Chapter 274: What If I Told You to Let Her Go?

The two met at their usual spot.

Tristan Sterling found Rachel Royce and told her, "I have to step out for something. You stay here and take good care of Melissa. I’ll be back as soon as I can." William Jensen sat to the side, listening to Tristan’s words. He sounded every bit the gentle, considerate husband, but William couldn’t tell if that gentleness was genuine.

Rachel Royce’s attitude was cold. "You don’t have to report to me." Tristan Sterling just curled his lips into a smile. After saying a quick word to the elders, he left the Sterling Family’s estate.

「Half an hour later.」

Inside a high-end club.

At a table by the window.

Alexander Sullivan sat there, gazing at the snowy scenery outside.

Tristan Sterling went upstairs and saw him sitting there, an obviously oppressive aura hanging around him.

He strode forward and sat down across from him. Looking at his tense profile, he said, "Not keeping your father company?" Alexander Sullivan picked up his glass and took a drink, then slammed it back down on the table with a CLATTER. He let out a long breath and turned to face the man opposite him, a chilling coldness in the depths of his dark eyes.

Tristan Sterling watched him with unnerving calm.

He suddenly let out a self-deprecating, cold laugh. His voice was frigid as he said, "I suppose I have no right to lecture you." ’My own sister despises me just as much.’ Countless images of Rachel Royce’s pained, resentful, and loathing gazes flashed through his mind, plunging into his heart like sharp thorns.

’She was right in front of me this whole time. So that’s what that feeling of familiarity was.’

Tristan Sterling said, "You still have the right." Alexander Sullivan stared at him. "All these years, and I never knew her name was Rachel Royce." Five years ago, Rachel Royce had been worthless in Tristan Sterling’s eyes, so he would never have mentioned her to anyone else. Naturally, Alexander wouldn’t have paid her any mind. Now, thinking back to hearing Ian Quinn call her Rachel, to seeing her dropped ID card... the person he’d been searching for had been right in front of him all along.

And yet, he had hurt her, indirectly, time and time again.

Suddenly, all his years of searching felt like a pathetic joke.

"So you knew all along." Tristan Sterling remained silent.

"When you found out her identity, what were you thinking?" Alexander’s voice turned exceptionally grave.

Tristan Sterling said, "It was quite a shock, I admit. Of course, I also figured you’d come to settle the score with me one day." "And how did you imagine I’d settle the score?" Tristan Sterling replied, "Maybe you’d beat me up. Or find some other way to get revenge on her behalf." Alexander laughed again, a low chuckle. "Truly, Tristan Sterling, you’re one of a kind." He knew the man before him all too well. Nothing could make him lose control. Even if he had to pay a price, he would accept it without batting an eye.

For him, there was no such thing as regret or pain.

Tristan Sterling picked up the bottle of red wine, refilled Alexander’s glass, and poured one for himself. "What’s done cannot be undone. So let’s just change the present." "So, do you love her now?" Tristan Sterling set down the bottle, a slight curl on his thin lips. "Whether I love her or not isn’t that important. What’s important is that we need to be there for our child as she grows up. She loves Melissa, and I love Melissa. That’s enough." Alexander Sullivan stared at him, his gaze fixed.

A moment of silence.

The quiet was so profound they could almost hear the winter wind howling outside.

After a long moment.

Alexander Sullivan said, "What if I told you to let her go now?" Tristan Sterling replied, "She won’t leave right now." Alexander frowned. "Why not?" "She has things she wants to do," Tristan Sterling said. Alexander’s expression turned a few shades colder. "And you know what she wants to do?" "Whatever it is," Tristan Sterling said, "I’ll accept it."

Alexander Sullivan’s voice was extremely serious. "Tristan Sterling, I don’t want to see her become your plaything." "She’s the sister you’ve been searching for day and night, and she’s Melissa’s mother. Of course she isn’t my plaything." He paused, then continued, "Even though so many unpleasant things have happened, she loves Melissa now, and Melissa can’t be without her. Divorce isn’t the best option for her. It would only plunge her into a new round of suffering. Regardless of the future, her life is at least relatively stable right now." Alexander Sullivan said, "You really know how to manipulate people. But if one day she is determined to divorce you, I don’t want to see you forcing her hand again." With that,

he rose and strode away.

Tristan Sterling remained seated, holding his wine glass and quietly watching the snow fall outside.

After finishing his glass,

he suddenly took out his phone, snapped a picture of the view, and sent it to Rachel Royce with a message: The snow is beautiful today. We can bring Melissa here to see it next time.

Rachel Royce received the photo from Tristan Sterling but didn’t reply.

Tristan Sterling got up, left, and returned to the old family home.

That evening, Alexander Sullivan didn’t return to the Royce Family home for dinner.

Johnson Royce gave him a call.

Alexander was alone in the vast, empty villa. "I’m meeting a friend tonight. I’ll have dinner with you another day, Dad." Johnson Royce didn’t insist, only reminding him to drink less and take care of himself.

Alexander struggled to control his emotions. "I know, Dad. You don’t have to worry about me." He hung up.

Alexander leaned back on the sofa, the surrounding silence swallowing him like an endless abyss. It felt like a giant hole had been torn in his chest, and the pain was so immense that he felt on the verge of a complete breakdown.

Peter Preston is Rachel’s brother.

What he had done to Prodigy... Rachel’s hatred and disgust for him. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

’So what’s the difference between me and Tristan Sterling?’

’How can I possibly face the Royce Family and continue to stay here?’

He drank, bottle after bottle.

’So I deserve to be alone for the rest of my life.’

Just then,

his phone buzzed. He glanced at it—a call from Claire Ainsworth. He tossed the phone aside without answering.

He didn’t pick up, but it rang again.

Finally, Claire Ainsworth sent him a text.

Alexander didn’t look at it.

He just kept drinking, alone.

The entire living room was filled with the overwhelming stench of alcohol.

「After that evening’s dinner party ended.」

Tristan Sterling returned to Silvermist Bay with Rachel Royce and Melissa.

Just as they got out of the car,

Tristan Sterling’s phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and then rejected the call.

Rachel Royce walked ahead, holding Melissa’s hand. Melissa was skipping happily, like a little rabbit, and Rachel paid no mind to whose call Tristan had just rejected.

"Daddy, hurry up!" Melissa called. Tristan Sterling put his phone away, walked over to Rachel, and said, "I have to go out again. Take care of Melissa tonight."