My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 3: The Flower on the High Peak, Silas Norwood

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Flower on the High Peak, Silas Norwood

The meeting between the Sterling and Norwood families was scheduled for the weekend.

Declan Norwood was notoriously clingy. His father, Justin Norwood, knew his only son’s personality all too well and had deliberately kept him in the dark, sending him abroad to negotiate a project.

The meeting was to take place at the old Norwood family estate. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The Sterlings had not yet arrived.

Justin Norwood sat on the sofa, his brow tightly furrowed. He had already smoked three cigarettes.

Mrs. Norwood’s expression wasn’t much better as she instructed the servants to prepare tea and snacks.

From the spiral staircase, a tall, elegant silhouette was cast down. The face was indistinct, but the bone structure was exquisitely refined.

Justin Norwood and Mrs. Norwood looked up in unison, greeting him reflexively:

"Silas."

A faint, "Mm," was the reply.

Silas Norwood descended the stairs with long strides. As he drew closer, his refined features were revealed—his rare, amber eyes were deep and inscrutable, his thin lips cool and detached. His minimalist, black, haute couture shirt was buttoned to the top. Aside from a shimmering black thumb ring, he wore no other adornments.

His aura was as cold and crisp as snow falling between pines—noble, ascetic, and utterly unattainable. Yet, steeped in his family’s legacy and power, even his quiet, refined elegance radiated the intimidating pressure unique to a man in charge.

Justin Norwood was terrified of his younger brother.

Especially now, with his own precious son having apparently caused a catastrophe, seeing this family patriarch—a rare sight even once every few weeks—made Justin even more unnerved:

"Silas, you’re not busy today, are you? Your big brother needs a favor..."

Silas gave him a cool glance. "I’m extremely busy."

Justin was momentarily embarrassed, but no one besides Silas could resolve the ridiculous mess Declan had made.

"Don’t go to the office today. Stay home and help me meet with someone."

Silas didn’t stop walking, nor did he turn his head. "If my older brother needs me to handle even basic personal relations, perhaps it’s time to find a new general manager."

"It’s Kian Sterling. No one in the Capital Circle can handle him but you," Mrs. Norwood interjected hurriedly. "The Sterling Conglomerate is at its zenith, and Kian himself is an incredibly aggressive and domineering man. Your brother is afraid he can’t manage him alone."

Justin also chimed in eagerly:

"Silas, you and Kian Sterling have had your share of dealings in the circle. Just help your brother out today. If things get heated between me and him, you can mediate. The great families of Metropia are all connected; a public falling-out would be unseemly."

Silas’s eyes were like abysses as he looked coolly at his older brother. "Kian Sterling isn’t an unreasonable man. For him to storm over here personally, what did you do?"

"It’s your nephew, Declan," Justin said, knowing he couldn’t hide it any longer. Steeling himself, he continued, "He did something foolish, and now the Sterling family is here to break off the engagement."

Silas stopped dead in his tracks. "Break off the engagement?"

In the main seat of the living room.

Silas sat in the armchair, occupying the host’s seat. His narrow amber eyes betrayed no emotion as his thumb, adorned with the black ring, nonchalantly toyed with a copy of the engagement termination agreement. The pressure in the room was crushing.

"You’ve always been incredibly busy and rarely pay attention to the younger generation’s gossip. Besides, that trending topic vanished as quickly as it appeared. This matter shouldn’t have been brought to you at all."

Despite saying he shouldn’t be bothered, Justin proceeded to explain everything Declan had done:

"That boy, Dec, he really does like the Sterling girl. But you know how men are, full of vigor. Kian Sterling demanded he remain chaste for three years right from the start—how could he bear it? He took a trip to Port Sovereign, his good-for-nothing friends egged him on, and that Miss Sutton happens to look so much like the Sterling girl... he got drunk and lost his head. But he swears it didn’t go all the way."

"She’s Kian Sterling’s woman. What exactly was he planning to do?" Silas’s voice was cold, laced with a sharp edge. "Marry the man’s sister while playing around with his mistress. Declan’s got some nerve."

Justin rubbed his hands together awkwardly.

"Kian Sterling had someone deliver the termination agreement yesterday and scheduled a meeting for ten this morning to discuss it."

