After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 183: Does Wyatt Sterling Really Want to Be With Her?
Alice froze.
The darkness of the night seemed to wrap around her like a shroud, suffusing her with an aura of exhaustion and sorrow.
Nathan Sterling took a step forward. "I’ve told you so many times—he’s a bad person."
Children have pure hearts, believing implicitly in what they see and know.
Alice’s heart was heavy with worry. Not wanting to say anything more, she started walking inside.
"Are you running away?" Nathan Sterling hurried to catch up, chattering nonstop. "My teacher says you have to face your problems head-on. If you run away, it only makes things worse."
Most teachers probably wouldn’t teach a child such complex ideas.
But Nathan’s situation was different. He was ill, and his teacher often shared these principles with him to help him cope.
Alice replied with a faint smile, "You sure know a lot."
Nathan Sterling suddenly stopped and said, "I wish I had been born earlier."
Alice stopped walking as well. She turned to look at Nathan, who had paused a short distance behind her.
The two of them, one tall and one small, gazed at each other.
Then, Nathan spoke again. "When I’m grown up, I’ll be able to..."
...protect you.
Nathan whispered the last two words so quietly that Alice would have missed them if her hearing weren’t so sharp.
The wind from the bay seemed to pick up, strong enough to cause a splitting headache and bring tears to one’s eyes. Alice took a deep breath, pushing down the turmoil in her heart before holding out her hand.
"Come on. We should go inside."
Nathan gazed at Alice for a few moments before hurrying over to take her hand.
After taking Nathan back to his bedroom, Alice ran into one of Old Master Sterling’s men. She was then escorted to the old master to report on her afternoon’s activities.
It was supposedly a report, but her account was a mixture of truth and lies.
Simon Sterling clearly wasn’t interested in the matter. He listened for only a moment before cutting her off to tell her something else. "Xavier Hawthorne and his wife have found the daughter they lost over twenty years ago."
Alice feigned ignorance, asking in a tone of surprise, "They found her after she was missing for over twenty years?"
Simon Sterling’s gaze sharpened. "Are you curious?"
Alice shook her head. "It has nothing to do with me."
"You’re right, it doesn’t."
As he spoke, Simon Sterling slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Alice. "Soon, Xavier Hawthorne and his wife will be hosting a grand banquet for their newly returned daughter. The rich and famous from both home and abroad will be attending, and our family, the Sterlings, will be no exception."
Alice asked, "Grandfather, you mean...?"
"She is, after all, a daughter they’ve only just found after more than twenty years. The Hawthorne Family will be restricting invitations to protect her." Simon Sterling looked at her. "Given your status, you won’t get a spot. You can’t attend with us."
Even in this day and age, the status of an adopted daughter in a powerful family was still not considered presentable.
Besides, this was a special banquet. It was only natural for the Hawthorne Family to be strict in order to protect their daughter. If something were to go wrong again, no one could bear the consequences.
"Then I just won’t go," Alice said immediately.
"No," Simon Sterling said gravely. "You must go. And you’ll go with the Hawthornes. I want everyone at that dinner party to know that you’ve gotten in with their family."
’Go with the Hawthornes...’
Alice instantly understood what the old master was implying.
Sure enough, just as she had that thought, the old master immediately asked, "Of those Hawthorne boys, which one have you taken a fancy to?"
At his words, Alice quickly lowered her head, saying nothing.
Her evasive response angered Simon Sterling. He snorted heavily. "Considering you were wronged in that business with the Churchill Family, I decided to give you a chance to pick someone you’re satisfied with this time. And what do you do? You don’t even take it seriously."
Alice murmured, "Grandfather, I haven’t met the other two yet."
"You don’t need to."
Simon Sterling had already changed his mind. "I’ve shown you their photos. Since you can’t pick one, I’ll pick for you. It’ll be Felix Hawthorne."
Alice’s head snapped up. "Grandfather, Felix Hawthorne already has a fiancée."
"Who cares if he has a fiancée!" Simon Sterling said coldly. "Even if he were married, you would have to win him over for me. You must go to this party."
His morally bankrupt words made Alice feel utterly disgusted.
If she weren’t so tied down, she would never have been reduced to this.
"Find a way to get close to Felix Hawthorne, and do it soon. I’ll be waiting for good news. Don’t disappoint me."
With that, Simon Sterling raised his hand, gesturing for her to leave.
The door closed.
After leaving the old master, Alice went straight back to her rooms to call Wyatt Sterling.
He always told her to call him right away when she ran into trouble. So this time, she did. But she called several times, and no one picked up.
’It’s happening again...’
’Was the time they spent together in Rhovan all just an illusion? Did he ever really want to be with her?’
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
Her phone suddenly started vibrating.
Thinking it was Wyatt calling back after he was done with work, she answered immediately without even glancing at the caller ID. She was about to call out "Third Uncle" when she saw the name on the screen and the word died in her throat.
"Alice."
Owen Sterling’s voice came through the receiver.
Alice froze.
She didn’t react until Owen called her name a second time. "Big Brother, why are you calling me? Is something wrong?"
Owen’s initial joy at her answering so quickly vanished at her distant tone, replaced by a sudden sense of dejection.
He gave a bitter laugh. "Can’t your big brother call you just to call?"
"No, that’s not it," Alice said quickly. "I was just a little surprised to see you call, that’s all."
"Are you settling in okay over there?" Owen asked gently.
Alice hummed in agreement. "It’s going well."
Owen was silent for a few moments. "Then it seems things aren’t going so well."
Alice sounded surprised. "Hmm?"
Owen said, "If things were really going well, you would have said you’re used to it. The words ’it’s going well’ sound very forced."
His words must have struck a nerve, because her nose began to sting. ’Just one phone call, and he knew how she was feeling, even though she had been so careful to hide it.’
"I’m sorry, Alice. I’m never there to protect you when you need it. I didn’t even find out the Hawthornes were giving you a hard time until afterward." Owen’s voice was full of guilt.
The old master had recently handed over a great deal of authority to Owen. He had accepted it all, desperate to produce results and prove himself.
As a result, he had thrown himself into his work, so much so that he hadn’t even known Alice was in trouble.
"But I’m fine now," Alice said. "Everything’s all right. You don’t have to worry, Big Brother."
"Alice."
Owen’s tone suddenly grew serious.
Alice hummed in acknowledgement and asked what was wrong.
Owen said, "I know better than anyone how difficult things are for you. If there is anything you need my help with, you just have to ask. I’ll do anything it takes to help you."
Alice froze.
’Did she need help? Of course she did. She desperately, desperately needed it!’
’Her situation was terrible. She didn’t want to betray her conscience by seducing a man who already had a fiancée. She didn’t want to be forced by the old master to become some kind of courtesan. She wanted to live her own life—to live with a clear conscience.’
