After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 105: I Am His Sweetheart

Alice York stepped forward, and Silas Sterling handed her three incense sticks. He said nothing, but Alice understood his meaning.

She took the incense and paid her respects in earnest.

Silas Sterling said from beside her, "Alice, it’s been sixteen years since you and Mindy came to live with the Sterlings, hasn’t it?"

Alice answered, "Yes."

Silas Sterling looked at the incense in her hands and said, "I plan to speak with my father, pick an auspicious date, and formally change your surname. We’ll add your name to the family registry, and from then on, you’ll be a Sterling."

Alice tightened her grip on the incense sticks.

She steadied herself and asked in a tentative tone, "Will Grandpa agree?"

"I’m determined this time. It’ll be hard for him to refuse." Silas Sterling’s gaze on Alice was filled with paternal affection. "I owe you and your mother so much. Changing your surname is my way of making it up to you. All these years, I haven’t fulfilled my duties as a stepfather, and I feel deeply guilty whenever I think about it."

This mature and composed Silas Sterling felt like a complete stranger to Alice.

It was as if he had become a different person.

He was completely different from the utterly mad Silas Sterling of the past.

"Alice, is it that you don’t want to change your name?" Silas Sterling seemed to notice her hesitation.

Alice truly didn’t want to. She chose her words carefully before saying, "Uncle Sterling, I’ve been with the Sterlings for sixteen years, and I’ve had a very good life here. Everyone in the family has been kind to me. I’m very content with things as they are."

With that, she placed the incense sticks into the burner.

But Silas Sterling insisted, "If you change your name to Sterling, you’ll be a true member of the family, and no one will dare to look down on you ever again."

Of course, Alice had no such desire, but her reply was flawless. "It’s just a surname. It isn’t important to me. As long as my heart is with the Sterlings, I’ll always be one of them."

Silas Sterling studied her intently. "You’re unwilling to change your name. Is it because you have other ideas?"

Alice’s heart clenched.

When she met his gaze, its piercing intensity made her panic for a moment. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Silas Sterling asked again, "Or has someone influenced you?"

His pressing questions felt like an invisible blade against Alice’s throat.

She calmed her nerves and answered without haste, "I don’t have any other ideas, and no one has influenced me. I’m just worried about a few things. First, there’s Grandpa. Uncle Sterling, this decision might put him in a difficult position, since he doesn’t want me to take the Sterling name. Second, there’s Nathan. As I’m sure you know, Uncle Sterling, Nathan has never been fond of having me for a sister, and he hates it when I come back to the Sterling home. If I were to change my surname, there’s no telling how he’d act out. It gives me a headache just thinking about it."

She was laying out all these potential problems, trying to show Silas Sterling that she was considering the trouble from every angle.

And these weren’t just excuses she’d fabricated; they were facts. Perhaps Silas Sterling had overlooked these issues before making his proposal, so her bringing them up now served as a deliberate reminder.

But this time, Silas Sterling’s persistence took Alice by surprise. He was incredibly insistent on the matter. "If those are your worries, Alice, then rest assured. I’ll take care of everything. It’s settled. You’re changing your name."

Alice froze.

Her mind was still reeling as she left the ancestral hall.

Silas Sterling’s words about changing her name echoed in her head. She wondered if he was really dead set on it.

Afterward, Alice went to check on Mindy Vaughn. Her mother had already washed up and gone to bed. After two sleepless days and nights, she was sleeping so soundly now that she didn’t stir, even when Alice spoke beside her.

For now, the matter seemed to be resolved.

But the fact that Silas Sterling had forgiven her mother so easily left Alice feeling unsettled. Before leaving the ancestral hall, she had asked the servant waiting outside about it. Silas Sterling apparently hadn’t said a single harsh word to Mindy Vaughn, which was truly bizarre.

"Look after her. I’ll be back tonight," Alice said to the servant.

"Yes."

Alice then went straight to the hospital.

