Chapter 225

Chapter 225

After dinner, it was getting late, and Charlie still needed to sleep, so Zachary drove them back to their apartment complex.

Gwen pulled Charlie upstairs. Halfway up, she turned around and waved goodbye to Zachary.

When she got home, she found the lights still on. Her parents were sitting on the sofa—and so was Susan.

Gwen's heart sank. She looked at Susan.

Susan avoided Gwen's gaze.

Preston set down his teacup. The sound of ceramic meeting the table shattered the silence in the living room.

Gwen asked Cora to take Charlie for a bath before turning to her parents. "Mom, Dad, what's going on?"

Preston cleared his throat lightly. "Susan just told us you've been dating someone recently?"

Gwen immediately looked at Susan.

Susan quickly waved her hands. "I really didn't say much! I just came over to visit your parents tonight. When we were having dinner, Charlie came up, and then naturally Mr. Quinn came up too..."

After that, she didn't know how, but she'd let it slip.

"It's not Susan's fault," Isabella said. "We could tell something was off, so we pressed her for details."

Gwen didn't blame Susan. She would've had to tell her parents eventually anyway—she just hadn't expected it to be this soon.

She sat down next to Susan and admitted it outright. "Yes, I'm currently dating someone."

"Who?" Isabella asked, puzzled. "I didn't know you'd met anyone new recently. Is it Edward? If not, what's his background? Does he know about... what happened to you?"

Gwen felt her head spinning from her mother's rapid-fire questions.

She quickly said, "You're asking me so many questions at once—which one do I answer first?"

"All of them, please."

Gwen's eyes widened. She sighed helplessly. "Let me think... It's Zachary, someone Charlie and I met during therapy. He comes from a good family, and yes, he knows about what happened to me before."

Isabella listened, but her heart still wasn't settled.

What had happened before was still vivid in her mind. She was genuinely afraid Gwen would end up with the wrong person again.

Isabella knew her daughter's personality all too well.

Gwen had always been a bit too romantic, easily sweet-talked. If this guy had ulterior motives, wouldn't he trick her effortlessly?

Susan saw Isabella's worried expression and quickly jumped in. "Mrs. Winston, you can relax. I know Mr. Quinn's character. He's a really good person, and he's helped Gwen a lot."

Isabella wasn't convinced. "Really?"

Preston sipped his tea and sighed. "If that's the case, why don't we meet him sometime? We'd like to help you vet him."

"Who meets the parents right after they start dating? He might not even be ready yet. Just trust us—Mr. Quinn is really a good person."

Since she was the one who'd let it slip, Susan worked extra hard praising Zachary, terrified that Gwen's parents would be prejudiced against him.

Preston and Isabella exchanged a glance and shook their heads helplessly.

"All right, you young people have your own ways. We're too old to really understand." Preston waved his hand. It seemed they'd passed this hurdle.

Isabella had no choice but to add, "Fine, but let's find a suitable time to meet him. If you two are seriously dating, he'll have to meet us eventually."

"I know," Gwen agreed. "I'll bring it up with him. It's getting late—you should both get some rest."

Preston and Isabella went into their bedroom, probably to discuss this further.

Gwen shook her head helplessly.

Once the bedroom door closed, Susan immediately said, "I'm so sorry, Gwen. I came over tonight thinking you'd be home. I didn't expect..."

"It's fine. I was planning to find a chance to tell them anyway. It's actually good they found out sooner rather than later."

Susan sighed. "Okay, as long as you're not mad at me. But what's really going on with you and Zachary? You're actually officially together?"

"I just told my parents. You still don't believe me?"

"I just can't believe it!" Susan moved closer and wrapped her arms around Gwen. "You were so conflicted and hesitant before, and now you're together already."

Susan looked at Gwen. "I'm not leaving tonight. We haven't slept over together in forever."

"Sure," Gwen agreed without hesitation. "We really haven't roomed together in ages. The studio's closed tomorrow, so I don't have to go in. I can finally sleep in."

Susan grinned and happily pulled Gwen back to her room.

Meanwhile, Lynn pushed open her bedroom door.

She'd thrown down harsh words today, but her heart wasn't in it. She was afraid her mother really would be heartless enough to abandon her.

So when she came home, she felt guilty.

As soon as she walked into the room, she saw Justin still sleeping. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Lynn walked over and quietly lay down on the bed.

"Where were you today?" Just as she lay down, Justin suddenly spoke from beside her.

Lynn jumped. "Nowhere... I just went out for a walk. Why?"

"Nothing," Justin said, opening his eyes in the darkness. "This afternoon I noticed you weren't home. I heard you went out to buy me chicken soup, but I didn't expect you to come back this late."

"But when did I ever say I wanted soup from that place?"

Lynn said nervously, "I'm sorry... I just wanted to get out and clear my head. But your mother has always suspected me of seeing other men, so I made up an excuse. I'm sorry. I was just worried she and I would get into a fight..."

She was being extremely submissive, which made Justin uncomfortable. Their dynamic didn't feel like a couple at all—it felt more like Lynn was constantly trying to please him.

This was actually the result he'd wanted all along. But now that Lynn was actually doing it, he felt more unhappy and dissatisfied than anything else.

He sighed. "You don't have to act like this around me all the time. You made a mistake back then, so I treated you that way. Now we're... doing okay."

In that moment, Lynn almost softened. But remembering everything he'd put her through before, she hardened her heart.

"I understand. Can you explain things to your mother for me? I never thought about cheating. You know that. From beginning to end, I've only ever loved you."

"Okay." Justin turned over and pulled Lynn into his arms.

In this moment, he genuinely wanted to make things work with Lynn.