My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 61: Gavin Sterling Goes Back on His Word
...
Gavin Sterling seethed, grinding his teeth in silent fury.
He had really underestimated this girl, Stella.
He had no idea when she had managed to get involved with Owen Rhodes, but even worse, she was now using Owen to embarrass him.
Gavin Sterling was fuming.
But on second thought, he found Stella to be incredibly naive—stupidly so.
A man like Owen Rhodes would indeed help her—as long as it didn’t conflict with his own interests.
The moment their interests clashed, Stella would undoubtedly be the first one to be cast aside.
In the end, Stella would have no choice but to come crawling back to the Sterling family for shelter.
And when that time came, what leverage would she have left?
Hah. He’d just wait and see how long she could keep up this arrogance!
With that thought, Gavin Sterling finally felt a little better.
As he relaxed on the inside, his expression softened considerably.
He feigned anger, his tone laced with the cloying intimacy of a loving father. "Well, that’s only because you refused to say anything before! You child, your father has been run ragged by you, and here you are making sarcastic remarks." He then turned to Owen Rhodes. "Our Stella can be a bit thoughtless. I hope she hasn’t made a fool of herself in front of you, President Rhodes."
The speed of his transformation, his acting skills—it was textbook-level stuff from a film academy.
Stella rolled her eyes internally, then suddenly let out a retching sound. "BLEGH..."
The sound plunged the entire living room into a silence so deep you could hear a pin drop.
Gavin Sterling’s initial shock quickly turned to elation; he could barely suppress the smile spreading across his face.
Madeline Jennings, who had been glaring resentfully at Stella, also showed a flash of joy, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a look of deep concern.
Kiana Sterling had just finished crying, her eyes still red. She bit her lip, stealing glances at Ethan Rhodes.
As for Ethan Rhodes, he was stunned, his brows furrowed as he stared intently at the couple, a dark storm swirling in his eyes.
Compared to them, Owen Rhodes was perfectly calm.
He gently rubbed Stella’s back and asked softly, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"It’s nothing," Stella said, patting her chest. "I’m just allergic to hypocrisy. It makes me a little nauseous."
Gavin Sterling and the other three: "..." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Gavin Sterling could, of course, hear the sarcasm dripping from Stella’s words. His face, which had just softened, instantly darkened again.
He was just about to scold her when he heard Stella say, "Alright, let’s talk about the divorce."
She looked up at Owen Rhodes, her eyes glistening. "Owen, President Sterling said that as long as you agree to the divorce, he’ll give you anything you want. So, what do you want?"
Gavin Sterling: "..."
So this was what it felt like to be hoisted by his own petard.
Stella had truly dug a massive pit for him!
And he had jumped right into it himself!
Owen Rhodes frowned at her. "Do we really have to get a divorce?"
Stella nodded earnestly, even removing the hand he had resting on her shoulder.
"Yes, we have to. President Sterling gave me a choice: either get a divorce or be locked up in a mental hospital. I don’t want to go to a mental hospital, so Owen, can we please get a divorce? I’m begging you..."
Stella spoke with such sincerity that by the end, she looked utterly wronged, her eyes turning red as if she were about to burst into tears.
Gavin Sterling: "..."
It was as if he had just dropped a meteor on his own head.
This time, Owen Rhodes’s expression truly turned grim.
He turned to Gavin Sterling, his face radiating a chilling aura. His deep-set eyes were like a frozen lake in the dead of winter, so cold that no one dared to meet his gaze.
"President Sterling, what’s this about a mental hospital?"
Though Owen Rhodes was young, the ruthless aura he had honed in the business world was enough to make even Gavin Sterling feel a trace of fear.
Facing Owen’s icy glare, Gavin Sterling forced himself to explain, "A misunderstanding. Heh, it’s all a misunderstanding. You see, Stella refused to tell me the truth, and I was worried my precious daughter was being deceived by someone with ulterior motives. That’s why I resorted to such a crude tactic. I wasn’t really going to send her to a mental hospital, I was just trying to scare her..."
