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

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: No Longer a Painful Pretense

The once lively and warm atmosphere in the private room instantly turned ice-cold.

Sean Sterling’s hand on the edge of the table tightened. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by irritation.

"Adrian Lancaster, what exactly did you mean by that? Explain yourself."

Adrian Lancaster looked Sean Sterling straight in the eye. His gaze held no trace of humor, only the solemn certainty of someone who understood everything.

"Isla Griffith’s ID card and household registration aren’t lost. She probably hid them herself."

The words struck Sean Sterling like a bolt of lightning.

His first instinct was to defend Isla Griffith and deny Adrian’s claim.

"Impossible. You’re talking nonsense."

"Isla has no reason to lie to me. Don’t try to drive a wedge between us."

Adrian Lancaster shot back, "If I wanted to cause trouble between you two, I wouldn’t have gone to the Sterlings’ yesterday to convince your mom not to insult Isla Griffith, nor would I have defended you in front of your dad."

Sean Sterling: "..."

Yesterday, Adrian had indeed been on his side.

Adrian remained perfectly calm and composed, without a hint of panic.

"It’s just the two of us here. I’m going to be honest, and don’t get mad, but I never used to have a good impression of Isla Griffith. I know all the things she said about me behind my back, but I never held it against her."

"Now, for my wife’s sake, since she’s her best friend, and for your sake as well, I don’t dislike her anymore. I genuinely hope you two can finally be together and grow old happily."

"So, there’s absolutely no truth to what you said about me trying to cause trouble between you."

Sean Sterling slowly calmed down. The hostility in his eyes faded, and some color returned to his face.

Adrian Lancaster was his cousin. They had grown up together, and he knew Adrian’s personality—sometimes harsh and seemingly cold, but he was above lying.

"Since you’ve put it that way, I believe you."

"But what makes you so sure Isla hid her household registration and ID card? Why would she do that? Does she... not want to marry me?"

Adrian Lancaster hit the nail on the head. "It’s not that she doesn’t want to marry you. She’s doing this precisely because she loves you so much."

Sean Sterling froze. In a flash, he seemed to understand. "You mean..."

"Isla Griffith is stalling for time."

"!!!"

It was rare for Adrian to have such a crystal-clear understanding of a couple’s emotional problems.

"Getting your marriage license right now would be like pouring gasoline on a fire. It would only infuriate your parents even more. She can’t bear to watch you break ties with the Sterling family because of her."

"She wants to slow things down, to wait until things have cooled off with your family. She’ll get the license then, when you’re no longer caught in the middle, torn and suffering."

"That way, it’s better for you, for the Sterling family, and for her."

"..." As Sean heard this, it all clicked into place. His eyes instantly turned red, and a dull ache spread through his chest.

He wasn’t angry, nor did he feel the sting of betrayal. All he felt was an overwhelming ache for Isla Griffith.

She would rather carry the guilt of a lie and postpone the wedding of her dreams than watch him be torn from his family.

’She’s carrying my child. She’s the one who should be cherished and protected, but instead, she’s secretly looking out for me, protecting me in this clumsy, foolish way.’

...

In the restroom.

Warm white light reflected off the mirror.

Wren Sutton and Isla Griffith stood side by side at the sink, washing their hands.

The atmosphere was delicately quiet. Both women looked like they had something to say.

"Isla," Wren said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" Isla replied.

Wren looked at her gently. "Ever since Sean picked you up from the hospital, you’ve been home for the past two days, right? You haven’t gone anywhere."

Isla knew what Wren was getting at. After so many years as best friends, they practically had a telepathic connection.

She gave a casual nod. "That’s right."

"Then how did your household registration and ID card just mysteriously disappear?"

Wren wasn’t interrogating her; she was just concerned. She took her best friend’s slightly cool hand in her own.

"If I’m not mistaken, you hid your household registration and ID card, didn’t you?"

A bitter smile touched Isla’s lips. She didn’t want to keep up the strenuous pretense in front of her best friend.

"Can’t hide anything from you, can I?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. I put the household registration and ID card in my purse. Sean didn’t suspect a thing."

As she finished speaking, her nose tingled with the urge to cry, and a sour feeling churned in her stomach.

"I know it’s wrong to lie. He was so sincere, so happy about taking me to get our license, and I just threw a bucket of cold water on him."

"He didn’t say a single word of blame, but I could feel how disappointed he was."

Wren didn’t blame Isla, either.

"I understand why you’re doing this. If you get your license now, you’re worried the Sterling family will disown Sean. You can’t bear to see him abandoned by his own family."

Her innermost thoughts exposed, Isla’s eyes turned red.

Finally, someone understood her.

"Yesterday, Sean’s dad slapped him. It made me so sad."

Wren’s heart skipped a beat. She thought Isla knew everything, including the heartless, cruel things Simon Sterling had said.

She was worried her friend might not be able to handle it.

"How do you know what happened at the hospital? Who told you?"

’Who could have been so thoughtless!’

"The hospital?" Isla was completely lost, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"What does it have to do with the hospital?"

The next second, it hit her. She stared at Wren, her heart pounding in alarm.

"Is Sean’s dad in the hospital?"

Wren: "..."

’Crap. A clumsy slip-up like that is a dead giveaway. I said the wrong thing.’

"...N-no, you must have misheard. I didn’t say anything about a hospital."

Isla had heard her perfectly clearly. There was no way she had misheard.

"You just said ’hospital.’ What happened? Tell me."

Wren struggled internally, caught in an impossible situation.

Her hesitation was a dead giveaway. Isla was now certain that Wren was hiding something from her.