Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Let Third Uncle Back Her Up
"I don’t like that form of address." Rosalind Sawyer adjusted her posture, leaning back against the meditation chair and looking at her lazily.
Alice fell silent.
Rosalind Sawyer suddenly let out a laugh, her fingertips tracing the contours of her face. "I’ve spent so much time and energy on my skincare regimen these past few years. What do you think of the results?"
’Does she want me to praise her?’ That was Alice’s first reaction.
Women understand other women. When you put a lot of effort into your appearance, you want to be complimented. When you put a lot of effort into anything, you want to be complimented. Only with praise does the effort feel worthwhile; it’s a kind of spoken reassurance that’s needed.
"I don’t think it’s just that you take good care of your skin. You have naturally great features to begin with, which is why you look so young. If you stood next to my mother, you’d look like sisters. She’d be the older one, and you’d be the younger."
Alice had her own way with compliments, and her words made Rosalind Sawyer giggle.
"Your mother is the older sister, and I’m the younger? Alice, you really have a silver tongue." Rosalind Sawyer didn’t dare to laugh for too long, afraid her laugh lines would show.
’Of course,’ Alice thought. ’I said that specifically to make you happy.’
"I agree, I don’t think I’m that old. About the same age as your mother, in fact. The perfect age to be your mother-in-law."
After speaking, Rosalind Sawyer rested her chin on her hand, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched Alice.
A chill went down Alice’s spine. She met Rosalind Sawyer’s gaze and didn’t speak for a long moment.
Rosalind Sawyer asked, "Did I scare you?"
Alice replied, "You’re taking the joke too far."
"Am I?" Rosalind Sawyer’s smile was full of meaning. "And here I thought you could take a joke."
Alice understood. Rosalind Sawyer was testing her. The seeds of suspicion from last time had likely not been fully uprooted. She was still suspicious about something, but she had no concrete evidence.
"Alright, go on and get back to what you were doing." Rosalind Sawyer yawned and stood up to leave.
As Alice left the side hall, her mind kept replaying Rosalind’s test. Rosalind would surely never accept her being with Wyatt Sterling. Rosalind had always looked down on her.
At dinner that evening, Old Mrs. Sawyer was at the table. Old Master Sawyer was still bedridden and took his meals in his bedroom, attended by a servant.
Zachary Sawyer, Rosalind Sawyer’s brother, was away on a business trip with his wife. Their two daughters were also studying abroad, so the dinner table was mostly occupied by the Sterlings.
And once again, Wyatt Sterling had not returned to the Sawyer residence.
Old Master Sterling was in high spirits today and was more talkative than usual at the table. However, everyone else seemed to have something on their minds, and some even wore their worries plainly on their faces.
That person was Rhea Sterling. She barely touched her food, her gaze constantly flickering toward Alice with a complicated expression. This continued until Simon Sterling noticed, cleared his throat, and asked, "Rhea, why do you keep looking at Alice?"
Alice continued to eat, her expression serene, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
Rhea nibbled on the tip of her chopsticks. "I was just thinking about what Alice said to me."
Simon Sterling asked casually, "What did she say?"
Alice lifted her eyelids slightly to glance at Rhea, who ignored her and answered on her own. "Alice told me that if things aren’t going well with Kenneth, I should make plans sooner rather than later. The end of the year is still a ways off, so a clean break now would be for the best."
As she finished speaking, all eyes at the table turned to Alice, then darted back and forth between her and Rhea.
Alice appeared to be calmly eating, but her grip on her chopsticks had tightened.
’Rhea must be really miserable to be this desperate to make my life difficult.’
"What is that supposed to mean?" Simon Sterling’s expression darkened.
Rhea poked at the fish in her bowl with her chopsticks, mushing it more and more. "Kenneth Shaw and I had a bit of a fight, and I was resentful. Alice was comforting me that day and said if I don’t love him anymore, I should break up with him sooner. I’m considering whether I should listen to her and..."
SMACK.
In a fit of anger, Simon Sterling slammed his chopsticks on the table. "Nonsense!" he boomed.
"My mother is still here. Why are you slamming the table?" Rosalind Sawyer reminded him.
Old Mrs. Sawyer said nothing, but it was clear from her expression that she was not pleased.
This was the Sawyer residence, after all. Simon Sterling reined in his temper, picked up the chopsticks he had slammed down, and lowered his voice when he spoke again. "Isn’t this nonsense? You and Kenneth are getting married at the end of the year. After so many years together, how can you just talk about breaking up? And you, Alice, honestly. Have you no sense of propriety? Who advises someone to break up rather than make up? Don’t you know Rhea and Kenneth are already engaged?"
Alice swallowed the food she was chewing and was about to respond when Nathan Sterling, sitting beside her, piped up loudly, "My sister didn’t say that! Big Sister is wrongly accusing her!"
All eyes turned to Nathan Sterling.
This was the first time anyone had heard Nathan Sterling publicly call Alice his sister.
Rhea shot Nathan a glance. She’d forgotten Nathan had been there that day. When she pinned the blame on Alice, it had never occurred to her that Nathan would defend her. ’Didn’t he hate Alice...?’
"Nathan, what could you possibly know?" Simon Sterling said with a stern face.
"I just know, because I was there that day." Nathan put down his chopsticks, his little face mimicking Simon Sterling’s stern expression. "What Big Sister just said... my sister never said that at all."
Simon Sterling asked, "Are you saying Rhea made it up?"
"Not exactly," Nathan said seriously. "Third Uncle said it."
As he spoke, the expressions of everyone at the table shifted. Rosalind Sawyer raised a slender eyebrow, Simon Sterling frowned, and a visible panic spread across Rhea’s face.
"Nathan, do you know who you’re talking about?" Simon Sterling reminded him pointedly, assuming the boy was talking nonsense.
Nathan nodded. "I know. It was Third Uncle. If you don’t believe me, just ask him when he gets back."
Simon Sterling was skeptical. He turned to Rhea. "Is it as Nathan says?"
Rhea subconsciously felt that her third uncle wouldn’t get involved in this. So, she stuck to her story. "Nathan is just protecting Alice, so he’s bringing up Third Uncle on purpose. Why would Third Uncle meddle in my affairs?"
"Big Sister, you’re lying!" Nathan’s voice was even louder than before.
Rhea’s heart skipped a beat. She opened her mouth to speak, "Nathan, I know you’re defending your sister, but how did something she said become something Third Uncle said?"
Nathan was furious. He pointed at Rhea. "How can you lie? It was clearly..."
"Nathan." Alice grabbed the furious boy’s arm. "Just let it be. Let’s just say I said it."
This made Nathan even angrier. "Why are you taking the blame? You didn’t say it at all!"
With a grim face, Simon Sterling spoke up. "That’s enough. What is this, the two of you putting on a show together? Just eat your dinner."
Nathan had a temper. He threw down his chopsticks and stormed out. "I’m not eating."
Alice didn’t stop him. Her reason for taking the blame was simple. Wyatt Sterling wasn’t present, and Nathan was just a child. Of course, whatever Rhea said would be taken as fact. For Alice to argue would just be another crime in their eyes.
So, she had remained silent. She just hadn’t expected Nathan to defend her.
"Don’t you ever say such things again," Simon Sterling said, shooting Alice a cold glance.
Alice was just about to reply when Nathan’s surprised voice suddenly came from the doorway:
"Huh? Third Uncle, you’re back!"
