Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: The Determination to Protect His Wife

"No."

Adrian Lancaster shook his head. His tone remained respectful toward his elder, but the resolve in his eyes was steady and unquestionable, every word clear and forceful.

"I came here on my own. It has nothing to do with my wife."

He knew elders like Yvonne Donovan all too well—domineering her whole life, obsessed with saving face, and stubbornly set in her ways.

A head-on confrontation would only make her more defiant. The only way was to first appease her, then slowly reason with her. Only then would there be any room to maneuver.

So, Adrian Lancaster softened his tone and began by speaking from Yvonne Donovan’s perspective.

"Aunt Yvonne, I know you don’t like Isla Griffith, and you’re firmly against her marriage to my cousin."

Adrian Lancaster’s voice was not loud, but every sentence struck at the heart of Yvonne Donovan’s greatest concerns.

"You value matching social statuses, and you’re worried Isla Griffith’s family background isn’t good enough for the Sterling Family. You’re afraid her intentions aren’t pure, that she’ll drag my cousin down and ruin his future and career."

"All of these concerns are for my cousin’s own good, for the Sterling Family’s reputation and honor. I understand, and so does my mother."

These words truly struck the softest, most aggrieved spot in Yvonne Donovan’s heart.

Her expression softened slightly, and the tense line of her shoulders relaxed a bit, but she still didn’t respond.

She slowly raised the celadon teacup before her and took a small sip of the warm tea, using the action to conceal her momentary emotional fluctuation and maintain her dignity as an elder.

Adrian Lancaster saw this and knew the time was right. His tone grew more serious, tinged with a hint of earnestness, as he continued.

"But, Aunt Yvonne, using a check to humiliate Isla Griffith... that was truly improper of you."

"She’s currently pregnant with a child of the Sterling Family—twins, in fact. They are your own grandchildren, true flesh and blood of the Sterlings."

Adrian Lancaster looked up at Yvonne Donovan, his gaze frank and firm, without a hint of evasion.

"Even if you refuse to accept her as a daughter-in-law, even if you dislike her as a person, for the sake of the unborn children, you shouldn’t have treated their mother in such a hurtful, dignity-crushing way."

"Furthermore, Isla Griffith has been Wren’s best friend since childhood. They’re closer than sisters, just like your relationship with my mother."

At the mention of Wren Sutton, a layer of gentleness entered Adrian Lancaster’s voice, along with a protective stance that brooked no offense.

"Isla Griffith was wronged so terribly—having a check thrown in her face, being humiliated, being driven away. You can imagine how much pain that caused Wren."

Then, his voice softened, yet it carried a heavy, aching sorrow.

"These past few days, Wren hasn’t been eating or sleeping well. She’s been worried sick, and she cries whenever she thinks of Isla. Seeing her like this... it truly breaks my heart."

Adrian Lancaster leaned forward slightly, laying out his boundaries and his position with perfect clarity—not to overstep, not to pressure, not to demand.

"I didn’t come here today to force you to accept Isla Griffith, nor to interfere with my cousin’s marriage, and I would never meddle in the Sterling Family’s affairs."

"I have only one request. Just one."

His tone was solemn and serious.

"I ask that from now on, you no longer humiliate Isla Griffith with checks, attack her with harsh words, or go out of your way to cause her trouble alone."

"Allow Isla Griffith to keep some of her human dignity, and allow Wren the decency of being a friend."

"As for my cousin and her future—whether they marry or separate—that is entirely my cousin’s choice to make."

"I will not interfere, and I will advise Wren not to get too involved either."

"But before that happens, I hope you can stop these hurtful actions."

Adrian Lancaster’s speech was reasonable and persuasive, giving Yvonne Donovan the respect due to an elder while also clearly stating his own position.

But Yvonne Donovan just listened coldly, her expression unmoved from beginning to end.

There was no softening, no wavering, no guilt, and certainly no compromise.

Only after Adrian Lancaster had finished speaking did she slowly lower her teacup. The base hit the marble coffee table with a sharp, cold CLINK.

