Chapter 216: Will You Always Be on Jay’s Side, No Matter What?

Jane Lancaster had wondered if Beverly Lynch didn’t actually hate her that much.

But even if she didn’t hate her, they probably couldn’t be friends. They had been archenemies for too many years, after all.

Willow Summers had said that Beverly Lynch had even scoffed at Pauline Shaw’s olive branch, which made it clear she was still holding a grudge about what happened back then and had no intention of reconciling.

How could Beverly not resent her for siding against her multiple times, leading to her complete downfall?

Jane Lancaster sighed. Back then, the two of them were at each other’s throats whenever they met. Once, they made a bet over a spot in an English competition—the loser had to clean the toilets.

Pauline Shaw’s spoken English was nowhere near as good as Beverly Lynch’s. To keep Pauline from losing, Jane had drilled her every single day.

As a result, Beverly Lynch lost and actually had to clean the toilets for a whole month.

For a young girl at that age, it must have been a terrible humiliation.

If Beverly Lynch resented her and wanted to keep her distance for the rest of her life, Jane could completely understand.

But for Beverly Lynch to *like* her... that didn’t fit the logic of the novel.

In the novel, they had a relationship built on mutual exploitation. Although they briefly teamed up later on, they were never truly on the same side.

’To be fair, while Beverly Lynch might be spoiled, she’s also straightforward and clear about who she likes and dislikes. As long as people didn’t provoke her, she usually wouldn’t go looking for trouble.’

That was completely different from someone like Una Holt. Beverly Lynch was genuinely straightforward, not just putting on a "rich girl" act.

According to Willow Summers, Beverly Lynch had been busy learning to manage her family’s business lately. She was so busy you could barely see her, and she certainly didn’t have the free time to go picking fights.

Besides, the excuse that she was jealous of Luna Morgan’s popularity with men didn’t hold up. Beverly Lynch didn’t think much of any of those men to begin with.

The only one she was supposed to have her eye on was Caleb Lowell... and in reality, she didn’t even like him.

’In the original book, the reason she relentlessly targeted the heroine was that Willow Summers was always by her side, deliberately instigating things... And Willow Summers was acting on my orders.’

A headache began to throb as Jane Lancaster thought about this.

’Beverly Lynch targeted the heroine and was driven to bankruptcy by the heroine’s admirers. Unwilling to live in poverty, she tried to seduce the main villain. The irony was, the main villain was also one of the heroine’s admirers... In the end, she met her demise by jumping into a river.’

’No matter how you look at it, I’m the root cause of Beverly Lynch’s tragic fate.’

Beverly Lynch was getting agitated. There was so much she wanted to say to Jane Lancaster.

Especially about this inner voice of Jane’s—how could she say she was the root cause of Beverly’s misfortune? She didn’t agree with that at all!

She wanted to argue back loudly, but at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

A few of them turned to see Zachary Lynch and Jasper Sterling walking in.

Zachary Lynch nodded at Jasper Sterling, then said, "Daughter, we have to go. The suppliers are waiting for us."

It was a long-standing appointment that couldn’t be changed.

Besides, Beverly Lynch had made a big show of mobilizing people to investigate the Hughes Family, which was tantamount to declaring war. The resulting fallout would create a lot of trouble that the father-daughter duo needed to handle.

Beverly Lynch reluctantly let go of her hand. "Jane, I have to go take care of some things."

She paused, then asked softly, "So... can I have your contact information?"

She stared at Jane Lancaster, feeling inexplicably nervous, and even found herself holding her breath.

Jane Lancaster could see her anxiety and couldn’t find it in her heart to refuse.

The two exchanged contact information, and only then did Beverly Lynch get ready to leave.

Before she left, however, she gave Willow Summers a long, scrutinizing look.

She didn’t have Jane Lancaster’s contact information, but Willow Summers definitely did.

Willow Summers’s heart pounded with apprehension. Beverly Lynch hated betrayal more than anything, and what she’d done was no different.

"...Should I go with you?" It was over, and she owed Beverly Lynch an explanation.

Beverly Lynch snorted. "No. You stay here and take care of Jane."

She was furious. To think Willow Summers had become friends with Jane Lancaster so long ago and kept it a secret from her.

What was the difference between that and hogging all the good food for yourself? It was outrageous!

It wasn’t unforgivable, though. Willow just had to honestly confess how the two of them became friends. And she’d better explain in detail exactly what Jane Lancaster liked and disliked!

That way, she wouldn’t set off any landmines the next time she asked Jane Lancaster out.

——

Jasper Sterling walked the Lynch father and daughter out.

Once they were outside, Jasper Sterling suddenly asked to have a word with Beverly Lynch in private.

"What do you want to talk about?" Beverly Lynch asked.

She wasn’t an idiot. Everyone who had rushed to the hospital today, no matter the cost, were people who genuinely wished Jane Lancaster well.

Recalling Jasper Sterling’s sudden intervention last time, she looked at him in surprise. ’Could it be that he’s been secretly in love with Jane Lancaster all this time?’

Jasper Sterling said, "Miss Lynch, I want to confirm something. Will the Lynch Family stand with Jay, no matter what?"

He paused, then added, "Not with me, or with the Lancaster Family, but with Jane Lancaster herself."

He needed to be absolutely clear on this point.

Beverly Lynch sensed the gravity in his tone and nodded solemnly.

"I’ve always been on her side because of who she is, not for any of your messy benefits or connections," Beverly Lynch said, her face flushing slightly.

Admitting she liked Jane Lancaster didn’t seem to be so hard after all.

Jasper Sterling asked, "What if siding with her brings you trouble?"

Beverly Lynch thought of Jane’s inner monologue, and her heart clenched. "What kind of trouble? The kind that would bankrupt the Lynch family?"

But after just a moment, her brow smoothed over. The idea that she would seduce a man for money... she just couldn’t believe it of herself.

’Whoever wrote that novel must have been a terrible writer.’

Because no matter how poor she got, she would never do something like that. Her pride would never allow it.

Besides, she didn’t believe she’d ever live in poverty. People who knew how to make money didn’t have such worries.

At worst, life might not be as comfortable as it was now, but she certainly wouldn’t be destitute.

"So what if there’s trouble? I’m not afraid of it," Beverly Lynch said nonchalantly. "If the Sterling Family went bankrupt, would you be left with nothing? Of course not."

She often learned about management and business from her father, and he would use the bankruptcies of other families as case studies.

Timothy Lancaster was a classic example. When he was used as a case study, none of the industry bigwigs at the time believed he could ever make a comeback.

Her father, who had been cautious his entire life and prided himself on his sharp judgment of character, felt that Timothy Lancaster lacked the ability, the nerve, and especially the resilience.

In his opinion, even the current Lancaster heir, Julian Lanscaster, lacked a bit of resilience and drive. By comparison, he was actually more optimistic about Jane Lancaster.

This was an aside, but when Zachary Lynch talked about it, he would become hesitant, saying he’d heard some rumors but that they weren’t suitable for a child’s ears.

Beverly Lynch guessed there was probably something shady about the methods Timothy Lancaster used to make his comeback, but that wasn’t worth emulating, so she never pressed for details.

Regardless, Timothy Lancaster had indeed made a comeback, and the entire industry had been wrong about him.

That example taught her to always leave herself an escape route.

Jasper Sterling was the other extreme—like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, he never put all his eggs in one basket.

"Good. I understand," Jasper Sterling said. "I will also always stand with Jay."

He had escorted them this far and was about to head back when Beverly Lynch called out to him.

"There’s something I need you to keep an eye on for me."