After the trip to Washington, Alice York understood that sooner or later, she would beco a sacrificial pawn in the Sterlings’ strategic marriage alliances.
She couldn’t control her own marriage, and others had even less right to interfere.
lody Lancaster was so eager to introduce her to potential partners, even arranging a spot for her on a matchmaking show. If Old Master Sterling heard about this, Alice would be in trouble, and lody certainly wouldn’t get away unscathed!
’If she wants to play with fire, then I’ll play along.’
As evening approached, Alice called Nathan Sterling. The first thing he said when he picked up was, "Don’t co back to watch over . I don’t want to see you."
Alice cleared her throat. "I’m on duty tonight. I’m calling specifically to let you know, so you can’t say I don’t keep my word."
The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds.
After a long mont, Alice heard Nathan’s sullen voice. "You didn’t have to call just for that. It’s not like I was waiting for you to co back."
Alice suppressed her temper. "Can’t you just talk to nicely? Like you did this morning."
He had even called her ’sister’.
But Nathan said, "I don’t want to talk to you nicely."
Alice was speechless for a long ti before finally sighing. "Get so sleep. Don’t go running off to the ancestral hall by yourself. And don’t worry, your mother will be fine. If you feel anxious, you can call anyti."
As she said this, Alice sped up, afraid Nathan would impatiently hang up before she finished.
Thankfully, he didn’t hang up. But it was completely quiet on his end, and she thought the kid had just tossed his phone aside.
"I’m hanging up now."
Even though she was sure no one was listening, she still said it before she hung up.
Just as she was about to lower her phone, she heard Nathan’s voice. "I’m so, so awful to you. Why do you still care about ? Can’t you just hate like I hate you?"
Alice replied, "Don’t be so full of yourself. Who said I don’t hate you?"
"..."
After hanging up, Alice laughed out loud.
Seth Sawyer walked in just in ti to see her. "Win the lottery?"
Alice composed herself, her expression turning serious. "Yeah, I did."
Seth walked over gleefully. "Gotta share the winnings."
Alice patted the spot next to her. "I won the jackpot: night duty. Since you want a share, Dr. Sawyer, how about you take three hours off my hands?"
Seth practically bolted, turning on his heel. "Gotta go pick up my nephew from school. See you tomorrow, Dr. York."
Alice huffed.
A thought occurred to her. She picked up her phone and composed a WeChat ssage to Wyatt Sterling: [Third Uncle, I’m on duty tonight, so I won’t be back at Shorecrest.]
After sending the ssage, Alice put her phone down.
She hadn’t expected Wyatt to reply, let alone instantly.
She hadn’t even let go of the phone when the vibration of a notification buzzed distinctly in her palm. A reply from Wyatt popped up on the screen—
[What do you want to eat tonight?]
’I already said I’m on night duty, and he’s still asking what I want to eat. He can’t be planning to force to go back again, can he?’
She replied again: [Third Uncle, I’m on night duty tonight.]
Wyatt replied instantly again: [Tell what you want. I’ll have it sent over.]
Alice froze, still trying to figure out his intentions, when another ssage from Wyatt arrived: [Do you want fish?]
Alice started typing a quick reply.
Before she could finish, Wyatt sent a voice ssage this ti. It was four seconds long.
She hesitated for a mont before playing it. She heard Wyatt’s voice: "I’m on a business trip. I’ll be back in three days. Your ti is your own."
Wyatt managed half of Sterling Group’s assets and traveled for business often, so Alice wasn’t surprised. She just sent a question back: [Where’s your trip this ti?]
Wyatt sent a voice ssage: "Rhovan. Your hotown."
After she listened to the ssage, he sent a picture.
Alice opened it. It was a photo of the Rhovan skyline at night. The angle suggested it was a panoramic shot taken from the floor-to-ceiling window of a high-rise hotel room. It was beautiful, like a vast, starry galaxy.
A strange, subtle feeling crept into Alice’s heart. She sent a voice ssage back: "Thank you, Third Uncle."
’Thank you for taking a picture of the Rhovan skyline for .’
She missed Rhovan terribly, but she rarely had a legitimate reason to go back. Even visiting her grandparents was limited to once a year—not because she was restricted, but because every ti she went, she never wanted to leave.
BUZZ.
Her phone vibrated again. Alice looked down. It was another voice ssage from Wyatt, a longer one this ti—seventeen seconds.
She played it.
[When things aren’t so busy, I’ll take you back to Rhovan. You can start planning what you want to do. I won’t go back on my word.]
His tone wasn’t rushed. It was steady and reserved, and every word sounded pleasant to the ear.
Her fingertips tapped repeatedly on the screen, but in the end, she deleted everything and replied with just one word:
[Okay.]
She put her phone away and tilted her head back, lost in thought for a few seconds. Suddenly, she realized that Wyatt hadn’t taken lody Lancaster with him on this business trip.
-
The day before Wyatt was due back in Silvanus, Alice got in touch with the director friend lody had ntioned.
They connected over WeChat. He’d already seen her photo, probably from lody, and imdiately sent three consecutive voice ssages complinting her looks.
Alice gave a perfunctory reply and looked up to see Zoe Jenson’s car parked nearby.
The rear door opened, and Zoe waved to her. "Alice, get in."
Alice got in. "How co you’re not driving? Where’s your driver?"
"My ’driver’ went to buy sothing for ." Zoe linked her arm affectionately through Alice’s. "You looked so down when you were walking over just now. What’s wrong?"
Zoe knew all of Alice’s secrets by now, so she didn’t hide this from her either. "That match lody Lancaster tried to set up with before didn’t work out. Now she’s getting impatient and trying to force onto a matchmaking show."
Zoe was incredulous. "That’s insane. Doesn’t she know you’re one of the Sterlings?"
Alice said, "She’s growing more and more wary of . She’s afraid I’ll steal her man."
"What ’her man’? He’s not her man if they don’t have any official status!"
Zoe had spoken rashly, targeting only lody and forgetting that Alice also had an unofficial status with Wyatt.
Realizing her slip, Zoe stole a glance at Alice’s expression. "Alice, I was talking about her. You’re different."
Alice hadn’t taken Zoe’s words to heart at all and couldn’t help but smile. "How am I different?"
"When you see Third Master Sterling and lody Lancaster in the sa fra, it looks completely staged. But when he’s with you, you look like a treasure he cherishes in the palm of his hand."
Zoe spoke with such conviction, as if it were an established fact.
Alice tilted her head to look at Zoe. "You’ve changed, Zoe. You never used to have such a high opinion of Wyatt Sterling. When did you switch sides?"
Zoe giggled. "Ever since I learned the truth that night."
Alice stated plainly, "My relationship with him is unofficial too."
"I think that’s just temporary. You’ll definitely get an official status," Zoe said with an air of great foresight.
Alice’s expression turned to one of disbelief. "Zoe, are you serious?"
’That’s Wyatt Sterling, the next head of the Sterling family, and he’s my uncle...’ Alice couldn’t help but be baffled. In just a few short days, Zoe had switched sides so completely!
"Anyway, my gut tells Third Master Sterling likes you!"
Zoe’s tone was absolutely certain.
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