My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 43: Your President Rhodes Is Showing Off His Wedding Ring
A vicious glint flashed in Kiana Sterling’s delicate eyes, but a moment later, she realized she was getting worked up over Stella Sterling and scoffed inwardly in contempt.
’It’s just Stella Sterling. What kind of trouble could she possibly cause?’
Ethan Rhodes was still in the room. In the blink of an eye, Kiana Sterling’s eyes welled with tears as she threw herself into his arms.
"Ethan, I’m so scared. Do you think... Stella will do something at the engagement party?"
Ethan Rhodes gently stroked her back, but his gaze drifted distantly in the direction Stella Sterling had gone.
Stella Sterling’s appearance today was breathtaking, and the image of her elegant figure lingered in his mind, impossible to shake.
He didn’t snap out of it until the diamond at the top of Kiana Sterling’s tiara poked him in the chin.
He comforted her in a soft voice, "Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Chase sent Joel Joyce over today. I’ll have Joel keep an eye on her, so don’t you worry."
Joel Joyce, it seemed, was the Sterling Family’s trump card against Stella Sterling.
After all, countless times in the past, whether Stella Sterling had resisted or tried to run away, she was ultimately thwarted by Joel Joyce.
So, this time would be no different.
Ethan Rhodes patted Kiana Sterling’s shoulder reassuringly, then said he needed to go check on the venue and left the dressing room.
He looked around as he walked, but the woman in the black dress seemed to have vanished without a trace.
For some reason, Ethan Rhodes felt a little unsettled, as if he had just missed some crucial detail.
Just as he was lost in thought, a sturdy man in a black suit bowed his head slightly and called out, "Mr. Rhodes."
Ethan Rhodes glanced at him, then his gaze returned to the crowd.
"I was just looking for you. Stella Sterling is here today. I looked away for a moment, and now she’s disappeared. Your job today is to watch her like a hawk. Don’t you dare let her cause any trouble at the engagement party. At the slightest hint of a problem, throw her out immediately. Got it?"
Joel Joyce kept his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable. He simply responded with a low "Yes," then quickly turned and walked away.
Not long after Ethan Rhodes left, someone else entered the dressing room.
It was Kiana Sterling’s best friend, Zoe Yates.
Zoe Yates was wearing a baby pink, strapless cocktail dress. The bodice was fashioned into a large bow, and her long hair was styled in a high bun. She looked like a beautifully wrapped "gift."
Zoe Yates looked at Kiana Sterling and gasped in amazement. "Kiana, you look absolutely beautiful today! Goodness, look at your skin! It’s so dewy and perfect. Someone’s about to be very happy~"
As she spoke, she gave Kiana an exaggerated nudge with her shoulder and winked suggestively.
Kiana Sterling didn’t respond to her teasing, just gave her a perfunctory smile.
But as soon as the smile faded, her expression turned troubled.
Zoe Yates put an arm around her shoulder. "What’s wrong? This is your engagement party with Ethan Rhodes, why the long face?"
Kiana Sterling looked up at her with a worried expression and sighed. "Stella is here today too."
"Stella Sterling is here too?" Zoe Yates sounded surprised. "I thought she swore she wouldn’t come. I heard Chase called her a bunch of times. Didn’t you say she never gave in?"
Kiana Sterling shook her head. "I don’t understand her either. I guess she still resents me."
She then proceeded to tell Zoe Yates what had happened when Stella Sterling came to the dressing room, adding plenty of her own embellishments.
Zoe Yates was indignant after hearing the story.
"Kiana, how did you end up with such a horrible sister! If she has the nerve to show up and make threats today, there’s no way I believe she’ll behave and not cause a scene." Then an idea struck Zoe Yates. "Didn’t you say she bought a pair of matching rings? You don’t think she brought them for today, do you?"
Hearing this, Kiana Sterling’s face paled slightly.
Her foundation was so thick, though, that it wasn’t noticeable.
