My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 48: I Want to Hear the Pleasant Truth
Madeline Jennings’s heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t know why, but the two words Owen Rhodes uttered so expressionlessly—"Ms. Jennings"—made her heart tremble for no reason.
When she was out, everyone who knew her called her "Mrs. Sterling." She had only ever heard the grating title "Ms. Jennings" come from Stella.
And now, there was Owen Rhodes.
There was an indescribable intimacy in Owen Rhodes’s tone when he spoke of Stella. Madeline Jennings suddenly realized that Owen Rhodes wasn’t just paying lip service to Stella for "saving his life."
Madeline Jennings pursed her lips and fell silent.
Owen Rhodes then turned his cold gaze to Kiana Sterling. "Miss Sterling, do you understand now?"
Kiana bit her lip, looking wronged.
Owen Rhodes continued, "Do we need to ask the young lady who bumped into her to come and testify?"
Liam Hawthorne spoke up at that moment. "President Rhodes, we’ve already looked into it. The person who accidentally bumped into... Miss Sterling was the daughter of President Yates from Solstice International. She’d had too much to drink and has already gone home."
’Well, that settled it. His words only further proved Stella was innocent.’
It wasn’t intentional; she was just accidentally bumped by someone who was drunk.
Owen Rhodes nodded. "Miss Sterling, is there anything else you have to say?"
Kiana bit her lip and said nothing. Owen Rhodes wasn’t in a hurry; he simply waited for her to speak.
It was Stella, however, who stepped forward with a serious expression. "Sister, you see? I really didn’t do it on purpose. And I have absolutely no intention of stealing your fiancé from you. Even though Ethan and I have known each other since we were kids, I’ve only ever thought of him as an older brother from next door. Please don’t misunderstand, Sister."
’An older brother from next door?’
’What a joke.’
’As if she hadn’t been making a life-or-death scene over him just a few months ago.’
But Kiana couldn’t say any of this out loud in front of everyone.
She had orchestrated this whole scene just to ruin Owen Rhodes’s favorable impression of Stella, to make it clear to Stella that Owen wouldn’t be her pillar of support. She never intended for it to become such a public spectacle.
After all, who didn’t know how much Ethan Rhodes loved her now?
Besides, if more people found out that Stella and Ethan used to date, she would be the one to be vilified.
What made her even angrier was that the video clearly showed Ethan had been the one to proactively move to steady Stella.
And today was their engagement party!
But given the current situation, she couldn’t afford to lose her temper.
Kiana bit her lip and gave Ethan a mournful, pleading look.
Stella saw this and added, "Ethan only helped me for your sake, Sister. Right, brother-in-law?"
Ethan looked down at Stella, feeling as if she were a complete stranger at that moment.
And that word, "brother-in-law," sounded particularly jarring to him.
Ethan spaced out for a moment. But when he looked up and met Owen’s icy gaze, he instantly remembered Owen’s warning from the previous night.
He snapped back to reality, let out a soft "mhm," and turned to console Kiana. "Kiana, Stella is your sister. I was the closest to her, so I helped her up. Don’t misunderstand."
He frowned as soon as the words left his mouth.
Only he knew how reluctant he had been to say that.
At this point, Kiana had no choice but to swallow her pride and say, "Stella, it was my misunderstanding..."
Seeing the dejected look on Kiana’s face, Madeline’s heart ached for her. She tried to bring the matter to a close. "Since everything is cleared up—"
But Stella cut her off mid-sentence. "If it was my sister’s misunderstanding, then shouldn’t she be the one to apologize to me?"
Madeline snapped, her displeasure obvious. "Stella, don’t push your luck!"
Silas Jacobs, who loved watching a good show and didn’t mind fanning the flames, had to get a word in.
He chimed in from the sidelines, "Madam Sterling, that’s hardly fair. A moment ago, when the facts were still unclear, President Sterling was demanding that Miss Stella apologize. Now that everything is clear, Miss Stella nearly became the target of public scorn due to Miss Kiana’s ’misunderstanding.’ She was almost baselessly accused of seducing her future brother-in-law. Asking for an apology isn’t going too far, is it?"
Silas Jacobs’s words made Kiana’s face grow a shade paler.
This had indeed been her goal for the evening, but her plan had backfired spectacularly. Not only was Stella completely unscathed, but now even the guests were giving her strange looks.
Left with no other choice, Kiana lowered her head and apologized. "Stella, it was my misunderstanding. I’m sorry."
Stella let out a light, magnanimous laugh. "It’s alright, Sister. I genuinely wish you and Ethan the best. I just hope you won’t misunderstand me like this again. After all, rumors can be hurtful. What would we do if someone with ill intentions started a rumor that you just can’t stand to see me happy?"
As she spoke, Stella shot a meaningful glance at Madeline Jennings.
’It was Madeline who had accused her of not being able to stand seeing Kiana happy. Now that things had come to this, who was it really that couldn’t stand to see someone else happy?’
Stella continued, "Besides, I’m a married woman now. My husband and I have a wonderful relationship, so there’s no need for you to worry yourself over nothing, Sister. I’m sure you’ll wish me well too, right?"
Then Stella turned to Ethan. "My brother-in-law will wish me well too, won’t he?"
Ethan’s face was a taut mask. "Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Owen Rhodes brought the matter to a close. "A small misunderstanding. Apologies for the scene. The evening isn’t over yet, so please, everyone, enjoy yourselves."
So, when all was said and done, Stella’s point was clear: Kiana was a suspicious and jealous person.
And Kiana’s every action that night had served only to prove it.
Instantly, the banquet hall was abuzz with murmurs.
Some said Kiana was making a mountain out of a molehill. Others said Stella should have been more careful to avoid suspicion. And still others lamented that such a great beauty was already married.
Under the watchful eyes of nearly everyone in the room, Stella had announced the fact that she was married.
At this point, Walter Hollis couldn’t be bothered with saving face. He walked right up to Gavin Sterling. "President Sterling, this is hardly forthright of you. Your daughter is already married, yet you expressed interest in a marriage alliance with my family? What was the meaning of that? Do you take me for a fool?"
Gavin Sterling had a project he wanted to partner with the Hollis family on, and Walter Hollis’s most pressing concern was his son’s marriage. That was how the topic of a marriage alliance had come up.
Now, Gavin Sterling had no choice but to apologize profusely, insisting that he genuinely had not known.
After placating Walter Hollis, Gavin Sterling called Joel Joyce to his side.
"After the party, bring Stella home to me. I’m going to see for myself just what kind of lowlife this husband she keeps hidden away is!"
Meanwhile, this "lowlife" was sitting with Stella in a private lounge.
Stella’s eyes were sparkling as she looked at Owen. "So, how was my acting?"
Owen glanced down at her. After a two-second pause, he asked earnestly, "Do you want the honest truth?"
Stella puffed out her cheeks and shot him a resentful look. But after a moment, something seemed to occur to her, and she suddenly broke into a wide smile.
Owen then heard her say, "I want to hear the nice truth."
’Alright, then. Between the ugly truth and a nice lie, Stella had chosen the nice truth.’
Owen gave a helpless smile. "It was great. Good enough to debut at Silas Jacobs’s agency."
"Hmph. Men and their lies."
