My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 12: An Old Acquaintance Returns

Any of Declan Norwood’s amorous intentions had been instantly snuffed out.

In the end, nothing romantic had come of it. He had simply spent several hours respectfully and tremulously drinking tea with his would-be brother-in-law, Kian Sterling.

The incident had become a hot topic in The Norwood Family’s group chat for a while, and even Silas Norwood, the head of the family, had partaken in the gossip.

"Just a simple date." Silas Norwood met Kian Sterling’s gaze without flinching, his voice reserved and completely devoid of any ulterior motives. "I’m sure you, Kade, wouldn’t want to see Cece marry a complete stranger, destined for a life of cold formality with me."

Kian Sterling: "Heh."

Silas Norwood was nothing like Declan Norwood. Celia Sterling found it hard to imagine what a date with this seemingly perfect, unattainable man would be like. She felt a little awkward.

"Silas, is this date really necessary? I honestly don’t mind if we live separate lives before and after the wedding. We can just go through the motions on the wedding day."

In their social circle, wealthy couples leading separate lives—and playing around on the side—were a dime a dozen.

"I mind." Silas Norwood looked at Celia Sterling gently and gave an elegant, refined smile. "Cece, I don’t intend for ours to be a marriage of convenience."

Celia Sterling: "..."

If his tone hadn’t been so serious, and his expression so prim and proper, she would have suspected he was making a subtle sexual innuendo.

"A date, then. Sure." Celia Sterling cleared her throat. "As long as you don’t get tired of me pestering you, Silas."

Silas Norwood’s deep eyes darkened slightly. He nodded, his tone seemingly indulgent. "Mm, I won’t."

Kian Sterling’s gaze swept over the two of them, and he decided not to press the issue.

He quickly scanned the agreement and handed it to Celia Sterling.

"Cece, sign it."

The marriage agreement was just the master document. In addition, an assistant from The Norwood Family’s side, Theo Chambers, came in carrying a silver briefcase and took out a huge stack of supplementary materials.

There were many documents to sign. The real estate transfer agreements alone numbered in the hundreds, and the equity involved was even more complex. Celia Sterling buried her head in the paperwork. At first, she read through each document, but soon her vision blurred and her mind grew muddled.

"Brother." She flexed her fingers, looking at Kian Sterling with pleading eyes. "Can you look these over for me? I can’t read them all."

"You’d dare to sign without reading them properly?"

Kian Sterling pointed to a few pages she had just signed. They were equity transfer agreements for several financial firms that Silas Norwood had personally founded, independent of The Norwood Family’s corporation. Without affecting his decision-making power, Silas Norwood had been extremely generous, giving her a significant number of non-voting shares. The value of these few documents alone already exceeded the total sum of Declan Norwood’s betrothal gifts.

’If I saw that correctly, Celia Sterling’s mind was a million miles away when she signed these. She didn’t even glance at the contents.’

Celia Sterling replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "With you here, Brother, I know you won’t let me get scammed."

"’Brother’..." A rare hint of irritation appeared on Kian Sterling’s face as he scoffed, "I can’t watch over you forever."

Silas Norwood remained silent, quietly watching as the gorgeous Eldest Miss Sterling’s expression went from clear to dazed, revealing a spoiled, willful side in front of her brother.

His mouth suddenly felt a little dry. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He averted his gaze and took several sips of his cold tea.

「By the time all the documents were signed, it was evening.」

The group from the Norwood Family rose, preparing to take their leave.

From outside, however, a familiar voice called out, lazy and intimate:

"Yo, Dad, Mom, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Youngest Uncle, you’re all here?"

The once-harmonious atmosphere instantly turned frigid.

Even Celia Sterling, who had been massaging her fingers, froze.

Declan Norwood had already walked in.

He was travel-worn, a pile of shiny, trendy accessories hanging askew on his clothes. But his eyes were exceptionally bright and a smile played on his lips. He gave a perfunctory greeting to The Norwoods before staggering over to Celia Sterling’s side and practically gluing himself to her.