As he spoke, he shot Stella a look, hoping she would be sensible, explain things to Owen, and quickly put this matter behind them.
Stella saw it and gave him an obedient nod, her innocent eyes conveying a silent promise that she wouldn’t cause any more trouble.
Stella spoke up. "Owen, President Sterling was serious. He even hired a psychiatrist to come to the house and diagnose me. Hey, where’s Dr. Finch? He was just here a moment ago."
Saying this, Stella looked toward the housekeeper standing in the distance.
The housekeeper replied, "Dr. Finch said it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay in the living room, so he’s waiting in the dining room now."
Hearing this, Gavin Sterling shot the housekeeper a vicious glare, furious that she had spoken out of turn without permission.
Owen Rhodes noticed and said coolly, "President Sterling, why do you keep glaring at the housekeeper? Did she say something she wasn’t supposed to?"
Gavin Sterling choked on his words and could only say that she hadn’t.
"Good. Ma’am, please ask Dr. Finch to come in."
Even though Owen Rhodes was clearly not the master of the house, the housekeeper responded with great respect and went to fetch the doctor.
Her posture was even more deferential than it was toward Gavin Sterling and Madeline Jennings.
Dr. Finch was a sharp one himself; he had long since figured out the dynamics of this family.
He just hadn’t expected Owen Rhodes to appear out of nowhere and completely upend the situation.
Now, having been summoned, he was trembling with apprehension.
He wasn’t blind; he recognized Owen Rhodes.
Owen Rhodes rested one hand on the back of the sofa where Stella was sitting and asked casually, "Dr. Finch, where do you practice?"
Sweat beaded on Dr. Finch’s forehead. "Oak... Oakhaven Hospital."
Oakhaven Hospital was a joint-venture general hospital with a separate psychiatric ward. The Sterling family held a portion of its shares.
As it happened, Owen Rhodes also owned shares—and he was the hospital’s largest shareholder.
Owen Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "What was your diagnosis?"
Dr. Finch stammered, "Er... President Rhodes, because we haven’t done a formal assessment with rating scales yet, it’s difficult to make a judgment at this stage..."
Stella blinked her big eyes. "Oh? But Dr. Finch, didn’t you just say I have bipolar disorder, accompanied by an inability to control myself and a tendency to harm others, and recommend that I be hospitalized for treatment?"
Dr. Finch: "..."
He had run up against a brick wall.
Stella continued, "You also mentioned a full-service package—diagnosis and hospitalization. You said that without President Sterling’s approval, you could alter my diagnosis and prevent me from being discharged..."
Stella trembled and looked up at Owen Rhodes. "Owen, let’s get a divorce. Please, just do it for my sake, okay?"
Gavin Sterling: "..."
Dr. Finch: "..."
Gavin Sterling was furious, but he couldn’t lose his temper in front of Owen Rhodes. His old face flushed red with suppressed rage.
Just then, Kiana Sterling spoke up. "Stella, you might have misheard. Dr. Finch was talking about a case of hospital malpractice; he didn’t mean he would do that to you. Besides, without a professional diagnosis, no one can have you committed. Don’t worry, your big sister will protect you.
"What Dad said before was just in anger. Don’t hold it against him, okay? Marriage is a lifelong commitment. How can you talk about divorce so lightly? Stella, be a good girl and take a step back. Don’t be so stubborn with Dad, alright?"
Stella looked timidly at Gavin Sterling. "President Sterling, were you just saying that out of anger?"
Gavin Sterling instantly seized the opportunity to back down. "Of course I was! Marriage is a serious matter, not child’s play!"
"So you don’t want me to get a divorce anymore?"
Gavin Sterling sighed. "Just live your lives together in peace."
Stella nodded briskly. "Alright then. No time to waste. You can start preparing the share transfer agreement."
