Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Holly Sinclair Gives Tristan Sterling a Nosebleed
Holly shouted.
Her face was flushed, her anger irrepressible.
’He’s threatening me.’
’If I don’t obey his every word, he’ll go after Brandon.’
"What? Does your heart ache for him?"
Tristan Sterling sneered, an icy glint in his eyes.
Their bodies were pressed tightly together.
Holly could only lean back as far as possible, her hands braced against his chest to create a sliver of distance between them.
"Don’t involve innocent people." She forced herself to soften her tone, not daring to show the slightest hint of anger.
’I don’t want to cause trouble for Brandon.’
’His situation in the Sterling family is already difficult enough.’
"Him? Innocent?" Tristan scoffed.
A chilling aura radiated from him.
The atmosphere grew even more rigid.
Holly knew what he meant and subconsciously defended Brandon. "What happened to you and your mother wasn’t Brandon’s fault—"
"Shut up!"
He cut her off with a sharp roar before she could finish.
She tried to reason with him gently. "Tristan, be reasonable—"
"I told you to shut up!"
He roared again, his handsome face a cold, dark mask.
Holly fell silent.
But then a thought struck her—
’Why the hell should I shut up?’
Taking a deep breath, she tried to suppress the resentment in her heart and calm herself as much as possible.
She looked at him coldly and said, "Tristan, if you want to cause trouble for me because of Vivian Linton, then come at me. Leave Brandon out of it. What’s between us has nothing to do with him."
"Nothing to do with him? Then explain to me, what were you two doing just now?"
An inexplicable rage surged in Tristan’s chest, his mind filled with the image of her and Brandon holding hands.
So intimate!
"We weren’t doing anything!" she retorted, defiant.
The man’s deep, dark eyes seemed to be laced with ice. He gritted out, "Holly, you are my wife. Flirting with another man right under my nose—where does that leave my dignity?"
"And what about you?"
Holly shot back, her laugh laced with bitter sarcasm. "When you and Vivian Linton were parading around town, did you ever think about *my* dignity?"
"Vivian is different," he blurted out.
Holly felt as if her heart had just been viciously punched.
A mist clouded her eyes as she asked with a smile, "How is she different? Because she’s the pure, untouchable love of your life, she gets to be a homewrecker without any shame?"
But her smile was filled with resentment and misery.
"Vivian is not a homewrecker."
Tristan’s sharp brows knitted together in displeasure.
Seeing him defend Vivian Linton as always, Holly’s heart went completely cold.
"Tristan, you truly disgust me!"
She bit down hard, forcing the words through her clenched teeth.
At the same time, she gave him a hard shove and scrambled out of his arms.
"What did you say—Ugh..."
Furious, he grabbed her arm to pull her back, but she slammed her elbow backward into the bridge of his nose.
A sharp pain shot through him, and a moment later he felt two warm streams trickling down.
He instinctively raised a hand to wipe it away.
His hand came back covered in blood.
"Holly, are you insane?!"
Tristan was beside himself with rage. He pinched his nose to stop the bleeding and roared, his voice thick and nasal.
"Yes, I am insane! So don’t push me, or I’ll do anything!"
Holly threw open the car door and jumped out. She stood outside and looked coldly at the man clutching his nose.
Then, with a BANG, she slammed the car door shut.
Just then, a taxi drove by.
Holly hailed it and got in.
The taxi quickly sped away.
Tristan watched Holly leave without a shred of hesitation, without even a single backward glance.
His head started buzzing with fury.
...
「A few days later.」
The Celestia Private Club.
Sonia Sutton had delegated the cheongsam exhibition to a company manager, who was to negotiate with the invited studios.
Holly headed there, overjoyed.
Upon arriving at the club, she entered an elevator.
Just as the elevator doors were slowly closing, a man and a woman walked in.
"Holly."
The nauseatingly familiar voice echoed in the air.
It was Tristan Sterling and Vivian Linton.
Holly looked up and met the man’s cold gaze.
Their eyes locked.
Both of them simultaneously recalled the time she’d hit him and given him a nosebleed...
The expressions on both their faces turned grim.
Holly’s good mood vanished in an instant.
She wanted to ignore them, but of course, Vivian Linton wouldn’t let her.
"Holly, are you here to see Manager Langdon from the Sutton Group?"
Vivian walked over to Holly’s side with a sweet, gentle smile. "What a coincidence," she said, her expression pure and harmless. "So am I."
Holly was shocked.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her brow furrowed deeply.
’Just yesterday, Vivian’s studio definitely wasn’t on the list of invitees...’
"Our Vervain Studio was also invited."
Vivian smiled happily, then looped her arm intimately through Tristan’s. She looked up at him, her eyes full of adoration and gratitude, and said in a cloyingly sweet, coquettish tone, "It’s all thanks to Tristan."
Holly slowly clenched her fists.
She understood.
’It was Tristan.’
’Just like with the restoration of Madam Quincy’s antique cheongsam, he had once again used his connections and influence to pave the way for Vivian.’
Hah...
A silent, cold sneer touched Holly’s lips.
Her nails dug into her palms.
’Using the sting in her palms to numb the dull ache in her heart...’
The elevator reached their floor.
The doors opened, and Holly bolted out.
’She didn’t want to spend another second with these two disgusting people.’
Tristan had his own business to attend to, so he escorted Vivian to the door of the private room and left.
The Sutton Group had invited a total of five studios.
When Holly and Vivian arrived at the private room, the representatives from the other three studios were already there.
Manager Langdon was a man in his forties with squinty eyes, a beer belly, and a greasy face.
He gave off a sleazy vibe.
The representatives from the other three studios were men; only Holly and Vivian were women.
The moment Holly stepped into the room, she felt a sense of unease.
The way Manager Langdon looked at people was very uncomfortable.
’It was as if he were stripping you with his eyes...’
They all took their seats.
After a few brief pleasantries, Manager Langdon and the others launched into the ritual of business drinking.
Afraid of being dragged into drinking, Holly stayed silent, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
But then, Vivian suddenly took the initiative, raising her glass and saying to Manager Langdon with a smile, "I’m so grateful to the Sutton Group for giving Vervain Studio such a rare opportunity. Come, Manager Langdon, let me toast you."
"Miss Linton, you’re too kind."
Manager Langdon grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth. He stared lecherously at Vivian’s chest and even reached out to touch her hand.
"The Second Master Sterling instructed me just now to be sure I properly toast you twice, Manager Langdon."
Vivian deftly avoided Manager Langdon’s hand, her smile never wavering. "He’s next door at another engagement right now. Once he’s free, I’ll have him come over and have a couple of drinks with you, Manager Langdon."
Manager Langdon froze.
He immediately realized that Vivian was Tristan Sterling’s woman.
He instantly dropped any presumptuous ideas.
Manager Langdon had no choice but to retract his hand. He gave a sheepish laugh. "Haha... Of course, of course. I’m honored that the Second Master thinks so highly of me."
Vivian was satisfied.
Her gaze shifted, and she shot a look at Holly.
Her eyes were filled with triumph, mixed with a hint of vicious scheming...
