Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Tristan Sterling Said It Was Also to Avenge You
"Brandon, you don’t have to apologize." Holly Sinclair shook her head and smiled.
The two of them stood at the gate of the residential complex. The dim lights spilled over them, creating a warm atmosphere.
"I was in a rush and didn’t think things through. Please don’t be angry," Brandon Sterling said, frowning with a look of regret.
"I’m not angry. It’s just... our positions are complicated. If someone overheard you say that, your life in the Sterling family would become..."
Holly Sinclair trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
But her meaning was unmistakable.
"You’re really not angry?" Brandon Sterling stared at her, still unconvinced.
"Really!"
Holly Sinclair couldn’t help but laugh, nodding to reassure him.
’Even though it was inappropriate for Brandon to call himself her "boyfriend," what was said was said. There was no need for him to apologize so formally.’
’Besides, he saved her.’
’If he hadn’t shown up, she would never have escaped those clutches tonight.’
’She couldn’t even thank him enough. How could she possibly be angry with him?’
However...
"By the way, Brandon, why were you at Celestia?" Holly Sinclair asked curiously.
"I had a work dinner," Brandon Sterling said softly, a look of relief on his face. "I saw you when you arrived. I wasn’t going to disturb you, but I’m leaving on a business trip tomorrow for a fairly long time, so I thought I should tell you. I never expected to find you being harassed."
"A business trip?" Holly Sinclair latched onto the important part. "Where to? And for how long?"
"Uldana. For at least two or three months, I think," Brandon Sterling said with a smile.
But his smile was tinged with an almost imperceptible bitterness.
Holly Sinclair saw it.
Her delicate brows knitted together as she cried out, "Isn’t that country at war? And why do you have to go for so long?"
"It’s work. I don’t have a choice."
"But that place is so dangerous!"
"I’ll be careful."
The more casually Brandon Sterling spoke of it, the more worried Holly Sinclair became.
Something flashed through her mind.
"Was it Tristan Sterling?" Her expression darkened, and she asked through gritted teeth.
’Tristan Sterling had threatened her before, telling her to stay away from Brandon...’
"Holly..." Brandon Sterling’s expression stiffened.
"Is he doing this to you on purpose?" Holly Sinclair raged.
’Brandon’s expression was all the answer she needed.’
Brandon Sterling quickly said, "Holly, don’t think like that. Tristan is the company’s vice president now. He surely has his reasons for every decision. I’ll just follow his arrangements."
"But you’re his older brother! Even if you’re not full brothers, you still have the same blood in your veins. How could he..." Holly Sinclair was heartbroken, feeling indignant on Brandon Sterling’s behalf.
"It’s a normal work assignment. He really isn’t targeting me," Brandon Sterling emphasized in a gentle tone, as if to assuage her worries.
Holly Sinclair frowned and fell silent.
’At this point, saying anything more would be useless.’
’Besides, in the Sterling family and in front of Tristan Sterling, her opinion carried as little weight as Brandon’s. No one would care about their thoughts or feelings.’
After a moment, Holly Sinclair let out a heavy sigh.
"Brandon, you have to be safe!" She looked at him deeply, all she could offer was this small, insignificant token of her concern.
"I know." Brandon Sterling gave her a gentle smile.
He raised his hand, about to pat her head out of habit.
But just as Brandon Sterling’s hand was about to touch the crown of Holly Sinclair’s head, a brilliant light suddenly blazed upon them.
The light was blinding, and both of them instinctively raised an arm to shield their eyes.
They looked toward the source of the light.
A black Maybach was parked just a few meters away, its high beams on, cutting an aggressive figure in the dark.
The car door swung open. A man’s long legs hit the pavement, his every line radiating power, composure, and a barely concealed rage.
Tristan Sterling emanated a murderous aura, like a soul-reaper emerging from Hell itself.
Step by step, he advanced, a dark silhouette against the blinding light.