She looked up at Adrian Lancaster, her gaze still full of stubbornness and defiance.

"Adrian, you’re a smart man. How did you let Wren Sutton lead you astray?"

"I know better than anyone what kind of person Isla Griffith is. She’s just using her pregnancy to secure her position, hoping to marry into the Sterling Family in one fell swoop."

"When I offered her the check, I was giving her a graceful way out. I was being more than benevolent. If she was too foolish to take it, that’s her choice, not my problem."

"Humiliation?" Yvonne Donovan suddenly sneered, her laughter dripping with disdain and contempt.

"A scheming, social-climbing woman like her, who’s only focused on marrying into a wealthy family, doesn’t even know the meaning of dignity, let alone deserve to talk about it."

No matter how Adrian Lancaster tried to persuade her, presenting facts, appealing to reason, and considering the bigger picture, Yvonne Donovan was like a cold, unyielding stone—stubborn and completely impervious.

She was convinced that Isla Griffith was vain and materialistic, that her intentions were impure, and that she was unworthy of setting foot in the Sterling home.

She showed no intention of yielding or compromising in the slightest.

The atmosphere in the living room became so stagnant it was suffocating, tense and heavy.

Sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, bright and warm, yet it could not penetrate the cold, rigid barrier between them.

The air was dreadfully still. In that moment of absolute, dead silence...

CRASH—!

With a tremendous noise, the front door in the entryway was violently thrown open from the outside, slamming hard against the wall.

The jarring sound instantly shattered all the oppressive silence in the living room.

Immediately after, a set of rapid, furious footsteps approached from the entryway.

Leather shoes stomped heavily on the smooth, cold marble floor, each step like a hammer blow to the heart, carrying an air of ultimate frustration and suppressed rage.

Adrian Lancaster guessed who it was. He turned his head and, just as he expected, saw Sean Sterling.

He was dressed in black casual wear, his hair slightly disheveled by the wind, with stray strands falling over his forehead. His face showed the weariness of having rushed all the way here, but his eyes burned with an unconcealable fire.

His gaze, like two sharp swords, first swept over the ashen-faced, ice-cold Yvonne Donovan, then returned to the calm and composed Adrian Lancaster.

Finally, all his surging emotions, suppressed fury, and desperate need to protect the woman he loved coalesced into a hoarse yet thunderous question that exploded in the spacious, quiet living room.

"Mom, what gives you the right to drive Isla away? She’s my woman, she’s pregnant with my child, and she’s the only one I’ll marry."

Every word from Sean Sterling seemed torn from his chest, carrying the finality of someone burning his bridges, never to turn back.

Stung by this sudden defiance, Yvonne Donovan froze. Her heart leaped as if she’d been slapped in the face in public.

The next second, long-suppressed rage WHOOSHED to her head, burning through her entire body.

She shot up from the sofa, the movement so abrupt it made the couch tremble slightly.

Her refined features, once impeccably made up, were now completely twisted in fury.

Her brows knitted tightly, her lips turned pale, and her fingertips dug into her palms. Pointing a finger at Sean Sterling’s nose, her voice shot up, so sharp it almost cracked.

"Sean Sterling, you have the nerve to come back?! I haven’t even called you to account, I haven’t lost my temper with you, and yet you dare to barge in here and cross-examine me?!"

Sean Sterling didn’t back down an inch. Instead, he strode into the center of the living room, his presence overwhelming, his gaze sharp as a knife.

His leather shoes struck the cold, polished marble floor, each step carrying the weight of suppressed rage and the unwavering resolve to protect his wife-to-be.

"I haven’t done anything wrong. Why wouldn’t I dare to come back?"

He looked his furious mother straight in the eye, without a trace of evasion or cowardice. His voice was deep and resonant.

"This is my home. Isla is the woman I consider my fiancée. She is carrying my child—the bloodline of the Sterling Family."

"If I didn’t come back now to lay my cards on the table and protect her, would you just keep harassing her, keep hurting her with those words and that humiliating treatment?!"

"Hurt her?!"

