My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 47: Owen Rhodes Protects His Wife: Does Stella Sterling Still Need to Apologize?
Kiana Sterling felt that something was seriously off with Stella Sterling today.
She knew Stella’s personality better than anyone.
Innocent and straightforward, unable to hide what was on her mind; yet also stubborn and proud, never willing to back down.
It was precisely because of this understanding that she had been able to keep Stella wrapped around her little finger for so many years.
No matter how wronged Stella felt, she was incapable of humbling herself and giving in.
’Perhaps it was because that shred of pride was the only thing she had left.’
It was because she couldn’t lower her proud head that her relationship with the family had grown increasingly strained.
But today, she had actually caved.
Based on Kiana’s understanding of her, Stella shouldn’t be softly apologizing right now. She should be furiously arguing her case and making a huge scene at the engagement party, turning everyone against her.
According to her plan, after Stella was pushed into Ethan Rhodes’s arms, Kiana was supposed to be the one tearfully accusing Stella of having malicious intent.
But now, everything was backward.
Not only was it backward, but Stella had completely upended her entire scheme.
With the way Stella had twisted things around, Kiana was the one who came off as unreasonable, suspicious, and jealous.
And on top of that, Stella actually wanted to check the security footage.
She had indeed signaled for Zoe Yates to do what she did. If they really checked the footage, she couldn’t guarantee Zoe wouldn’t rat her out.
Kiana’s expression turned grim, and she looked at Ethan Rhodes in a panic.
But for some reason, at that very moment, Ethan Rhodes’s gaze was fixed on Stella’s hand.
Kiana followed his gaze and saw it was the ring on Stella’s hand.
One of a matching pair!
It was from the set of matching rings Stella had ordered the day they ran into her at the jewelry store.
’I can’t believe she actually brought it out today, put it on, and claimed she was married.’
Kiana frowned, unable to figure out what game Stella was playing.
Far too many people were watching. Kiana composed herself and clutched the hem of Ethan Rhodes’s jacket, her expression aggrieved. "Ethan... I didn’t mean it like that..."
Between Ariana Grant’s earlier "trip-up" and the current melodrama, Stella’s identity was finally revealed.
The banquet hall wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either. In no time, everyone present knew that the stunning woman who had walked past Owen Rhodes was Stella Sterling, Kiana’s sister and fellow daughter of the Sterling family. And now, the two sisters were fighting over a man.
Ethan Rhodes snapped back to reality. He glanced at Kiana, who looked distressed, then at Stella, whose eyes were shimmering with tears.
His heart gave a slight flutter. He found himself caring deeply about Stella’s tears.
But in the next moment, he still chose to stand by Kiana.
He reached out to grab Stella but was blocked by Owen Rhodes, who was standing in front of her.
Owen’s eyes went cold. "Keep your hands to yourself."
Seeing Owen’s cold expression, Ethan Rhodes didn’t dare to press the issue.
He had no choice but to back off. Glaring at Stella, he seethed, "Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble today?" He turned to Joel Joyce, who was standing nearby. "Joel Joyce, throw her out!"
Owen Rhodes expressionlessly pulled Stella into the space between him and Silas Jacobs, shielding her and making it clear that Joel Joyce was not to touch her.
Silas Jacobs then spoke up, his tone casual. "Ethan, if you’re going to accuse someone, you ought to have a reason, don’t you think? How exactly did Miss Sterling cause trouble? Was anything she said wrong? I thought she made a lot of sense. A young woman’s reputation is very important, after all."
As the standoff dragged on, the elders of both families inevitably caught wind of the commotion.
Old Man Rhodes was too old for such a fuss and had already gone home. Now, Gavin Sterling and his wife, along with Jonathan Rhodes and his wife, rushed over.
Madeline Jennings took one look at the situation and, without a second thought, wrapped an arm around Kiana. "Kiana, what’s wrong? Did Stella bully you again?"
Her favoritism was completely undisguised.
Ariana Grant was fiercely protective, and her temper flared at once. "Jennings, our Stella is not the type to bully anyone. You can’t favor one child over the other. How can you not even consider that Stella was the one being bullied?"