Kian Sterling’s sister had a prestigious background and was exceptionally beautiful. Countless young masters in the Capital Circle were fighting tooth and nail for her hand. His own rebellious son had managed to seize the opportunity through sheer persistence, and Justin had hoped to use the marriage alliance as a tailwind to propel his branch of the Norwood family to the top. After the engagement was settled, he had actively pushed for over a dozen major joint projects, tightly binding the interests of the two top-tier families.

When it came to breaking the engagement, Justin was no longer in control.

Shamelessly passing the buck to Silas, he didn’t dare to look at his brother’s expression.

The atmosphere remained heavy for a long while.

Silas’s expression was frigid, his cool voice slowly posing a question:

"The eighteen major projects between the Sterling and Norwood families, founded on this marriage alliance, are mostly in their middle stages. If they are halted now, do you have any idea of the losses the Norwood family will suffer?"

Justin’s scalp tingled with dread. He stammered, "I know."

He didn’t just know. He had been the one to sign most of the contracts for those dozen-plus major projects with Kian Sterling. The initial capital investment alone was already an astronomical sum. If the engagement was broken and investments were withdrawn, the resulting losses would absolutely have the Norwood family’s shareholders showing up at his door with knives.

Silas glanced at his watch. His amber eyes were hidden in the dim backlighting as he sent a message to his assistant, then said no more.

The more silent he was, the more pressure Justin felt, and a thin layer of sweat gradually formed on his back.

Ten o’clock sharp.

A custom Lizard off-roader, flanked by several bodyguard vehicles, executed a clean drift and came to a steady halt in the villa’s parking area.

The next moment, a dozen or so bodyguards with grim expressions fanned out on either side of the Lizard. The doors opened, and Kian Sterling emerged from the passenger seat, his gaze falling on the driver’s side.

He was devastatingly handsome, his wine-red bespoke suit making his aura feel even more commanding. His sharp eyes softened when he looked at Celia Sterling.

Celia Sterling didn’t get out of the car right away. Leaning over the steering wheel, she gave him a sweet, soft smile. "Brother, how was my drifting just now?"

Kian Sterling nodded slightly. "Mm. You’ve learned about thirty percent of my skills."

Celia Sterling’s pretty, almond-shaped eyes crinkled with a smile. She hopped out of the car. Kian Sterling was very tall, and she only came up to his chin, so she had to tilt her head up to give him a mock glare.

"Only thirty percent? We should race sometime."

"Just don’t come crying and making a fuss when you lose." Kian Sterling’s lips curved into a low laugh as he extended his hand to her, his tone turning cool again. "Let’s go. Time to meet the Norwoods."

Celia habitually hugged Kian’s arm with both hands as they walked together toward the villa’s reception room.

Inside the reception room, Silas Norwood had seen the entire scene unfold with perfect clarity.

His expression remained impassive, his gaze resting quietly on the tall, handsome man and the sweet, radiant girl by his side.

As fellow patriarchs of the Capital Circle’s great families, he and Kian Sterling had dealt with each other frequently over the years; one could even say they had a private relationship. This head of the Sterling Conglomerate had a classic "deposed crown prince seizing the throne" backstory. Even though Silas wasn’t one for gossip, bits and pieces of the story had reached his ears back then.

Fifteen years ago, Kian Sterling’s father was exposed for keeping a mistress. His mother abandoned Kian and his sister, divorced, and remarried. Kian was, for a time, cast aside as a worthless son while the illegitimate children were brought into the family to carve up the company shares, causing a massive scandal.

Kian Sterling plotted in secret for years, seizing power in a bloody struggle six years ago. He ruthlessly forced his father and two illegitimate half-brothers abroad, took control of the Sterling family, and in just a few short years, shattered the chasm-like barrier between ordinary and super-elite families, elevating the Sterlings into the latter’s circle.

This powerful patriarch of the Sterling family was incomparably handsome and had countless admirers, yet none were ever publicly acknowledged. It was only recently that news had suddenly broken of him having long ago built a love nest in Port Sovereign with the sensational star, Summer Sutton. The topic trended for days.

And today, at this meeting between two families, that very Superstar Sutton was the catalyst.

Silas’s attention shifted back to Celia Sterling.

His amber pupils darkened slightly.