After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 21: Pulled into His Arms

Alice was a little afraid of her stepfather, Silas Sterling.

He was mentally unstable, after all, and prone to extreme behavior at the drop of a hat. The way he suddenly shut the door, yet approached her with a smile, told Alice that he was likely having an episode.

"Oh, it’s you, Uncle Sterling."

Alice suppressed her fear, trying her best not to provoke him. She forced a smile and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

"I’ve already eaten," Silas Sterling said, his face a mask of concern. "Alice, you just got back. You haven’t eaten, have you?"

Alice slowly and discreetly backed away. "I’ve eaten too," she said as she moved. "By the way, Uncle Sterling, where’s my mother?"

She thought she was moving slowly enough, but Silas Sterling noticed. He took two steps forward. "I haven’t seen Mindy all morning... Alice, why do you keep backing away? Are you afraid of me?"

Uncontrollable tension made a cold sweat break out across her back. "No, why would I be afraid of you, Uncle Sterling..."

There was no one else in the room. Alice knew she absolutely couldn’t risk a confrontation with Silas Sterling, but stalling wasn’t a good option either.

An idea struck her. Her gaze flickered past Silas Sterling and she shouted toward the space behind him, "Mom, you’re here!"

Silas Sterling fell for it and turned around.

Seizing the brief opportunity, Alice bolted for the door without a second thought. Perhaps Silas Sterling hadn’t expected her to trick him; his reaction was a moment too slow. Alice had already wrenched the door open and burst outside.

The room hadn’t actually been that dark.

But the moment she burst out, the world outside seemed incredibly bright, and warmth returned to her ice-cold hands and feet.

She didn’t dare stop, though. Ignoring Silas Sterling’s shouts from behind her, she didn’t answer, just kept her head down and ran.

She was running so fast and frantically that she didn’t notice someone walking toward her until they were nearly upon her. Only then did she hear a shout—"Watch out!"

She recognized the voice as Mindy Vaughn’s.

But she was running too fast. By the time she could react, she had already crashed right into someone.

"Ah—"

Alice’s vision went black for a second, and the impact sent her reeling backward.

But in the next instant, an arm shot out, grabbed her, and pulled her forward, sending her stumbling into a solid form.

She was pressed flush against a chest that was firm and broad. Her frantic heartbeat gradually began to settle. Only when she caught the faint scent of cedarwood did she snap back to her senses, realizing who might be holding her. She shot her head up.

When she saw Wyatt Sterling’s face, Alice’s mind went completely blank.

"What, did moving out of the Sterling residence mean you could forget the Sterling rules as well?" Wyatt Sterling looked down at her. The hint of anger in his brow was chilling, yet his arms around her didn’t loosen.

Mindy Vaughn’s heart hammered against her ribs as she watched from the side. She’d seen Alice running, but she never expected Wyatt Sterling to actually catch her.

Noticing Wyatt Sterling’s expression, Mindy Vaughn didn’t have the luxury of thinking. She immediately yanked Alice away from him.

Though the gesture was protective, her words were a sharp rebuke. "It seems you’ve been away for too long. You’ve brought all your bad habits back home with you. What do you look like, running around like that? Have you forgotten how to walk properly?"

After her tirade, Mindy Vaughn immediately turned to Wyatt Sterling with an embarrassed expression. "Wyatt, I’ve been lax in disciplining Alice. I’ll be sure to have a stern talk with her when we get back."

Wyatt Sterling’s gaze swept over Alice’s pale face, but he didn’t say anything.

Perhaps she was still badly shaken from the earlier incident. Alice’s expression was dazed, and she didn’t react.

Not until Mindy Vaughn twisted her arm. The sudden pain made Alice hiss, "Mom..."

"What are you calling me for? Hurry up and apologize to your Third Uncle. You are not to make such a basic mistake in the Sterling home again," Mindy Vaughn urged.

Alice raised a hand to cover the spot Mindy had twisted. It really hurt.

She swallowed her grievance and, not daring to look at Wyatt Sterling’s face, lowered her head in docile apology. "Third Uncle, I will be sure to remember the Sterlings’ rules from now on."

Wyatt Sterling glanced at her arm, his tone cool. "What happened just now?"

"Just now, I..." The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Alice hesitated.

Silas Sterling had frequent episodes, and Old Master Sterling, out of guilt for his son, turned a blind eye to everything short of a life-or-death crisis. The other Sterlings were angry but dared not speak out. What could she, an outsider with a different surname, possibly say?

Having made up her mind, Alice’s expression returned to normal. "Nothing happened. I just forgot the rules."

Wyatt Sterling’s expression was frosty. "Don’t let it happen again."

Alice nodded.

Mindy Vaughn, standing to the side, also breathed a sigh of relief. She was a little surprised at how agreeable Wyatt Sterling was being today. Normally, he wouldn’t have let it go so easily.

Old Master Sterling had three sons by three wives. The eldest son was magnanimous, humble, and gentle. The second son was a madman. Only the third son, Wyatt Sterling, was the most like the old master himself—unconventional, decisive, and swift. The Sterlings feared him even more than they feared the Old Master.

Mindy Vaughn usually did her best to avoid this King Yama, but today, because of that other matter...

"You can go back first," Mindy Vaughn said to Alice, gesturing for her to leave.

Alice only nodded but didn’t leave right away. She watched Wyatt Sterling and Mindy Vaughn walk away before she finally took a shaky step forward.

’My legs are like jelly. So pathetic.’

And of course, that was the exact moment a wave of indignation washed over her. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to walk back to her room, but twisted her ankle on the corridor steps. Her knee hit the ground. She grimaced, a pained laugh escaping her lips. ’Is there no end to the humiliation? Please, don’t let anyone see me.’

"What happened to you?"

A concerned voice came from above her. It was a clean, gentle voice—and a very familiar one.

’Speak of the devil.’

Just as Alice tried to scramble up, a pair of strong hands took hold of her arms and pulled her to her feet in one smooth motion.

She looked up into Owen Sterling’s concerned eyes and called out in a voice that was clear but distant, "Big Brother."

She pulled her arms free and took two steps back, putting some distance between them.

Owen Sterling noted her reaction. "You weren’t this distant last time. Come on, tell me what happened."

Alice was rarely shown any concern in the Sterling household. Even her own mother was often indifferent to her, especially after Nathan Sterling was born. Alice had become almost invisible in the family.

In her memory, only two people in the Sterling family had ever been kind to her.

One was Owen Sterling. The other was...

"Why so quiet? Did something happen to upset you?" Owen Sterling ignored her previous attempt to create distance, stepping closer to look down at her.

The proximity startled Alice. She instinctively backed away, but in her haste, her heels caught on each other, and she stumbled.

Owen Sterling reached out just in time to steady her.

Once she was steady, she heard Owen’s teasing laugh. "My mistake. I forgot it’s been three years. Alice isn’t the same little girl who’d say whatever was on her mind. You’re all grown up now, with secrets of your own."

A warmth spread through Alice’s chest. "You’ve always loved to tease me, Big Brother."