Chapter 192: Ian Sterling Gets Beaten Every Day

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Ian Sterling Gets Beaten Every Day

Aiden Powell hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth.

"Because even if I told you, you wouldn’t have believed me. You’d just think I was making excuses."

"..." Ethan Powell stood to the side, his heart clenching.

’This little brother of his was disobedient and immature, but he wasn’t an unreasonable, bad kid. It was my own fault for not asking for the full story and letting him be wronged.’

Sheila Lowell felt even worse. She slowly crouched down, tilting her face up to look at the one so similar to Ethan Powell’s.

Although she and Ethan Powell weren’t married yet, they had been together for years. She had practically watched Aiden Powell grow up, and after their engagement, she had taken the initiative to help the Powell family with Aiden’s upbringing.

She never thought there would come a day when she couldn’t even offer him the most basic trust.

"I’m sorry, Aiden. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have scolded you without even asking why. I was wrong."

She didn’t think apologizing for a mistake was shameful, nor did she believe that adults were always right. She had been narrow-minded before, and her sincere apology now was a gesture far better than what most people—like Ethan Powell—would manage.

After Aiden Powell forgave Sheila Lowell, he turned his gaze to Ethan Powell, who had been staring at him the whole time.

Ethan Powell said quietly, "That classmate of yours won’t be showing up at school anymore. From now on, if anything happens, you tell us. Don’t take matters into your own hands."

His tone was still lecturing, his attitude condescending. Sheila Lowell glanced at the somewhat crestfallen Aiden Powell, then stood up and smacked Ethan Powell on the back.

"When you’re wrong, you apologize! Will saying you’re sorry kill you?"

Caught off guard by the slap, Ethan Powell frowned. "I didn’t do anything wrong."

"You wrongly accused Aiden, and that’s not doing anything wrong? Let me tell you, don’t you pull that male chauvinist crap with me, or you’ll see how I deal with you."

At Sheila Lowell’s words, Lynn Winslow and Ian Sterling, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, both turned their backs. They held hands, their fingers ceaselessly scratching each other’s palms.

Ethan Powell was silent for a long time, but he couldn’t withstand Sheila Lowell’s glare. He crouched down to look at Aiden Powell, let out a breath to mentally prepare himself, and said slowly, "I’m apologizing."

Just that? Not even the actual words? Sheila lifted her foot and poked Ethan Powell’s leg with her stiletto heel.

Ethan Powell paused, then continued, "I’m sorry, Aiden."

Aiden Powell pressed his lips together, then burst into tears again. He carefully placed Hen Hen on the floor and threw himself into Ethan Powell’s arms. "Big brother."

"Mm," Ethan Powell sighed, stroking the back of Aiden Powell’s head. "From now on, when something like this happens, don’t resort to fighting. Understand?"

"I know. My cousin already taught me."

Ethan Powell looked up at Lynn Winslow and saw that she and Ian Sterling were standing some distance away, currently snickering. He knew they were happy because Sheila Lowell had scolded him.

’He didn’t really mind, though. What man isn’t afraid of his wife? Isn’t Ian Sterling afraid too? Lynn Winslow bosses him around like a dog all day, and doesn’t he just take it obediently? I heard that just yesterday, Lynn bit Ian so hard she made him cry. All I got were a few scolding words; Ian gets beaten up every day.’

Luckily, Lynn Winslow and Sheila Lowell didn’t know what he was thinking. Otherwise, they would have laughed at them for actually comparing whether it’s better to be beaten or scolded.

After much effort, they finally coaxed Aiden Powell into stopping his tears, only for Mr. Powell to come and apologize as well. But he was an elder, and his simple "I misjudged you" was enough to make the boy, who had just calmed down, burst into tears all over again.

A crying child can be kind of cute at first, but when it’s non-stop, it gets a little annoying.

Lynn Winslow was annoyed, and Ian Sterling was even more so. He frowned and said, "Alright, that’s enough. You can stop now. Any more crying and it’ll just be boring."

"...Oh." Aiden Powell wiped away his tears and stood up straight, completely obedient.

Ethan Powell patted Aiden Powell’s head. "Since this was all a misunderstanding, I’ll take you home. I’ll talk to the school, so you can go back without any worries."

Aiden Powell cast a hopeful look at Ian Sterling. Ian Sterling gave him a reassuring glance and said coolly, "We’ll take him to Griermount. He can go back to school after we return."

"..." Ethan Powell looked at Lynn Winslow. When she said the same, he had no choice but to lower his head and ask Aiden Powell, "Do you want to go?"

Aiden Powell nodded, his eyes sparkling.

He had traveled abroad with his family and visited some famous domestic attractions, but he had heard that living conditions in some parts of Griermount were not very good, and he wanted to see for himself.

Ethan Powell had to agree, and he left with Sheila Lowell.

Aiden Powell stood at the door watching their car drive away and let out an excited "Oh yeah!"

Lynn Winslow, standing beside him, heard his cheer and looked down at him with an amused smile. "You just don’t want to go to school, do you?"

"Mhm. Sis, did you like going to school when you were a student?" Aiden Powell was already much more familiar with Lynn Winslow, calling her ’Sis’ with ease.

Lynn Winslow wasn’t surprised. She propped her chin on her hand, thought about it seriously, and said, "I did. School was full of classmates to hang out with, and lots of cute guys. Let me tell you, I had tons of hot guys chasing after me back in the day."

The more she talked, the more outrageous her stories became, completely unaware that someone had been standing behind her for quite some time.

When Ian Sterling heard Lynn Winslow say, "If I hadn’t come to Veridia later on, I definitely would have chosen the most handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed guy to date," his face had already turned black as thunder.

He said coolly, "Is that so?"

Both Lynn Winslow and Aiden Powell jumped in fright. Lynn, especially, felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

As she slowly came to her senses and saw the look on Ian Sterling’s face, she felt like the sky was about to fall. She was in for it now.

Lynn Winslow was just running her mouth. Her aesthetic sensibilities didn’t allow her to fancy the looks of foreigners, and besides, her standards were sky-high. Ordinary looks didn’t even register with her. That’s why in all the years before meeting Ian Sterling, no one had ever struck her as truly handsome or good-looking—not even her childhood friend Zane Lancaster or her cousin Ethan Powell. In Lynn’s eyes, they were just slightly above average.

Only Ian Sterling—his face was tailor-made for her tastes. Back then, just a single glance out of the corner of her eye was enough to send a pleasant tingle through her entire body.

Ian Sterling crossed his arms, gave Lynn Winslow a cold look, snorted, and turned to leave. Lynn, no longer caring if she was making a fool of herself in front of Aiden Powell, scrambled after him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist to stop him.

"I was just kidding! You know my taste better than anyone, don’t you? There’s no way I’d actually go for guys like that."

Ian Sterling glanced down at her hands clasped around his stomach and said coldly, "I’m not so sure what your taste is."

"How could you not be sure?" Lynn Winslow moved around to face him, her arms still locked tightly around him. She said earnestly, "I only love your type—the kind where every feature, down to the tiniest pore, is exactly my aesthetic."

Ian Sterling’s lips curved, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

"What if someone who looks exactly like me shows up?"