On their fourth day in the Maldives, Tyroneâs phone rang. It was his grandfather, asking him to come home.
âWhatâs wrong?â Alicia asked as she came in from the balcony, noticing the cloud on Tyroneâs face.
âMy grandfather wants me to come back for a bit,â Tyrone replied quietly.
Alicia had a hunch this wasnât as simple as a family visit. Tyrone wouldnât look like this if it were.
âIâm flying to Harboridge City tomorrow. You and Yvonne should go back to Seaview City together,â Tyrone said, ruffling Aliciaâs hair, gently steering her away from whatever trouble awaited him.
Alicia hesitated, looking up at him. âI could go with you.â
He fell silent for a long moment, then shook his head. âNo. Itâs fine.â
It wasnât that he didnât want to let Alicia see the scars of his pastâhe just couldnât bear to. He wanted to be her rock, someone unbreakable, flawless in her eyes. Whatever ugly secrets the Lynch family harbored, he didnât want Alicia to be dragged into them.
Alicia could tellâthere were parts of Tyroneâs life he never wanted her to know. She wondered if she was overstepping by even offering.
Maybe she had gotten too comfortable. Tyrone had been so good to her lately that sheâd almost forgotten theirs was a marriage of convenience, nothing more.
â
Alicia returned to Seaview City with Yvonne. At the airport, a man was waiting for them.
âHello, Iâm Sean Quinn,â he introduced himself, extending a hand.
Alicia shook it quickly. âHi... Iâm Alicia.â
Yvonne grinned at her. âHeâs Tyroneâs uncle. You should call him Uncle Sean.â
Alicia stared at him in surprise. No wonder she thought there was something familiar about the manâhe did look a bit like Tyrone, though he seemed more rugged, almost military.
âUncle,â Alicia said, still reeling. Tyrone had never mentioned he had an uncle.
Rich Radiant and Over Him (Alicia and Vincent)
ï¤Chapter 229 Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse ï¤Chapter 760 - 756: Encountering a Man with Evil Intentions Sean Quinn didnât look pleased with the title. âYou donât have to call me Uncle. Just call me Sean.â
Yvonne immediately jabbed Sean in the ribs with her elbow.
She turned to Alicia. âSean and Tyrone are uncle and nephew, but they donât get along.â
Aliciaâs eyes widened. She wanted to ask why, but bit her tongue. Tyrone was clearly sensitive about the subject.
âLetâs not talk about it,â Sean said, shooting Yvonne a warning glance.
Yvonne rolled her eyes. Sean could be infuriating: heâd let her have her way with everything else, but when it came to Tyrone, he never budged.
Sheâd tried to mend the rift between nephew and uncle before, but neither one would give in. Both were stubborn to the bone.
Tyrone refused to acknowledge he had an uncle. Sean refused to admit Tyrone was his nephew. It was as if they were strangersâworse than strangers, really.
Yvonne remembered seeing them at a Chamber of Commerce gala once. Theyâd each pretended the other didnât exist, not even a nod of recognition between them.
Alicia struggled with her curiosity, glancing at Yvonne, wanting to ask, but swallowing the question. Best not to pry. It was clear neither Sean nor Tyrone wanted anyone poking around in their business.
Sean dropped Alicia off at home and left with Yvonne.
Yvonne was wonderfully kind to Alicia. She gave her her number, every possible contact, and even left a mountain of snacks. It felt like being fussed over by a doting older sister.
There was something so warm and approachable about Yvonne that Alicia couldnât help feeling at ease. These past few days in the Maldives had been genuinely happy ones, filled with new friends and connections. She realized sheâd finally started to find her own place in their world.