Stella, bullied? Madeline Jennings wouldn’t believe it in a million years.
She snorted coldly at Ariana Grant. "This is our family’s private matter. Stay out of it."
’Biased and unreasonable!’
"Oh, that does it. I’ve had it."
Ariana Grant tossed her wine glass aside and mimed rolling up her sleeves, ready to charge.
Silas Jacobs reached out and stopped her. "Jennings is right. This is their family’s business, you should stay out of it."
Since it was a family matter, it was up to the person in the family with the real authority to make the call.
At the end of the day, this was about the Sterling family’s daughters. Even though their families were now joined by marriage, it wasn’t appropriate for Jonathan Rhodes and his wife to say much.
Gavin Sterling, having cleaned himself up, had returned. In his mind, he was already blaming Stella for what Ariana Grant had done to him.
Therefore, he had no intention of showing Stella any deference. Ignoring even the presence of Owen Rhodes, he delivered his judgment with a stone-cold face.
"Stella, get over here and apologize to your sister! Apologize to all our guests! You utter disgrace!"
Owen Rhodes spoke up then, his tone indifferent. "President Sterling, you’re so autocratic. It’s no wonder the Tyford Group is stagnating."
The moment Owen Rhodes spoke, everyone knew this was no simple matter.
He said, "This was never a big deal, but some people are intent on making it one."
He shot a cold glance at Kiana. "We have many guests today. If this isn’t clarified, it won’t just be the Sterling Family that becomes a laughingstock, but the Rhodes Family as well. Do you understand, President Sterling?"
That was Owen Rhodes for you—right off the bat, he bluntly stated that Gavin Sterling had no talent for business. Even though Gavin Sterling was furious, he couldn’t refute it.
After all, he was Owen Rhodes.
Owen Rhodes’s vision and methods were clear for all to see.
The Kyros Group’s current scale was largely thanks to Owen Rhodes’s investment foresight.
In his eight years at Kyros Headquarters, he had single-handedly spearheaded the incubation of three unicorn companies, to say nothing of the countless other projects, large and small, that generated substantial profits for Kyros.
As a result, Kyros was firmly established as Jandor’s leading enterprise, and Owen Rhodes’s position within the company was unassailable.
In comparison, Gavin Sterling was indeed incompetent.
Besides, Owen Rhodes’s perspective was on a completely different level from that of the two families celebrating this union.
Today’s guests were all prominent figures in Jandor. If this fiasco wasn’t cleared up, it wouldn’t just be about the romantic drama between the three of them; the public reputations of the Rhodes and Sterling families were also at stake.
The Sterling Family might not care about their reputation, but the Rhodes Family had no desire to become the subject of gossip.
Now that Owen Rhodes held the real power in the Rhodes Family, Jonathan Rhodes didn’t say a word.
Owen Rhodes would never allow the Rhodes Family to be humiliated, so he wasn’t the least bit worried.
With one hand tucked in his pocket, Owen Rhodes exuded an imposing aura from his sharp gaze that even Gavin Sterling found difficult to withstand.
He could only concede, "President Rhodes has a point."
Unseen by others, he must have made arrangements, for Liam Hawthorne now walked up to his side. "President Rhodes, I have the security footage."
"Project it onto the main screen. Let everyone see."
At his words, all the color drained from Kiana’s face.
She shot a nervous glance at Madeline Jennings, but Madeline missed the signal entirely and tried to comfort her. "Don’t be afraid. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. I refuse to believe Owen Rhodes can still favor Stella after the video is shown."
But once the video finished playing, Madeline Jennings lost all her bluster.
Stella had indeed been bumped by someone, which caused her to fall into Ethan Rhodes’s arms.
In fact, Stella had subconsciously tried to get away from Ethan, reaching out toward Owen Rhodes.
It was Ethan Rhodes who, in a moment of haste, had pulled her into his arms.
Owen Rhodes said, "Ms. Jennings, does Stella still need to apologize?"
