After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 54: He Grabbed Alice York’s Neck

"Be careful."

Holden Locke reacted quickly, catching Alice York’s phone just as it was about to fall.

As he was about to hand it back, he noticed the name on the screen. "Wyatt Sterling is your Third Uncle, isn’t he?"

He remembered seeing him at the restaurant before. Alice’s reaction at the time made it seem like she was terrified of the man.

"He’s my Third Uncle." Alice York nodded, took the phone back from Holden Locke, and immediately turned off the screen.

Holden Locke prompted, "Aren’t you going to answer it?"

Alice remained silent. Only after the vibrations in her hand stopped did she glance down at the screen—the call had gone unanswered, and the video pop-up disappeared.

Taking in her reaction, Holden Locke guessed, "It seems your current predicament has something to do with your Third Uncle."

Alice mulled it over, unsure how to respond. She opened her notes app to change the subject. "Professor Locke, could you please give me the address of your hotel?"

Holden Locke gave her the address; it was a five-star hotel not far from the Churchill Family’s estate.

After Alice saved the address, Holden Locke mentioned, "I’ve heard a few things about this Wyatt Sterling."

Alice suddenly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes blinking in confusion. "What?"

Holden Locke gazed into the distance, a pensive look on his face. "The Sterlings owe their current success to the foundation Old Master Sterling built in his early years, but it’s also inseparable from the... special industries that Wyatt Sterling manages."

Hearing this, Alice showed no sign of surprise.

The Sterlings were glorious in their early years, but the family’s influence gradually waned. Then, about ten years ago, they suddenly staged a miraculous comeback. Now, they stand at the very pinnacle of Silvanus’s high society.

’But a river doesn’t freeze three feet deep overnight. Wyatt Sterling’s meteoric rise had to be backed by dark secrets. Rumor had it that he ran special industries, separated from outright crime by only a thin moral line...’

Holden Locke could tell from her reaction. "You already knew all this?"

"Professor Locke, you might be forgetting one thing—I’m one of the Sterlings too." She gave a faint smile and leaned against the wall, positioning herself so she could watch for anyone approaching.

Holden Locke shook his head. "No, you’re different."

Alice said, "But I’ve lived with the Sterlings for over a decade, haven’t I?"

"What does a decade matter? A person’s environment can shape their personality, but it can’t change their nature. You will always be different from the rest of the Sterlings."

His tone was firm, as was the look in his eyes.

Alice was about to say something when Kyle Churchill suddenly appeared, holding a cup of ice cream and walking toward her with a cheerful bounce in his step.

"Professor Locke, I have to go." As Alice walked past him, she deliberately lowered her voice. "Please don’t tell Zoe I’m coming to see her tonight. I’m afraid I might not be able to make it, and I don’t want to get her hopes up for nothing."

Though he knew it was inappropriate, Holden acted impulsively, grabbing her wrist. "Should I take you to see Zoe right now?"

Alice looked up, meeting his eyes. "I can’t leave now. And you don’t need to worry, Professor Locke."

"But..."

"Professor Locke, please let go."

"Alright."

Holden Locke slowly released her hand, sighed, and watched her walk away.

Kyle Churchill was licking ice cream from the cup, some of it smeared on the corners of his mouth. Unaware, he grinned and asked, "Alice, where did you go?"

Alice did her best to respond to him as she would anyone else. "I went to the restroom."

Kyle Churchill immediately said, "I have to go too."

Alice smiled at him, her voice gentle. "But I’m already back."

Her smile seemed to captivate him. He smacked his lips, his face a mask of innocence. "You’re so cute, Alice."

His compliment took her aback. "Cute?"

"Mhm." Kyle Churchill nodded enthusiastically before taking another big slurp of ice cream, smearing it all over his mouth.

Alice didn’t have any napkins, so she tried to lead Kyle back to their table, but he refused to go, insisting, "I’m full! I’m already full!"

"Then wait here for me. I’ll go get you a napkin to wipe your face."

This version of Kyle seemed so innocent that Alice felt a natural urge to take care of him as much as she could.

Kyle Churchill nodded, promising to wait for her right there.

But when Alice returned with a napkin, she noticed that people were staring at Kyle Churchill with strange expressions. Some looked amused, as if they were watching a sideshow.

Confused, she walked closer, only to notice a puddle at Kyle’s feet. His pants were soaked through...

He didn’t seem to have noticed it himself, nor did he register the strange looks from the people around him. He was completely lost in his own world, furiously licking his ice cream.

"Kyle, your pants..." Alice said, stepping up beside him.

Kyle ignored her.

Alice’s expression was impossible to describe.

Just then, a waiter hurried over. Seeing Kyle’s drenched pants and the pale yellow puddle at his feet, he instantly understood what had happened.

’This man must be intellectually disabled!’

"Could you please find a pair of staff trousers for him to change into? I’ll pay for them. Also... you might need a male employee to help. He," Alice pointed to her own head, "has some problems."

The waiter nodded quickly to show he understood and rushed off to find a pair of trousers.

They were in a high-traffic area, and Kyle’s condition made him stick out like a sore thumb. Alice tried to pull him away, but he shook her off with his elbow. "Don’t touch me!"

His mood had suddenly turned explosive.

Alice tried to coax him patiently. "Didn’t you say you had to go to the restroom?"

"Not anymore. I already peed," Kyle mumbled, licking his ice cream.

With one hand in a cast and the other holding the ice cream, he didn’t have a free hand. He ordered Alice directly, "Help me take my pants off. I have to go poop."

"..."

Could you imagine it? A handsome young man, over six feet tall, announcing in public that he needed to take off his pants and poop. The scene was utterly bizarre.

"Is that guy an idiot? Why else would he wet his pants in public?"

"And the poor girl, so pretty, dating a moron like that."

"Maybe he used to be normal, but then he got sick or something, and his girlfriend is sticking by him no matter what?"

"If that’s true, it’s actually kind of touching."

"Touching, my ass. It’s so disgusting I’m about to lose my dinner."

"Someone should just kick them out. It’s completely ruined my appetite."

Alice heard the murmurs of the crowd—some about her, some about Kyle, none of them pleasant.

Afraid he would actually relieve himself right there, Alice gritted her teeth and pleaded, "Let’s go to the restroom first, okay?"

"I have to go now."

"No, Kyle, you can’t do it here..."

Before she could finish, a distinct stench hit her. She stared at Kyle in utter shock. "You..."

Kyle giggled, then spun around in front of her. "It came out! It came out!"

"..."

The surrounding gawkers also caught the foul smell and immediately scattered, terrified of the stench clinging to them.

In the end, a male waiter had to fight back his nausea to take Kyle to the restroom, get him changed, and cleaned up.

Alice was utterly exhausted. She paid double the price of the meal before finally leading Kyle away.

The car was still there, but it was obvious Alice would have to be the one to drive back. She told Kyle to sit in the back, but he refused, whining that he hadn’t had enough fun yet and growing increasingly agitated.

Alice didn’t have the energy to argue with him. She forced him into the seat and went to buckle his seatbelt.

Unexpectedly, as she was buckling the belt, Kyle suddenly reached out and wrapped his hand around her throat.

He was only using one hand, but his strength was extraordinary. She could barely struggle, and her face instantly flushed red as the air was cut off.

"Ky...le..." she clawed at his hand, struggling to force out the words. "Let... go..."