Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Breaking Off the Engagement
No one expected Wyatt Sterling to return to the Sawyer family home at this exact moment.
Rhea assumed Nathan was just trying to scare her, and she wasn’t about to fall for it. She took the chance to complain to her grandfather, "Grandpa, look at Nathan. Isn’t he just asking for a punch?"
Wyatt Sterling walked in. "What did Nathan do to annoy you?"
Caught completely off guard by the sound of Wyatt’s voice, Rhea stiffened. The color instantly drained from her face, leaving it deathly pale.
’How could it be such a coincidence that Third Uncle came back right now? Wasn’t this supposed to be Nathan just using his name to scare me...?’
Rhea swallowed hard and slowly turned her head. When she saw Wyatt, she nearly fainted on the spot.
"Wyatt is back." Simon Sterling chuckled. "Why didn’t you let us know you were coming? We would have held dinner for you."
"I had too much to do and wasn’t sure when I’d be finished." Wyatt’s gaze swept across the room, landing on Alice York, who was sitting in the most inconspicuous spot.
Rosalind Sawyer stood up and instructed a servant to prepare a bowl and chopsticks, then pointed to the seat beside her. "You should have at least called on your way home so you wouldn’t have to eat leftovers. Come, sit here."
Wyatt took his seat, which was directly across from Alice. She kept her head down, focused on her food, and acted as if she hadn’t seen him arrive at all.
Nathan, who had slipped back to his seat, sat down next to Alice. He didn’t touch his food, but first called out, "Third Uncle."
Wyatt looked over and grunted in acknowledgment.
Clearly unable to sit still any longer, Rhea gently put down her chopsticks and stood up. "I’m full. I’ll head out first."
"Are you feeling guilty, Big Sister?" Nathan deliberately raised his voice as if to make sure everyone could hear him.
Rhea shot him a look. "Can’t even food shut your mouth?"
Nathan retorted, "I’m not eating."
"..."
Simon Sterling glanced in their direction, getting the gist of the situation. He tapped the table lightly twice. "Nathan, is that any way to speak to your big sister? Show some respect."
Nathan, with his perpetually spoiled nature, retorted, "But wasn’t she the one who falsely accused my sister just now?"
A servant brought a new set of bowl and chopsticks and placed them in front of Wyatt.
Rosalind Sawyer picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of fish onto his plate. It was a local Arden Taipa fish, grass-fed, with large, easy-to-remove bones. The flesh was meaty but not fatty, and it absorbed flavor well no matter how it was prepared.
Wyatt didn’t touch his chopsticks. Catching sight of Rhea about to slip away, his thin lips parted. "Stay."
Rhea froze, standing nervously in place.
Seeing this, Simon Sterling’s expression darkened, and he withdrew the fingers he had resting on the table. Rosalind Sawyer, acting as if nothing was amiss, added a piece of bamboo fungus to the plate in front of Wyatt. Old Mrs. Sawyer had long since lost her appetite; her chopsticks remained untouched as she sat there silently, watching.
Only Alice continued to eat with gusto, as if no crisis, no matter how great, could possibly interfere with her meal.
"Alice, stop eating." Nathan changed his tune again, this time calling Alice by her full name. "Third Uncle is back. Your name is about to be cleared!"
Alice was speechless. ’Clear my name? This kid sure has a way with words...’
Even Rosalind Sawyer couldn’t help but chuckle. "Nathan, it seems all that on-and-off reading of yours hasn’t been a complete waste."
Nathan shook his head smugly. "You know it."
Wyatt’s expression was impassive, his tone just as mild. "It sounds quite serious if we’re talking about clearing someone’s name. Go on, tell me what happened while I was away."
Nathan shot up to his feet, taking the lead. He pointed at Rhea and declared firmly, "The other day, my sister and I ran into Big Sister at the tea pavilion. The moment she saw us, she started hugging my sister and crying. My sister kept trying to comfort her, but Big Sister was just spouting a lot of nonsense."
With every word Nathan spoke, Rhea’s face grew another shade paler.
She wanted to stop Nathan from saying more, but one look at Wyatt’s face and the words caught in her throat like a fishbone.
Seeing Rhea’s expression, Nathan felt a surge of satisfaction. ’Serves you right for bullying Alice!’
He continued, "Third Uncle happened to show up and overheard the nonsense Big Sister was saying, so he gave her a few words of warning. But just now, Big Sister claimed it was my sister who said those things, which got my sister a scolding from Grandpa."
Suddenly implicated, Simon Sterling looked rather awkward. He cleared his throat twice. "So, is that what happened?"
Wyatt glanced over. "Let me think. Yes, I believe something like that did happen."
Simon immediately asked, "Wyatt, did you really say those things?"
"Yes," Wyatt said flatly.
Simon’s tone changed, and he chuckled. "Well then, it seems I’ve wronged Alice. But Rhea didn’t say it on purpose. She was just scared of you, her Third Uncle, so she blurted out Alice’s name. Besides, she and Alice are on good terms. It’s all just a misunderstanding."
Hearing her grandfather defending her, Rhea breathed a small sigh of relief and chimed in, "I was just joking with Alice. I didn’t mean it."
Nathan shouted, "You were not joking! You were bullying my sister! You’re happy now that she got yelled at."
"Nathan Sterling!" an angry Simon Sterling snapped.
Nathan pouted. "Grandpa, you’re playing favorites! You only care about Big Sister. Am I not your favorite little grandson anymore?"
"..."
Both were his grandchildren, after all. Simon was starting to lose face.
Wyatt’s gaze shifted to Alice. She had just taken a bite of meat, and her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, reminding him of a little hamster. As he watched her, the corners of his lips curled up into an unconscious smile.
Alice sensed his gaze, looked up for a second, and then quickly looked away.
’With so many people around, the way he’s staring at me is far too obvious. I hope no one noticed...’
"I don’t care if you were joking or not. What I want to make clear right now is that I stand by what I said that day." Pulling his gaze away from Alice, Wyatt turned his head to look at Simon Sterling. "That Kenneth Shaw promised Rhea he would come to Arden with her, but he took off less than half a day after landing. Never mind who he left for—with an attitude like that, what kind of future can Rhea possibly have with him?"
Rhea’s knuckles, clenched tightly together, were turning white. To her, every word from Wyatt was like a handful of glass shards being scattered across her heart.
Simon’s expression was grave. "He probably had something important he had to go back for. What’s the big deal? Isn’t it normal for a man to be busy with his career? It’ll be fine once they’re married."
Wyatt laughed. "If he acts like this before they’re even married, how much better do you expect him to be after?"
Having more or less finished eating, Alice put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and listened quietly.
"So, Wyatt, does this mean you also disapprove of Rhea and Kenneth continuing their relationship?" Simon asked in a low voice.
Wyatt replied, "More or less."
Hearing this, Rhea quickly shook her head. "No, I don’t want to break off the engagement with Kenneth Shaw. Grandpa’s right, things will be fine once we’re married."
To love someone to the point of losing yourself, to the point of making every concession—it left one with no desire to even try to reason with her.
Wyatt looked at her. "And what if Kenneth Shaw is the one who wants to break it off?"
"What?" Simon slammed his hand on the table. "That Kenneth Shaw wants to call off the engagement with Rhea?"
"It’s only a matter of time," Wyatt said.
"No, he won’t! Kenneth Shaw will marry me!" Rhea was clearly panicking. She shook her head repeatedly, unwilling to believe that Kenneth would break off their engagement.
