these past few years, she had always kept tabs on Sean.
Last year, when she learned about his engagement to Charlotte, she had been heartbroken for a long time.
The Stones and the Jaspers had been close since Mr. Jasper Sr.’s generation. When they were kids, the two families had even joked about arranging a marriage between her and Sean.
The first person Megan ever had feelings for was Sean.
She was beautiful, from an elite family, and had no shortage of admirers. But Sean had always stood out, He was so brilliant, so untouchable, that no one else ever measured up in her eyes.
Before she went abroad, she had confessed to him once.
She was nineteen at the time, about to leave the country for school
She didn’t want to leave with regrets. Deep down, she had hoped Sean might ask her to stay.
So she took a leap of courage.
But Sean turned her down firmly and completely.
“Sorry. I already like someone else.”
“Can I ask who?”
Without hesitation, he replied, “Charlotte Riley.”
Megan knew who Charlotte was.
The heiress of the Riley family, same age as her. They had crossed paths at a few social events, but never really talked–just acquaintances, the occasional polite nod.
When she found out Sean liked Charlotte, she felt a stab of jealousy
But even she had to admi that Charlotte was stunning.
She had been voted most beautiful at school from middle school through college. On top of that, she excelled in both academics and extracurriculars. Everything she picked up as a hobby, she won awards for.
In high school, she won the national youth golf championship. She had taken top honors in a national piano competition. And her calligraphy? Too many awards to count. Some said she had started winning prizes as early as elementary school.
Among wealthy daughters like them, having a few elegant hobbies was common–music, painting, calligraphy, that sort of thing. But someone as consistently excellent as Charlotte? That was rare.
Megan had her pride. After being rejected, she didn’t cling or beg. Instead, she responded coolly, “If I lost to her, I have no complaints. But Sean… I’m not giving up.”
What she didn’t say out loud was this, “I’ll work harder. I’ll become someone truly exceptional–someone you won’t be able to ignore”
Now, sitting across from Lena, her thoughts returned to the present. Even though she asked the question casually, she felt a quiet tension in her chest.
Sean and Charlotte had reportedly broken up back in January. It had been more than four months.
But Megan still wasn’t sure if they had truly ended things or if they had quietly gotten back together.
She was afraid the answer wouldn’t be the one she wanted to hear