Before Holly Sinclair could react, he snatched the men’s suit jacket draped over her shoulders and threw it violently to the ground.
The gesture was filled with disgust.
The expressions on both Holly Sinclair’s and Brandon Sterling’s faces changed instantly.
"Tristan Sterling!"
"Tristan..."
Holly Sinclair was furious; Brandon Sterling was resigned.
But Tristan Sterling said nothing.
He simply took off his own jacket in silence and draped it over Holly Sinclair’s shoulders.
But with a shrug of her shoulders and a flick of her hand, Holly Sinclair sent it sliding off.
His jacket fell to the ground.
’She didn’t want his phony display of concern!’
Tristan Sterling’s handsome face fell, a storm gathering in the depths of his eyes.
But he didn’t lash out. He simply bent down, picked up the jacket, and placed it on her shoulders again.
Holly Sinclair was about to do the same thing again.
"Try throwing it off one more time!"
But he grabbed her shoulders with both hands, his cold, dark eyes brimming with a warning as he forced the words out through gritted teeth.
The icy words were as sharp as knives, dripping with menace.
The atmosphere froze.
Holly Sinclair clenched her fists, struggling to hold back her anger.
Finally, she turned to Brandon Sterling, her eyes full of apology. "Brandon, you’re leaving on your trip tomorrow. You should go home and get some rest."
’She shouldn’t drag him into the mess between her and Tristan Sterling.’
’There weren’t many people left who were kind to her.’
’She had already caused Tristan Sterling to send him on a business trip to a war-torn country; she couldn’t be the reason he was exiled for good.’
"Okay." Brandon Sterling nodded.
He picked up his jacket from the ground and left.
He was worried, but he knew all too well that he didn’t have the right to be...
* * *
Tristan Sterling shoved Holly Sinclair into the car.
His patience worn thin by her lack of cooperation, his movements were particularly rough.
As he pushed her into the back seat, Holly Sinclair lost her balance, and her face scraped against the leather upholstery.
A fiery, stinging pain shot through her already red and swollen cheek.
"Hiss..."
She instinctively clutched her cheek, sucking in a sharp breath against the pain.
Her eyes immediately welled with tears.
Tristan Sterling was taken aback.
He quickly got into the car, pulled her hand away, and examined the wound on her face.
Even now, the five-fingered handprint on her cheek was still perfectly clear.
It was a testament to the force Manager Langdon had used.
"Does it hurt?"
Tristan Sterling’s sharp brows were drawn together. His fingers gently touched her injury, his eyes glinting with an icy chill as he said, "His hand is ruined."
Before leaving the private room, he had given Connor Grant a look.
’The man who laid a hand on his woman...’
’He wouldn’t be needing it anymore.’
"You don’t have to tell me that."
Holly Sinclair turned her face away, dodging his hand with a cold sneer.
Hearing the sarcasm in her voice, he frowned, displeased. "Then who would you like me to tell?"
"Go tell your precious Vivian. You were just getting revenge for her──"
"And for you," he cut in.
"Only as an afterthought!"
Holly Sinclair knew her place, suppressing the bitterness in her heart with a cold laugh.
"Are you really this ungrateful?"
Tristan Sterling’s anger flared, his eyes turning dark and cold.
’If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have gone directly after one of Sonia Sutton’s people.’
’When Vivian said she’d been bullied, he was angry, of course, but out of respect for his relationship with the Sutton Family, he hadn’t planned on being merciless.’
’Not until he saw the handprint on her face and the blood on her lip.’
’In that instant, Manager Langdon was as good as crippled in his eyes.’
"I’m ungrateful?"
Holly Sinclair’s eyes blazed with fury. The anger she had been desperately suppressing erupted like a flash flood. "I’m ungrateful?" she seethed through clenched teeth. "Tristan Sterling, you let your precious ’white moonlight’ harm me time and time again, and you have the nerve to call me ungrateful?"
"Vivian has not harmed you."
