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

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Even Clingier Than Before

Sean Sterling froze, a bone-deep chill shooting up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, as if all the blood had been drained from his body.

Every word his father spoke was like a red-hot sledgehammer, striking his heart again and again with thunderous force.

The blows were so heavy they felt as if they would shatter his heart, making each breath a fractured agony.

Sean Sterling slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on his own trembling fingertips.

The five-fingered handprint on his face still burned.

He knew better than anyone that everything his father said was the undeniable truth.

When his mother was pregnant with him, the baby was in the wrong position. She endured a difficult labor that lasted two full days and nights. She’d had a brush with death just to bring him safely into this world.

To give him all her love, his mother had defied the family’s pressure, insisting on having only one child and showering him with all the Sterling family’s affection and resources.

And now, he had angered his mother so much that she was in the hospital.

’I’m such a terrible son.’

The cold light of the corridor cast a harsh glow on Sean Sterling’s pale face, highlighting the crimson tide swirling in his eyes.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath and slowly raised his head to look at Simon Sterling.

"Dad, I’m sorry. I was wrong." Each word was heavy, as if spoken through tears of blood.

"I shouldn’t have talked back to Mom. I shouldn’t have said such hurtful things to her, and I definitely shouldn’t have angered her to the point of hospitalization. You can hit me, you can curse me—I’ll take it."

Simon Sterling’s face remained ashen, the fire in his eyes undiminished. He just stared at him coldly, not saying a word.

"But, Dad, Isla is innocent."

"She’s never been manipulative, and she’s never schemed against the Sterling family for anything. From start to finish, she has never forced me to do a single thing."

"I was the one who pursued her. I was the one who desperately wanted to be with her, and I was the one who insisted on keeping this child."

"I love her, and I have to be responsible for her and the baby in her belly."

"I never said I don’t want Mom, or that I don’t want this family. Whenever Mom calms down, I’ll go in and apologize to her."

"If Mom doesn’t forgive me for a day, I’ll wait by her side for a day. If she doesn’t forgive me for a lifetime, I’ll wait by her side for a lifetime."

This speech was like a fuse, igniting the rage in Simon Sterling’s heart and making it burn even hotter.

"Even now, you still dare to mention that woman? You still dare to defend her in front of me?"

"If you truly knew you were wrong, you would make a clean break with her immediately. Break up with her and never see her again."

"I can’t!" Sean Sterling’s voice suddenly rose, laced with unbearable pain.

’How can I abandon Isla? She’s pregnant with my children—twins, no less. She’s enduring all this pressure and injustice by herself. I absolutely cannot leave her now.’

"Isla is carrying my children," Sean Sterling said, his eyes red and his chest heaving.

"Those are two living, breathing lives. They’re my children with her. I can’t just ignore her, and I certainly can’t abandon my children."

"Children?"

Simon Sterling looked as though he’d just heard the biggest joke in the world, his eyes filled with contempt and cruelty.

"Plenty of women can get pregnant. So what if it’s twins?"

"As long as your mother and I don’t approve of her, it’s useless even if she gives you ten children."

"In my eyes, they won’t be considered children of the Sterling family. They’ll just be bastards."

"Dad!" Sean Sterling shuddered violently, a sharp pain piercing his heart as if he’d been stabbed. Despair and rage warred in his eyes.

"They are my children! Your own grandson and granddaughter! They are of the Sterling bloodline, not bastards! You can’t insult them like that!"

Simon Sterling watched his son lose control, but his expression remained unmoved, a mask of cold indifference.

He shook off Adrian Lancaster’s hand and turned away, his back a portrait of cold, heartless detachment, as if severing all ties of blood and kinship.

"Getting pregnant before marrying into the Sterling family shows a lack of propriety. I, Simon Sterling, will not acknowledge a single child born from such a woman."

With that, he pushed open the hospital room door and walked inside.

SLAM! The door shut heavily.

That door completely separated father and son, shutting all of Sean Sterling’s hopes out with him.

...

「By the time Adrian Lancaster’s car pulled up to his villa, it was already three in the afternoon.」

He turned off the engine and sat in the driver’s seat for a moment.

The cigarette between his fingers burned down to the filter, the heat scalding his skin and jolting him back to his senses.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the living room floor.

Wren Sutton was sitting on the sofa, watching TV while waiting for Adrian Lancaster.

Five hours had passed since he left. She had considered calling to ask about the situation but hesitated and put her phone down, worried she might interrupt Adrian’s conversation with his aunt.

’He’ll be back sooner or later. I should just wait patiently.’

Just as she had that thought, the door suddenly opened, and Adrian Lancaster walked in, his steps heavy with exhaustion.

"I’m home."

His suit jacket was slightly wrinkled, his tie hung loosely around his neck, and his usually immaculate hair was now a bit messy.

His expression was grim, and a heavy, oppressive gloom seemed to hang about him.

Wren Sutton got up and hurried over, the uneasy feeling in her heart instantly magnifying.

"Why were you gone so long? And you look so pale. Did something happen?"

Before Adrian Lancaster could speak, his stomach started to rumble.

"..."

"You didn’t have lunch?" Wren Sutton asked, surprised.

She had assumed he’d eaten at the Sterling’s.

Adrian Lancaster shook his head. "There was too much going on. I didn’t get a chance to eat."

Without a second thought, Wren Sutton immediately told the maid to heat up a meal.

"Go wash your hands. We can talk about what happened this morning after you’ve eaten."

The exhaustion in Adrian Lancaster’s heart instantly vanished, replaced by an enveloping warmth.

He took Wren Sutton’s hand and pulled her into his arms, holding her as if she were a precious treasure.

"I finally understand why Sean Sterling envies me."

"It’s not just because I have Owen and Nina. It’s because I have you."

"I feel so incredibly happy right now, I really do."

His voice was filled with sincere love, and the corners of his eyes grew moist.

"Honey, I love you, and I love our children."

"..."

Wren Sutton was stunned by Adrian Lancaster’s sudden confession of love.

’He went to the Sterlings’ place for one trip and came back even clingier.’

It wasn’t until the maid brought the heated meal to the dining room that Adrian Lancaster reluctantly let Wren Sutton go.

They walked to the dining room together, and Wren Sutton sat across from Adrian, waiting quietly for him to eat.

Adrian Lancaster was indeed hungry. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily, yet without a trace of coarseness, maintaining his usual elegance.

After finishing a bowl of steaming hot chicken noodle soup, some of the chill left his body, and his tense nerves finally began to relax a little.

Adrian Lancaster set down his bowl and chopsticks, and Wren Sutton handed him a warm towel.

"Thanks, honey."

After wiping his hands, Adrian Lancaster leaned back in his chair, his expression turning solemn.

’I know what’s coming is unavoidable. I have to tell Wren everything that happened today, exactly as it was.’

Wren Sutton held her breath, her gaze fixed on him.

"You can tell me now. What exactly happened this morning?"

Adrian Lancaster shook his head, his tone heavy. "The situation isn’t looking good."