After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 114: Taking the Initiative to Hold His Arm
The voice echoed throughout the venue. In an instant, countless gazes turned toward the speaker.
"It’s Alice’s big brother!"
Zoe Jenson got excited and tugged hard on Holden Locke’s sleeve. "This is great, Uncle! Alice’s big brother is stepping in."
"I was dying of anxiety just now. I was thinking that if that guy had the nerve to confess to her, I would have rushed onto the stage and dragged Alice away. Ugh, what a fickle bastard."
Holden Locke glanced sideways at the incredibly excited Zoe Jenson and asked, "Are the two of them close?"
"I think so. From what I remember, Alice had a miserable time with the Sterlings all those years. Her big brother was the only one in that family who was good to her. He even helped her out financially several times."
Zoe Jenson said, reminiscing.
Holden Locke didn’t respond after hearing this, but his gaze fell upon Owen Sterling, studying him closely.
At that moment, all eyes, both on and off the stage, were fixed on Owen Sterling. The audience was curious about his identity, the host and production staff were curious about his reason for interrupting, and the female contestants on stage were practically drooling, their eyes glued to him.
"Whoa, that guy is so handsome!"
"He’s tall, has great style, and that aura... you can tell he’s rich at a glance."
"He’s definitely rich. Look at his watch—that’s a Patek Philippe!"
"You don’t think this audience member is planning to go on stage and confess, do you? I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened."
"But wasn’t it always female audience members confessing to male contestants before?"
The show had indeed seen this happen a few times. After a male contestant’s confession failed, a woman from the audience, moved by his sincerity, would ask to go on stage and confess to him. In the end, they would even leave together as a couple!
They never expected it to happen again today.
But this time, it was a man from the audience.
Everyone couldn’t help but wonder if this man was about to confess to one of the female contestants.
Amidst these speculative gazes, Owen Sterling walked onto the stage and headed straight for Alice York in the center.
Alice York stood her ground, quietly waiting for him to approach.
Seeing Owen Sterling draw near, the host immediately took control of the situation. He raised his microphone and said, "Our Contestant Number Twelve is truly captivating! First, a male contestant steps up to confess, and now a member of the audience comes on stage to vie for her affection. As for who will win her heart, let’s wait and see!"
The host’s few short sentences instantly electrified the atmosphere.
The audience’s surprised and curious gazes turned to anticipation.
The male contestant, however, was extremely displeased. But given the circumstances, he couldn’t show it too obviously. He could only say, "If that’s the case, there should still be a ’first come, first served’ rule, right? I officially signed up for this show. You’re just an audience member. It would be incredibly unfair if you got to go first."
He did have a point.
Everyone thought he was right.
Owen Sterling shot the male contestant a disdainful sidelong glance and repeated what he had said from the audience: "Are you worthy?"
The contestant was choked speechless by the retort, but his pride wouldn’t let him back down. His face was full of defiance. "What gives you the right to say I’m not worthy? Are you?"
Owen Sterling ignored him. His gaze shifted to Alice York, and he slowly extended a hand. "Don’t come on shows with such low standards anymore. Come home with your brother."
Alice York couldn’t help but smile. ’What a line—"low standards." He just insulted everyone involved with the show.’
The host looked terribly embarrassed. He had heard Owen Sterling’s words loud and clear. "Are you Contestant Number Twelve’s brother?"
Owen Sterling gave a faint "mhm" in acknowledgment.
"Is that true?" the host asked, turning to Alice York.
Alice York nodded as well.
She felt a complex mix of emotions. The Sterlings refused to publicly acknowledge her, yet Owen Sterling would unhesitatingly claim her as his sister in public.
The male contestant’s eyes widened in surprise. "You... you two are... siblings?"
Standing together at that moment, Alice York and Owen Sterling didn’t look alike as siblings at all. In fact, they looked more like a well-matched couple.
Alice York didn’t take Owen Sterling’s outstretched hand. Instead, she took the initiative to link her arm with his, smiled faintly at the male contestant, and said, "That’s right. This is my brother."
Owen Sterling’s arm tensed slightly, but a soft smile touched the corners of his lips.
The male contestant’s gaze fell on their linked arms. Finally, he joked, "Ah, so you’re my future brother-in-law."
His humorous remark sent the audience into roaring laughter; the comedic timing was perfect.
But Owen Sterling did not appreciate the joke at all. He said coldly, "Show some respect when you speak. My Alice didn’t confess to you, nor did she accept your confession. What are you spouting nonsense for?"
The contestant said awkwardly, "I was just joking."
Owen Sterling’s voice was icy. "Was it funny?"
The contestant: "..."
His overwhelming presence completely intimidated the contestant into silence. The determination to compete with him from moments ago had now withered away.
Though he was unwilling to back down, it wouldn’t do him any good to completely humiliate himself in front of so many people.
"Let’s go, Alice. We’re going home."
Owen Sterling started to lead Alice York away.
Just then, after receiving frantic signals from the director, Edward Ellison, the host stepped forward to block their path. "Uh... Contestant Number Twelve’s brother, it’s not really okay for you to just take her away like this. If you do, we’ll be short one female contestant, and we won’t be able to film the show. How about... you let her finish filming for tonight?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Owen Sterling’s sharp gaze swept over the host. "I haven’t even settled the score with you for targeting my sister on this show, and you have the nerve to ask her to stay and continue filming?"
The host looked completely bewildered. "Targeting? You can’t just make baseless accusations! Contestant Number Twelve is here for the first time tonight. How could she have been targeted? She doesn’t even know anyone yet."
"Is that so?"
Owen Sterling’s aura was on full display. A single glance from him made the host tremble.
It was also the first time Alice York had ever seen such a powerful presence from Owen Sterling. For a second, she felt as if she were seeing Wyatt Sterling standing there.
’Wyatt Sterling...’
Thinking of him, Alice York scanned the audience. Mason Cheney was long gone. ’He left. Does that mean Wyatt already knows I came to film this dating show tonight? He must. He only sent Mason Cheney to watch for a moment and didn’t intervene. That means he doesn’t care that I’m on a dating show, and he cares even less whether I’m really here to find a date or for some other reason.’
"Everyone else’s light went out, but my sister’s didn’t. That could be a coincidence. But my sister just clearly stated that there was a problem with her light."
With every word Owen Sterling spoke, the host’s expression grew more tense.
"Also, you said my sister is here for the first time tonight. So why is it that her light, specifically, was the one that malfunctioned?"
Owen Sterling was aggressive and overbearing, his sheer force of presence completely shutting the host up.
This dramatic scene obviously couldn’t be aired.
Owen Sterling didn’t say anything more. He just tossed out one last line: "I will get to the bottom of this. If I find out your show really did target my sister, this won’t be over."
With that, Owen Sterling led Alice York off the stage and toward the exit.
The host was completely dumbfounded.
The male contestant hadn’t left the stage yet. He asked in a hushed, uncertain voice, "Was that guy really Contestant Number Twelve’s brother?"
The host shook his head. "I have no idea."
Just then, another female voice suddenly sounded from the stage: "It’s not right for Number Twelve to just leave like that. She’s completely disregarding the director and the rest of the staff. So many people are waiting, the audience is waiting. If you leave, how are we supposed to continue filming?"