"Don’t worry. You know how Ethan Rhodes feels about you. Even if Stella Sterling really tries something, she’ll only be humiliating herself! Relax, I’ll help you keep an eye on her!"
Kiana Sterling sighed deeply again. "Let’s not talk about her. How have things been going between you and my brother lately? My brother is great in every way, except he’s completely absorbed in his work and isn’t considerate of you at all."
At the mention of Chase Sterling, a bashful smile appeared on Zoe Yates’s face.
Although the Sterling Family wasn’t as powerful as the Rhodes Family, they still held a significant place in Jandor.
Like Kiana Sterling, Chase Sterling had graduated from a prestigious university with outstanding grades. He was also remarkably handsome and dashing. Back in the day, Chase had even been the campus beau of Jandor University.
Zoe Yates was the daughter of the Yates Family, and she had fallen for Chase Sterling at first sight at a party.
She did a lot of asking around and heard that Chase Sterling never seemed to have any women around him.
And even if there had been, that was all back in his university days.
A man like that could be counted on one hand in their circle nowadays.
At the very top, naturally, was Owen Rhodes.
But coveting Owen Rhodes was just a pipe dream.
’So, Chase Sterling was a pretty good option too.’
Afterward, she began orchestrating "chance encounters" and even asked her family to help set them up, but Chase Sterling always remained passive.
Since a direct approach wasn’t working, she had no choice but to try a more indirect strategy.
And so, she befriended Kiana Sterling until they became best friends.
Thanks to Kiana, every time there was an event that Chase Sterling attended, Kiana would invite her along. Kiana also invited her over to their house from time to time, creating opportunities for her, both overtly and covertly.
For a dear best friend who might one day be her sister-in-law, Zoe Yates naturally gave her all.
At first, she had also tried to get close to Stella Sterling.
But the girl was too cold and always dismissive. Zoe, being a young lady from a wealthy family herself, wasn’t willing to suck up to someone who gave her the cold shoulder.
Later, after learning about the history between Kiana and Stella Sterling, and with Kiana constantly venting to her, her opinion of Stella Sterling plummeted even further.
Zoe Yates said, "I don’t know if you could call it progress... Before, Sterling booked Caelum Restaurant for us, but Chase was too busy and couldn’t make it. But he sent me a gift afterward! He said it was to make it up to me."
Kiana Sterling’s face lit up. "Really? That’s great! Keep at it, I’m sure you’ll win him over!"
The two chatted for a bit longer, then Ethan Rhodes returned to take Kiana to greet the guests, so the three of them went to the banquet hall together.
Although it was just an engagement party, half of Jandor’s prominent families had come.
Ethan Rhodes was the first of the Rhodes Family’s grandchildren to get engaged, so Rhodes himself was in attendance to preside over the affair.
The prominent families who came to offer their congratulations all greeted Rhodes first before mingling.
Ethan Rhodes led Kiana Sterling around, starting with Rhodes, then greeting their close relatives in the Rhodes Family before moving on to chat with a few prominent families they were on good terms with.
Everyone, whether they knew them or not, offered their congratulations.
With five minutes left before the engagement ceremony, someone said, "President Rhodes is here."
Instantly, all eyes in the banquet hall turned to the entrance.
As Owen Rhodes walked into the banquet hall, all eyes were on him, and the room’s chatter instantly softened.
An observant waiter immediately approached Owen Rhodes with a tray of drinks.
Owen Rhodes gave a polite nod of acknowledgment before taking a glass of red wine from the tray.
His slender fingers cradled the stem of the glass, and the ring on his ring finger glinted with a cold light.
Ethan Rhodes snapped to attention.
’No wonder something felt different about Stella Sterling today. She was wearing a ring on her left ring finger!’
Ariana Grant stood on the second-floor balcony, her elbows resting on the railing, her chin in her hand, watching the show.
She said to the person beside her, "Looks like your President Rhodes is flaunting his wedding ring."