"Baby, it’s been so many days. I’ve missed you like crazy."

’He’s still calling me Baby.’

’The connection must have dropped too quickly when we hung up the video call last time. He probably didn’t hear me say the engagement was off.’

A subtle sense of helplessness washed over Celia Sterling, and she silently edged a little farther away from him.

"Are you still mad, Baby?" Declan Norwood leaned closer, clearly trying to placate her. "I brought you a box of top-grade alexandrite cat’s eyes. Didn’t you say your vanity was too plain? We can have them inlaid on the surface as decoration."

His presence was overbearing and clingy.

But with so many people watching, it wasn’t the right time to get into a verbal spat with him.

Celia Sterling passed the problem to her dear brother. "Brother."

Kian Sterling looked pointedly at Silas Norwood. "Silas Norwood."

Silas Norwood’s expression was cold and distant as he looked at his nephew. "Declan, call her ’Aunt.’"

Declan Norwood was stunned for a moment. "Aunt? I already said hello to Second Aunt just now."

Aside from the inscrutable Silas Norwood, the other members of the Norwood Family all had complicated expressions.

"You damn bastard!" Justin Norwood’s face darkened as he stared at his rebellious son, who was hovering around Celia Sterling like a loyal dog the moment he returned. "Why are you back?"

"The job’s done, so of course I came back." Declan Norwood looked at his father, running a hand through his defiant, messy hair, his face full of resentment. "Dad, it was one thing to throw a tough-as-nails project at me, but that place was in the middle of nowhere. There was still a bit of cell signal a few days ago, but for the past two days, there’s been nothing. I couldn’t send a single text or WeChat message. Don’t send me to a place like that again. It was pure torture."

Mrs. Norwood stammered, "That project your father arranged for you... it wasn’t supposed to be finished until next week at the earliest. You came back so suddenly, without any warning..."

"I pulled two all-nighters in a row to finish it. Nearly worked myself to death." Declan Norwood casually picked up the water glass Celia Sterling had been using and chugged a few mouthfuls. "There was no signal. I couldn’t contact my baby. For some reason, I’ve had this really bad feeling the past couple of days. I had to come back and see for myself to feel at ease."

The atmosphere in the room inexplicably grew heavy.

Mrs. Norwood didn’t dare to look at Silas Norwood’s face. She rebuked her son coldly, "Stop with all the ’baby’ talk. Your engagement with Miss Sterling has been called off."

Declan Norwood froze, then laughed in disbelief. "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? Our families have projects worth tens of billions tied up in this. How could the engagement possibly be called off? By the way, why are Second Uncle and Youngest Uncle here today? Are the two families discussing the wedding details?"

Justin Norwood swung his hand and smacked Declan Norwood hard on the head. "This is all because of the ridiculous mess you made! We couldn’t call off the marriage alliance, but now the Sterling Family won’t have you! The Norwood Family was in an impossible position, so for the sake of the family’s interests, your youngest uncle had to step up himself. The process of switching the groom is already complete. From this day forward, you will drop that clingy attitude and treat Miss Sterling as your youngest aunt. Be respectful!"

"Swapping the groom?" Declan Norwood looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, his body rigid. "What swap? On what grounds? Don’t you all know how much I love Cece? You just swapped me out? Did you even consider my feelings? No way! I won’t agree to this even if I die!"

Silas Norwood unhurriedly set down his cup, his deep, dark, indifferent eyes fixed on his nephew.

"Your consent is not required."

Declan Norwood took half a step back, his face deathly pale. "Youngest Uncle, you can’t take advantage of the situation like this..."

"How dare you speak to your uncle like that!" Justin Norwood berated him. "Regarding your engagement to Miss Sterling, your mother and I signed the cancellation agreement on your behalf. You’re the one who made this colossal mess. Your uncle was forced into this from the very beginning. The matter is settled. If you continue to make a scene, there will be no place for you in the entire Norwood Family!"

Declan Norwood’s face was grim, his eyes bloodshot with fury.

Celia Sterling looked at the man who had been by her side for three years. "Declan Norwood."