My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 64: A Melon Twisted from the Vine

On Declan Norwood’s end of the line, all hell broke loose after Silas Norwood’s last sentence.

Amidst Justin Norwood’s fury and Declan Norwood’s ghostly silence, Silas Norwood hung up, silenced the phone, and put it back on the charger.

Celia Sterling didn’t wake up until nine in the morning.

She looked at the bed. Aside from the spot where she had slept, the sheets were perfectly smooth. Clearly, Silas Norwood hadn’t shared the bed with her during the night. Glancing around the room, she saw a more-than-half-full bottle of red wine still sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window. The sofa was slightly disheveled, suggesting Silas must have rested there for a bit.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Celia Sterling got out of bed to wash up. Just as she finished changing her clothes, Silas Norwood walked in, carrying a steaming hot breakfast.

"You’re awake?" He placed the exquisite breakfast on the table and called to her in a warm voice, "Did you wash up? Come and eat."

"Is this from that chef you borrowed from Metropia again?"

"The breakfast on the yacht didn’t look very appetizing," Silas Norwood explained. "He’s Metropia’s head chef, borrowed for a day. Very expensive, so we have to get our money’s worth."

Celia Sterling let out a surprised laugh. "I didn’t realize you even had a concept of ’expensive,’ Silas."

"Things are different now," Silas Norwood teased. "I’m just a poor guy now, so naturally I have to pinch my pennies."

After a bit of casual banter, the slight awkwardness Celia had felt from sharing a room with him for the first time vanished completely.

She picked out a few of her favorite items and asked as she ate, "Silas, did you not sleep last night?"

"I got about two hours on the sofa."

Celia wanted to say that the bed was more than wide enough. But feeling that might sound too much like an invitation, the words that came out were, "You can really pull an all-nighter, Silas."

"This is my first time sharing a room with a girlfriend," Silas Norwood said, leisurely placing a pan-fried beef dumpling on her plate. "It’s only natural I’d be too excited to sleep."

Celia Sterling cleared her throat. "It’s your first time too, Silas...?"

"You’re the only girlfriend I’ve ever had, Cece," Silas Norwood explained earnestly. "In the early years, during the family power struggles, my eldest uncle and my second brother both fell for honey traps. I suppose you could say I learned from their experience and took extra precautions when it came to women. By the time I came into power, I’d met a dozen or so women from suitable families, but our personalities just didn’t click, so it dragged on until now."

Celia felt a little embarrassed. "Silas, you don’t have to explain so much. I respect your past, whatever it may be."

"It’s better if I explain." Silas Norwood didn’t mention the gut-punch of a phone call from the middle of the night. "I wouldn’t want Cece to think that at my age, I’ve been with so many women that I’m all worn out."

The conversation was starting to get a little risqué.

Celia Sterling silently bit into her dumpling and fell quiet.

In the early hours of the morning, the yacht had docked at Whitestone Isle. The island boasted a pleasant climate and, thanks to its unique maritime location, exceptionally abundant resources for sea fishing.

After breakfast, Silas Norwood took Celia Sterling fishing.

The two disembarked from the yacht and picked a spot in the designated fishing area, where Theo Chambers had already brought over Silas Norwood’s fishing rod.

"The tiger-head fish and grouper in these waters are something special. If we can catch one, I’ll have the chef make a soup for you tonight." Silas Norwood patted the spot beside him. "Come on, sit next to me."

Celia sat down beside him, watching with curiosity as he expertly handled the fishing rod.

"Never been fishing before, Cece?"

"No."

"I’ll teach you." Silas Norwood reached out, loosely wrapping his arms around her from behind, and patiently explained the basics to her.

Not far away, Theo Chambers and Assistant Thorne sat on beach chairs in the logistics area, watching. Their boss, usually so decisive, distant, and indifferent, was now being gentle and patient with the young lady, his tone tinged with affection. Both men watched with a sense of wonder.

"You know, I once arranged so many blind dates for the boss," Theo Chambers remarked, waxing nostalgic. "Forget a gentle tone, he couldn’t even be bothered to exchange a single pleasantry. He was supposed to meet all these heiresses, each with their own appeal, but he never even showed up. What a joke. Now I get it. The boss likes it rough."

Assistant Thorne paused for a moment. "What do you mean ’likes it rough’? Don’t be crude. A man as self-respecting as the boss shouldn’t be described with such vulgar terms."

"Get your mind out of the gutter! I was talking about the marriage swap," Theo Chambers said, lowering his voice. "If Eldest Young Master Norwood hadn’t made such a massive screw-up, forcing the boss to take his place, he’d probably still be all high-and-mighty and cold, unwilling to even bother with a woman. Chairman Sterling is a real character, forcing the boss to play the part himself. And who says forced fruit isn’t sweet? Look at him! The boss seems to be adapting to his role as a ’fiancé’ just fine."

"Who would’ve thought the boss could be ’forced’ so easily?" Assistant Thorne shook his head. "I honestly used to think the boss wasn’t even into women."

"Oh, he is," Theo Chambers said vaguely, recalling the photo album in the boss’s possession that contained pictures of several different women. ’But,’ he thought, ’since Miss Sterling appeared, I haven’t seen him look at it in a long time.’

Fishing is the ultimate test of patience.

「Three hours later」

Celia Sterling was looking at two flopping groupers and couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures to show off to Kian Sterling. "I caught these."

Kian Sterling replied instantly with a voice message: "My little Cece goes on one trip and suddenly she’s all capable, huh?"

His tone was endlessly doting.

This spurred Celia Sterling on, and she promptly posted a picture to her social media feed as well.

Assistant Thorne handed the two fish to the chef, and by the time lunch was served, a fragrant fish soup was placed in front of Celia Sterling.

"I don’t usually eat anything with a fishy smell," Celia Sterling said after taking a satisfied spoonful of the soup. "But it seems to taste better when you catch it yourself."

"I’ll take you fishing again whenever we have time," Silas Norwood said, also trying a spoonful. "Finish your soup, then go take a nap. There’s an event tonight, and I’ll take you night diving after it’s over."

The original plan had been to dive during the day. However, Silas had been drinking and had pulled an all-nighter, getting only two hours of sleep. Celia had also stayed up late during the first half of the night, listening to Kian Sterling and Silas have a long video chat. Thus, apart from the mindless recreational activity of fishing in the morning, an afternoon nap was essential preparation for the night dive.

Celia’s focus, however, was on the so-called "event." She paused for a moment. "An event? It’s not... more push-ups, is it?"

"Not push-ups." Silas Norwood had evidently looked into it. "It’s just a product showcase. Most of the members come from business families. Besides coming for a vacation, they’ve also brought along gift sets from their family brands to show one another. Deals often get signed at these cruise gatherings."

"Did you bring anything, Silas?" Celia Sterling joked. "With looks like yours that could charm anyone, you could probably land a few deals just by showing up."

"No," Silas Norwood replied with a perfectly straight face. "According to my backstory, my family just owns a small plot of land. Where would I get branded products from? But for the next gathering like this, I can bring something."

"And why can you bring something next time?"

"It’s common knowledge now." Silas Norwood gestured to the large group of members in the dining room who were glancing in their direction, and enunciated clearly, "I’m dating a very wealthy girlfriend."

Celia’s almond-shaped eyes met his gaze earnestly. "Well then, I’ll make sure to prepare for next time. I absolutely have to back up my boyfriend."