She had a morning shift but had swapped her afternoon one with a colleague to participate in a TV dating show. Mason Cheney, who knew her schedule, called to tell her to go with him to the airport at noon to pick up Wyatt Sterling.

Alice’s heart leaped into her throat. "Third Uncle is coming back at noon today?"

Mason Cheney gave the precise time: "The flight lands at 12:15 PM."

Alice had thought Wyatt Sterling wouldn’t be back until tonight; she hadn’t expected him at noon.

Mason Cheney reminded her, "Miss Alice, I’ll pick you up from the hospital at 11:40."

Alice couldn’t help but ask, "Why aren’t you taking Melody Lancaster to pick him up?"

Mason Cheney answered truthfully, "Third Master didn’t give those instructions."

"..."

At 11:40, Mason Cheney arrived right on time. Alice got into the car and went straight for the front passenger seat. Mason looked like he wanted to speak but held his tongue. Alice glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "He only told me to come with you to get him. He didn’t specify where I had to sit, did he?"

Mason Cheney plastered on a professional smile. "No, he didn’t."

Alice fastened her seatbelt. "Then let’s get going. Third Uncle will throw a fit if we’re late."

Mason Cheney said no more and started the engine.

When they arrived at the airport, Mason Cheney got out to go inside and meet him, while Alice waited in the car. Theirs wasn’t a legitimate relationship, after all. She couldn’t be seen.

A few minutes later, the back door opened.

Wyatt Sterling saw the back seat was empty and his gaze shifted to the front. Alice was in the passenger seat. She heard the noise but didn’t turn around, pretending he didn’t exist.

He slid into the car, tossed a gift box to the side, and his face clouded over with displeasure.

Mason Cheney whispered urgently, "Miss Alice, get in the back."

Alice didn’t budge, pretending she hadn’t heard.

Mason Cheney had no choice but to open the passenger door. "Miss Alice, I’m begging you. Please sit in the back."

Alice tilted her head to look at Mason, inwardly amused. "So you do have to beg me for things sometimes."

"..."

She knew Wyatt Sterling’s patience was limited, so after a brief standoff, she relented, got out of the car, and climbed into the back seat.

Remembering she had to film the show that afternoon, she deliberately moved closer to him. Her eyes caught the gift box he’d tossed aside, and she asked casually, "Is this a little present from Third Uncle for us?"

Wyatt Sterling shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Who do you think you are?"

The words were nasty, but Alice didn’t let her expression falter. Instead, she beamed. "Why, I’m Third Uncle’s precious darling."

A subtle change flickered across Wyatt Sterling’s face. It wasn’t displeasure, but the hint of a smile. "Swallowed a jar of honey today?"

Alice replied, "I’ve just been missing you, Third Uncle. It’s been a few days."

’She decided to go all in. It wasn’t as if this was their first day together, and he loved hearing this stuff anyway, so why not indulge him?’

And Wyatt Sterling did indeed love to hear it, even knowing she wasn’t being sincere.

He picked up the small gift box he had tossed aside and handed it to her. "It’s for you."

Alice reached for it, but he pulled it back.

Alice looked up at his handsome face. He said, "I picked it out myself."

That line was pure gold. Whether spoken to a girlfriend, a wife, or a lover, it was enough to make anyone swoon.

But Alice wasn’t falling for it. She still feigned a look of surprise for his benefit. He saw right through it, commenting, "So fake."

She managed another smile for him.

He said, "Go on, open it."

She opened it. The gift Wyatt Sterling had given her this time was different from what she’d expected. It wasn’t one of the usual expensive brooches, nor was it earrings, and it certainly wasn’t a bracelet or a watch.

It was an ordinary hair tie—pink, with pretty pink beads strung on it.

After receiving so many of his expensive gifts, this simple, sweet little thing was a refreshing change that genuinely pleased her.

Seeing Alice’s reaction, Wyatt Sterling knew he had chosen well.

’He didn’t know why she disliked gold and silver jewelry and preferred these kinds of trinkets, but as long as she liked it, it meant his guess about her preferences had been right this time.’