Chapter 104: Chapter 104: You Haven’t Fallen in Love with Holly Sinclair, Have You?
"Impossible!"
Holly Sinclair shook her head without a second thought.
"Why?" Wendy Wyatt asked, confused by her certainty.
Holly let out a cold laugh. "He loves the ground she walks on. Why would he ever make a move against the Linton family?"
Vivian Linton was that important to Tristan Sterling.
If he went after the Linton family, wouldn’t Vivian be heartbroken?
And if Vivian were heartbroken, wouldn’t he feel the pain?
"True," Wendy Wyatt muttered, rolling her eyes in disdain. Then, utterly baffled, she added, "Then who could it be?"
"It was probably Grandpa," Holly said softly, taking a sip of her drink.
’Grandpa dotes on me.’
’He knows Vivian Linton has been stirring up trouble between me and Tristan Sterling, so he’s helping me get even.’
Although she didn’t think her grandfather needed to go this far for her.
But since he did, she was still very happy.
The Linton family were all bad news. Seeing them go bankrupt was a joyous occasion.
...
The bar had two floors.
Downstairs were open booths, and upstairs were luxurious private rooms.
The private rooms featured floor-to-ceiling windows made of one-way glass.
Those inside the rooms could look down on the booths below, but the people downstairs couldn’t see what was happening inside.
In a private room on the second floor, diagonally across from Holly and Wendy, a pair of dark eyes stared coldly at them.
"Tristan, what are you looking at? Come have a drink."
Julian Grayson called out to Tristan Sterling, who was standing by the window, while pouring a drink.
As soon as Julian heard that Tristan and Holly had gone to the Civil Affairs Bureau, he immediately organized a get-together, calling Caleb Sutton and Nathan Fletcher to celebrate.
Tristan Sterling pulled his gaze away and walked toward the sofa.
"Come on, come on! This first drink is to celebrate our Mr. Sterling’s return to single life!"
Julian Grayson raised his glass, genuinely happy for his friend.
Tristan didn’t love Holly.
His one true love was Vivian Linton.
Everyone in their circle of friends knew this.
So, since Tristan didn’t like Holly, they naturally looked down on her too.
Even though Holly loved Tristan to the bone, they had never treated her as a sister-in-law.
Even on the rare occasions they had to call her "sister-in-law," their tone was more or less tinged with mockery.
"Divorced?" Nathan Fletcher raised an eyebrow.
"Really divorced?" Caleb Sutton’s voice rose.
The two of them had thought this was just a night of drinking; they didn’t expect there to be such juicy gossip.
Tristan Sterling shot a cold glance at Julian Grayson.
’He’s being too nosy.’
’Is getting a divorce something to be proud of?’
’Is it worthy of him broadcasting it like this?’
"I say, Mr. Sterling, what’s with the long face? Are you not happy?" Julian was completely perplexed.
Then he clapped his good friend on the shoulder and said teasingly, "Stop pretending. I know you must be bursting with joy inside. You just want to hear us congratulate you, don’t you? Well, here it is: congratulations on finally getting rid of that leech, Holly Sinclair! Cheers!"
With that, Julian clinked his glass against Tristan’s and downed it in one go.
"It’s good that you’re divorced. Now you and Vivian Linton can finally be together. If Holly hadn’t drugged you and forced you to marry her two years ago, you and Vivian would have had two kids in three years by now."
Nathan Fletcher gently traced the rim of his glass with his thumb as he spoke softly.
He, too, drained his glass.
Caleb Sutton drank first and then spoke, his tone mocking, "But seriously, Eldest Miss Sinclair seems so pure and harmless on the surface. Who knew she was such a pro at scheming her way into bed and faking a pregnancy."
The three of them had emptied their glasses, but Tristan Sterling remained motionless.
His face was a mask of frost, his eyes filled with a gloomy darkness.
’What’s with that expression?’
’Is he unhappy?’
’But what is he unhappy about?’
’Now that he’s finally escaped his misery, shouldn’t he be all smiles and ready to drink the night away with them?’
’What’s the meaning of this sour face?’
Nathan Fletcher and the other two exchanged glances, all of them utterly confused.
"What’s wrong?"
Caleb Sutton looked at the unusually behaving Tristan, raised an eyebrow, and blurted out, "You haven’t fallen for Holly Sinclair, have you?!"
The air fell silent.
Tristan Sterling gave Caleb a glacial look.
His glare seemed to say, ’If you don’t know how to talk, you should just shut your mouth for good.’
Caleb shrank back.
Nathan and Julian also thought Caleb’s words were beyond ridiculous.
’Who could possibly fall in love with the culprit who schemed against him and ruined his life?’
’It was merciful enough that he didn’t want her dead by a thousand cuts!’
If it weren’t for Holly, Tristan’s life would have been completely different.
He would have had the woman he deeply loved by his side, with adorable children running around his knees.
Happy and blissful.
"Don’t be ridiculous. Tristan only has eyes for Vivian Linton," Nathan said, setting down his glass and stating a well-known fact.
"Right, right, Tristan would never stoop to liking a manipulative woman like Holly," Julian chimed in, nodding in agreement.
After they spoke, they were stunned to see that Tristan’s expression hadn’t softened; in fact, it had grown even darker.
He remained silent the entire time.
After a moment, he raised his glass and downed it in one gulp.
SLAM.
He slammed the glass down heavily.
He stood up and left.
Watching Tristan’s retreating figure, Nathan, Julian, and Caleb looked at each other.
All three were completely dumbfounded.
’Is he...’
’So overcome with the joy of divorce that he’s acting erratically?’
...
After leaving the bar.
Wendy Wyatt and Holly Sinclair each called for a designated driver.
They went their separate ways.
Holly had had two drinks and was feeling a bit drowsy. She closed her eyes to rest after getting in the car.
The car drove for quite a while, and at some point, the noisy din of the city traffic had vanished.
Holly opened her eyes to see pitch-black darkness outside the window.
Her nerves instantly tensed.
"Where are you taking me? Who are you?"
Holly cried out.
The designated driver was wearing a hat and a mask, making it impossible to see their face.
When she got in the car earlier, she had noticed their build was like a woman’s and hadn’t been on high alert.
In response to her questioning, the driver didn’t reply, instead flooring the gas pedal.
"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Holly shrieked in alarm.
As she yelled, she pulled out her phone to make a call.
Just as her finger swiped to the phone screen, the driver saw her and violently jerked the steering wheel.
She was thrown against the car door, and the phone flew from her hand.
It fell under the front passenger seat.
"Bitch! You dare call for help? You’re asking to die!"
A familiar female voice flooded Holly’s ears.
"You... You’re..."
...
Vivian Linton had come to plead with Tristan Sterling.
She wanted to beg Tristan to be merciful and give the Linton Group a way out.
But outside the private room, she overheard that he and Holly were already divorced.
Instantly, her face lit up with joy.
She had finally waited for this day!
The door to the private room opened, and Tristan Sterling walked out, his face expressionless.
"Tristan," Vivian immediately went up to him, affectionately linking her arm with his and looking at him with loving eyes.
"Vivian, what are you doing here?" Tristan’s brows furrowed slightly.
"I was just out relaxing with some colleagues. Tristan, will you take me home?"
Vivian made up a random excuse, not daring to let him know she had been following him.
"Okay," Tristan replied faintly.
A few minutes later, they were in the car.
"Tristan, I—"
Just as Vivian started to speak, Tristan’s phone suddenly rang.
He answered it casually, and a sharp curse immediately erupted from the other end of the line—
"Bitch! You dare call for help? You’re asking to die!"