Yvonne Donovan was utterly enraged. Her chest heaved violently, and she could barely breathe.

Her eyes, filled with the fury of someone disappointed in a child who failed to live up to expectations, stared daggers at Sean Sterling, their rims turning red in an instant.

"All of you—you, Adrian Lancaster, Wren Sutton—you all think I was hurting and humiliating Isla Griffith by offering her that check."

"I was giving her a way out, making her recognize her place and face reality."

"And the reality is, she comes from an ordinary background, she’s mixed up in the entertainment industry, and she is absolutely unworthy of entering the Sterling family."

"Whether she’s worthy or not isn’t your call to make. It’s mine," Sean Sterling’s voice suddenly rose, his anger flaring.

"Mom, I’m going to make things perfectly clear right here and now. I am marrying Isla Griffith, and that’s final."

"I want the two children in her belly, too. Anyone who dares to harm her and the children will have to answer to me."

"You can disown me as your son, and you can refuse to acknowledge Isla as your daughter-in-law, but you cannot refuse to acknowledge your own grandson and granddaughter."

"And even if you’re so cold-hearted that you won’t even acknowledge the children, I am certain Dad will."

These words were like a thousand-pound hammer, striking the softest spot in Yvonne Donovan’s heart.

She stood there stunned, her mind a blank, even forgetting to breathe.

A moment later, a powerful wave of grievance, anger, disappointment, and heartache washed over her.

Her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook so violently she almost lost her footing.

"You would actually break ties with me for a woman," Yvonne Donovan’s voice held an irrepressible sob, and tears streamed from her eyes.

"Sean Sterling! I raised you for over thirty years, changing your diapers and cleaning up after you, giving you the best life, the best education, the best of everything! I poured all my love, all my energy into you!"

"And for what? Am I worth less than a woman you’ve only known for a few months? How could you be so cruel, so heartless?"

"You ungrateful wretch! You have no conscience!"

Sean Sterling looked at his mother’s red, tear-filled eyes, at her trembling body, and a sharp pain pierced his heart.

This was the mother who had given birth to him and raised him; he cared for her more than anyone.

But the thought of the humiliation and injustice Isla Griffith had endured alone made him force himself to stand his ground.

His voice softened, tinged with heartache, but his resolve remained as firm as iron.

"Mom, I never wanted to break ties with you. I’m not being unfilial, and I haven’t forgotten the debt I owe you for raising me for over thirty years."

"I am simply fighting for my own happiness, fighting for the person I want to protect."

"Isla really isn’t the kind of person you think she is. She’s not greedy for money or power, and she never thought of using the children to trap me or climb into the Sterling Family."

"From the very beginning, I was the one who pursued her. I was the one who shamelessly insisted on being with her. And I was the one who poked a hole in the condom to get her pregnant, because I want to marry her."

Adrian Lancaster: "..."

’That’s... a lot to take in.’

"You say she’s scheming and manipulative, but after you threw a check in her face and humiliated her, after all she went through, she never once said a bad word about you to me. She never tried to drive a wedge between us."

"Based on that alone, Mom, you shouldn’t question Isla Griffith’s character."

Sean Sterling’s throat tightened. As he finished, his voice held a choked, uncontrollable sob, and his eyes reddened.

"Mom, you always judge everyone and dismiss everyone by your own standards. You’ve never truly tried to understand Isla, and you’ve never asked me what I truly want."

"I don’t need to understand!"

As if he’d struck her sorest spot, Yvonne Donovan cut Sean Sterling off with a sharp cry.

"I don’t care what kind of person Isla Griffith is, how good she is to you, or how in love you two are."

"In my eyes, she is a schemer who won’t stop until she gets what she wants. She’s just trying to use her children to marry into the Sterling Family and hit the jackpot."

"I will never acknowledge her. Never!"

Sean Sterling was seething with uncontrollable rage.

His face was ashen, the hands at his sides clenched into tight fists. His heart felt like it was about to explode with anger, and he could taste blood in the back of his throat.

He had been so honest, and yet his mother was still this stubborn.

"In that case, you might as well disown me too."