After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 168: "Childhood Sweethearts.

"I invested a little money in her TV series," Jessie Sterling said frankly, not hiding anything from Serena Lynch.

"Huh?"

Serena Lynch was a bit surprised. After all, it didn’t seem like Jessie Sterling and Cheryl Stuart were that close.

One look at Serena Lynch’s face told Jessie Sterling that she had the wrong idea.

"Her TV series will be profitable," Jessie Sterling said. "If there’s money to be made, of course I’m willing to invest."

Serena Lynch raised an eyebrow.

"She wants to use my name, not to flaunt some major connection, but just to gain a firm foothold with the Hudson family. As for whether the Hudsons believe her, that’s not something I need to guarantee. A deal like this that’s a sure bet? I’ll take it," Jessie Sterling said. Feelings might not last a lifetime, but profits will never betray you.

Besides, she could just imagine Arya Thorne wanting to puke her guts out when she saw the trending topics on Weibo.

She really didn’t care much about Julian Grant, or what might eventually happen between him and Arya Thorne. But she still remembered how Arya Thorne had deliberately tried to provoke her.

Serena Lynch thought for a moment. "Nina Walsh contacted my brother," she said. This didn’t originally have anything to do with her, but now that Jessie Sterling had a connection to Cheryl Stuart, Serena decided to bring it up. "She wants my brother to help her take down Cheryl Stuart."

Jessie Sterling said, "Huh?"

’Something like this...’

’For a moment, she didn’t know whether to call Nina Walsh an arrogant bully who throws her weight around or just plain brainless.’

’The show Nina Walsh is in hasn’t even aired yet. How many fans could she possibly have? If she’s rushing to sling mud at Cheryl Stuart now, what good will come of it when Cheryl inevitably tracks it back to her?’

When Serena Lynch saw that Jessie Sterling wasn’t getting it, she spelled it out more clearly. "My brother didn’t agree, but there’s no guarantee Nina Walsh won’t try something on her own. Since you’ve invested in Cheryl Stuart, don’t you think you should give her a heads-up? If she really takes a fall, won’t your money go down the drain?"

It clicked for Jessie Sterling, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

"It wasn’t that much money," Jessie Sterling said. "And why would she need a warning from me?"

She and Cheryl Stuart weren’t that close. Theirs was just a temporary, mutually beneficial arrangement.

Cheryl Stuart was clearly no pushover. It was hard to say if Nina Walsh’s scheming would even work against her.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before topics about Nina Walsh being a diva on set, skipping work without reason, and delaying the production schedule started trending.

The news broke on a weekend. Jessie Sterling had gotten into the habit of sleeping and waking early, so she didn’t sleep in long and had breakfast with Victor Morgan.

It was nearly June. The courtyard was in full bloom, and the trees were sprouting new leaves. The whole courtyard house looked vibrant and full of life. Sitting in the dining room for breakfast and looking out at the scenery through the glass was like admiring an oil painting.

Jessie Sterling gasped while scrolling through her phone as she ate.

Victor Morgan looked up.

He used to tell Jessie Sterling not to look at her phone while they were eating, but he had given up on that now.

"What is it?" Victor Morgan asked.

Jessie Sterling glanced at him, hesitating.

Victor Morgan was baffled by her look, especially since she didn’t say anything.

He frowned and picked up his own phone to check.

But Victor Morgan didn’t see any news online that he thought was worth his attention. So when he looked back at Jessie Sterling, his gaze was more probing.

"What is it?" Victor Morgan asked again.

A sly glint appeared in Jessie Sterling’s eyes. "Something big happened. It’s about your childhood sweetheart."

"Since when do I have a childhood sweetheart?" Victor Morgan retorted instinctively.

Jessie Sterling gave Victor Morgan a look that said, ’You tell me,’ without uttering a sound.

A moment later, it dawned on Victor Morgan who this "childhood sweetheart" Jessie Sterling was talking about.

He was filled with regret.

It wasn’t that he regretted not knowing his wife could be so jealous. He regretted that something he’d dismissed as unimportant had turned out to be a huge deal. He blamed himself for not being more careful.

Being teased by Jessie Sterling now was just him reaping what he’d sown.

"I have nothing to do with her," Victor Morgan said.

He had seen Nina Walsh’s name trending earlier, but he hadn’t given it a second thought, let alone considered it had anything to do with him.

"Is that so?" It was impossible to tell from Jessie Sterling’s tone whether she believed him.

Victor Morgan fell silent.

He sighed internally. "Really. I don’t know her well. I just think of her as Roman Lynch’s sister."

’As someone else’s sister, not my own.’

Jessie Sterling said, "Well, it looks like she’s run into a bit of bad luck..."

Hearing this, Victor Morgan knew Jessie Sterling was letting him off the hook. He couldn’t help but breathe a quiet sigh of relief. He’d been afraid she wouldn’t believe him. After their discussion about having children, he felt their relationship had finally taken a step forward. The last thing he wanted was for them to regress to square one.

"...You’re not worried?"

Victor Morgan snapped out of his thoughts to hear Jessie Sterling’s question.

He said resignedly, "What is there for me to worry about? Even if she were my actual sister, she’s an adult. She made her own choices, so she has to face the consequences."

Besides, Nina Walsh wasn’t his actual sister.

’Why should I be the one to worry?’

Just as Victor Morgan finished speaking, Jessie Sterling’s phone chimed twice with a new message.

Jessie Sterling glanced down at her phone and couldn’t help but laugh.

The message was from Cheryl Stuart.

She had no idea how Cheryl Stuart had heard about the past friction between her and Nina Walsh, but Cheryl was now asking her to put in a good word if she happened to run into anyone from the Lynch family.

Then, Cheryl Stuart attached a few photos.

They were all photos she had bought from the paparazzi. It was obvious this was the dirt Nina Walsh had been trying to get leaked.

From the looks of it, Nina Walsh’s plan had gone up in smoke, and Cheryl Stuart’s connections in the industry ran deeper than she’d imagined.

Jessie Sterling couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Victor Morgan had finished his breakfast long ago, and his attention was now focused entirely on Jessie Sterling.

Jessie Sterling didn’t keep him in suspense. "It’s a message from Cheryl Stuart. Looks like Nina Walsh has lost this round, big time. She tried to stir up trouble, but Cheryl found out. Cheryl’s people shut down the leaks from the gossip blogs and, in a counterattack, fed them all the dirt on what Nina’s been doing on set lately."

Those gossip blogs were nothing if not opportunistic.

They got on Cheryl Stuart’s good side and received a different scoop in return. It was a win-win for them.

"She messaged you just to tell you this?" Victor Morgan asked.

Jessie Sterling shook her head. "No, she asked me for a favor. This whole thing involves Nina Walsh, and she knows about Nina’s connection to the Lynch family, so she wants me to pass along a message for her."

As Jessie Sterling said this, she looked at the man beside her, her eyes shining with intent.

How could Victor Morgan not know what she was getting at?