Orion was still trying to piece together the puzzle of Ste and Ronald''s rtionship.


    But for the past while, Ste had been staying at Wave Residence, and so had Ronald. From this fact alone, it was clear their connection ran deep.


    Under Ste''s influence, the partnership between the Quarry family and the Lugar family hadpletely fallen through.


    Yorick, struggling to keep his rage in check, spoke with forced respect, "Mr. Quinn, could we possibly meet to discuss this?"


    His father had stormed out earlier that day, but Yorick knew he had to see Ronald.


    If the Quarry Group didn''t handle this situation well, they could end up in hot water, just like the Larkin family.


    But all Yorick heard in response was the ''beep beep'' of a disconnected call.


    Ronald had hung up on him.


    Yorick clenched his jaw tight.


    Orion, stiff as a board, asked, "What did Mr. Quinn say?"


    If Ronald was the one who answered, then Ste must be with him.


    Yorick, barely containing his frustration, closed his eyes for a moment.


    What did he say? Nothing. He just hung up the phone.


    Annoyance ring up, Yorick tried calling Ste again, only to find himself blocked.


    And this number belonged to a server at Spring Hill!


    Furious, Yorick kicked the edge of a nearby nter. "Damn it!"


    The hanging up, the blocking - it was as if these two were in perfect sync.


    The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.


    Seeing Yorick''s grim mood, Orion knew Ronald must have refused the meeting.


    Yorick massaged his throbbing temples and said, "Figure out their rtionship, now."


    Thinking back to Max''s parting words about ''protective,'' Yorick''s eyes grew colder.


    What kind of rtionship made Ronald so protective over Ste?


    Orion hesitated before replying, "Actually, what''s important now isn''t Ms. Quinn and Mr. Quinn''s rtionship."


    In his view, the engagement


    between Yorick and Ste was


    already over, and Yorick couldn''t let go of Urs anyway. So, whatever their rtionship was, it didn''t really matter.


    "The most pressing issue," he continued, pausing unsurely.


    It was clear to them that resolving the partnership crisis hinged on Ste.


    Who would have thought the crises facing both the Larkin Group and the Quarry Group were all linked to Ste.


    Thinking back to what Yorick and the Larkin family had done to Ste before, Orion was at a loss for words.


    After a moment, he added, "Ms. Quinn is still a problem!"


    Though he was reluctant to admit it,


    it was undeniable that the troubles


    both the Quarry Group and the


    Larkin


    Group could be with


    just a word from Ste.


    Yorick gave Orion a chilly look.


    Orion added, "It''s just that nobody expected Mr. Quinn to be the one with Ms. Quinn."


    Mr. Quinn.


    Just hearing that name was enough to suffocate anyone.


    No wonder, in recent times, neither Yorick nor the Larkin Group had been able toy a finger on Ste. It had always been Mr. Quinn protecting her.


    Even if Orion hadn''t investigated,


    Yorick could guess the nature of


    Ste and Ronald''s rtionship. But he couldn''t bring himself to ept it, feeling an underlying sense of unwillingness.  en


    "Find out when exactly they started this."


    He couldn''t believe Ste had the capability to get close to someone like Ronald from Ferrond in just a few days.


    Ste had fallen asleep, her hand clutching one of Ronald''s fingers.


    Ronald was on the phone, his voice low.


    He told Jeremy on the other end, "Make sure nothing from the Quarry Group gets through, or our deal is off!"


    Jeremy understood.


    Knowing how Yorick had treated Ste and how protective Ronald was, he wouldn''t dare divert resources to the Quarry Group. Besides, he wouldn''t want to, especially with Yorick''s attitude. Let him stew in his own frustration!