My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 13: Private Photo Album

Declan Norwood’s attention reflexively snapped to her, hope reigniting in his eyes:

"Baby..."

"Declan." Celia Sterling met his gaze. "I told you last time that I want to call off the engagement. After three years together, you should know my personality. When I say I want to end it, I’ll end it, no matter how difficult. Even if it wasn’t Silas Norwood today, there would still be no future for us."

The light in Declan Norwood’s handsome eyes, like shattered starlight, instantly vanished.

Yes.

He knew she wanted to end it.

But he never thought she’d actually succeed.

He had assumed that as long as the engagement couldn’t be broken, his scandalous behavior in Port Sovereign would eventually fade into an insignificant old memory. He figured if he was just a little more persistent, it was only a matter of time before they mended their relationship.

He never imagined he would lose her so suddenly.

A chill spread from the bottom of Declan Norwood’s heart. He stood frozen to the spot, motionless as if in a trance.

Silas Norwood’s eyes held a cool, aloof chill, like jade. He glanced indifferently at Declan. "Should I give you a little more time to reminisce with my fiancée?"

Justin Norwood’s heart dropped. "Declan is just having a hard time processing this. I’ll take him away now."

With that, he grabbed his son’s arm. "That’s enough! Stop making a fool of yourself here and get back with me!"

Declan Norwood was devastated, but his feet seemed rooted to the ground. Dejected yet stubborn, he refused to leave.

Justin Norwood was too furious to even look at him. He signaled for the bodyguards at the door to come in, forcibly drag Declan away, and throw him into the car.

"We apologize for the disturbance and will take our leave now," Justin Norwood said, bidding farewell to Kian Sterling, who was clearly enjoying the show. He then wiped his face and left with the equally distraught Mrs. Norwood.

Once the car drove away from the villa and they were away from outsiders, Mrs. Norwood grabbed Declan Norwood’s hand, her heart aching for him.

"With your status, what kind of woman couldn’t you marry? I’ll find you the best girl in our circle. As for this Miss Sterling, with such a domineering brother, if she really married you, our first branch wouldn’t be able to handle her. Who knows how much she would have made you suffer."

Declan Norwood stared out the car window with a vacant expression, not saying a word.

His face was haggard. From the earlier struggle with the bodyguards, his skull necklace had scraped a noticeable red mark across his collarbone. His usually youthful face was now lifeless.

The more Justin Norwood looked at him, the angrier he got. "Enough with all this lovesick nonsense. Focus on the corporation. The youngest is in power now. He has little regard for family and a ruthless personality. If you don’t start showing some ambition, in another ten or twenty years, who knows how far our first branch will have fallen."

"So, you were afraid of my uncle, and that’s why you gave my Cece away as a favor?" Declan Norwood asked, his voice cold and hollow.

"You bastard! Kian Sterling came to our door demanding to call off the engagement. Projects worth tens of billions were on the line. If they were pulled because of this, forget everything else, the snobs in The Norwood Family would have eaten you alive! I refused to break the engagement, but they didn’t want you anymore. If the youngest hadn’t stepped up, there would have been no way to clean up this mess."

Mrs. Norwood’s voice softened. "Alright, don’t be so hard on our son. It’s not like he actually cheated. It was just a small scandal. The Sterling Family just can’t tolerate the slightest imperfection. In this matter, our Declan is practically innocent."

"Innocent? He was messing around with Kian Sterling’s woman!" Justin Norwood laughed in exasperation. "If you had messed around with any other woman, I could have handled it for you. But you? You’re engaged to the man’s sister while playing around with his mistress. Forget the Sterling Family, any prominent family in our circle would choose to break an engagement after a scandal like this."

Declan Norwood’s face turned pale. He lowered his eyes and said no more.

The ride back for the second branch was hardly peaceful either.

Second Madam Norwood was being passive-aggressive, her tone dripping with envy. "Being in power really makes a difference. An astronomical bride price, just like that. When our Ian Norwood gets married in a couple of years, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to afford a tenth of that..."

Jude Norwood, the second master, looked grim. "The money is a small matter. With this marriage swap, we’ll be suppressed by the youngest for the rest of our lives."

"What does the marriage swap have to do with our second branch? It’s the first branch that’s been disgraced."

"What do you know? Before, Declan was the one marrying into the Sterling Family. We could have allied with the first branch, and with the Sterlings’ help, we might have been able to squeeze some shares out of the youngest. But now, Kian Sterling and the youngest are in the same boat. Hmph..."

Second Madam Norwood felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her, and she instantly fell silent.

Silas Norwood was the last to leave.

The cars from the first and second branches were long gone. Only then did he take the initiative to pour Kian Sterling another cup of tea, his tone exceedingly polite:

"Brother-in-law, I’ll be going now."

After speaking, he looked at Celia Sterling. He extended a well-defined hand, his fingertips tracing the rim of the cup in her hand, sliding down until they finally brushed against her fingers.

The touch was brief.

"Just getting a feel for the size," he explained softly, his voice gentle and restrained. "It’s time to prepare the wedding rings."

Celia Sterling’s heart skipped a beat.

She let out a slightly uncomfortable "Oh."

"Cece, goodbye." Only then did he bid her a formal farewell and turn to leave.

Kian Sterling leaned lazily against the doorway. He casually loosened his dazzling diamond collar pin, a hint of mockery in his eyes as he watched Silas Norwood’s cool, distant figure retreat.

"I overlooked something," Kian Sterling said, his voice chilling despite the faint smile on his face. "Cece, I’m suddenly starting to regret giving you to Silas Norwood."

Celia Sterling hummed in confusion. "Why?"

Kian Sterling lifted the hand that Silas Norwood had just touched, his tone dark.

"Declan Norwood wouldn’t dare hold my Cece’s hand in front of me."

He paused. "Declan is afraid of me. Silas... is not. Cece, he’s not like the simple-minded Declan. Don’t fall too hard. Always leave something for yourself."

Celia Sterling was a little annoyed. "Brother, we barely know each other. Where is all this talk of love coming from..."

Kian Sterling just chuckled sardonically and didn’t reply.

The understated Guster merged unhurriedly into traffic.

The driver raised the partition.

In the back seat, Silas Norwood handed a large stack of documents to his assistant, Theo Chambers.

"You will personally follow up with the legal team to handle the relevant gift and transfer matters."

Theo Chambers took the heavy pile of documents. "Yes, Boss."

Silas Norwood said no more. He picked up his personal phone and, with his gaze lowered, casually opened a hidden photo album.

Theo Chambers kept his eyes straight ahead.

But he had followed Silas Norwood for many years and had long known that his boss’s hidden album contained nearly a thousand photos of women, which he would look through whenever he had free time.

He was always too far away to see the women’s faces clearly. He could only surmise from their vibrant or conservative clothing styles and their slender or graceful figures that the nearly one thousand photos were not of the same woman.

In the past, whenever Silas Norwood looked at this album, the atmosphere around him would grow heavy.

Today, however, the atmosphere in the car was exceptionally peaceful.

Theo Chambers couldn’t resist sneaking a peek out of the corner of his eye. It was still the same album, full of pictures of various women, their faces unclear. Silas Norwood’s fingers, cool like jade, slowly swiped through them one by one. There was none of the usual chilling sense of suffocation. On the contrary, his expression and movements were leisurely, and his half-lidded, amber eyes held a faint glint that others couldn’t decipher.

Theo Chambers’s mind drifted for a moment.

He was holding a thick stack of documents. His boss’s signature was powerful and firm. Next to it was Miss Sterling’s fresh and graceful script.

’So, does this mean the boss has found someone new and is letting go of the ’old flames’ on his phone?’

When the car arrived at Silas Norwood’s villa, he finally exited the photo album and gave a cool command to his daydreaming assistant:

"Starting this week, cut back on all non-essential appointments. Make sure I have time for at least two dates a week with my fiancée."

He paused. "And cancel all social engagements after 9 PM."

After 9 PM...

Late at night, a man and a woman alone... the undertones were undeniably ambiguous.

Theo Chambers couldn’t be sure if his boss had actually taken the promise of a ’simple romance’ he’d made to Kian Sterling to heart.

"...Yes, Boss."