My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 3: First Kiss

The two men stood to one side, watching as Stella Sterling picked up a glass of wine, oblivious to everyone else. She swayed gracefully as she walked to the water’s edge, far from the crowd.

The seawater gently lapped at her feet as the sea breeze lifted the hem of her dress and her long, wavy hair. The shadows of the bonfire danced on her slender back. She was a world apart in her beauty.

A thought occurred to Silas Jacobs, and he nudged the man beside him with his elbow.

"That girl... she’s not the second daughter of the Sterling Family, is she?"

Owen Rhodes nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on her slender figure, his expression dark and unreadable.

"When did you first take a liking to her?" Then he paused, realizing something was off. "Wait a second, wasn’t she your nephew’s girlfriend? Oh, right, not anymore. So you—"

’No wonder this guy suddenly decided to come to Lumina out of the blue.’

Silas Jacobs looked shocked, unable to wrap his head around it.

Owen Rhodes said, "He’s not married, and she’s not married. It’s fair game."

Silas Jacobs swallowed the words he was about to say. "She doesn’t look like she’s moved on at all. But Ethan Rhodes is a real piece of work, falling for her older sister right after. The nerve of that guy. Isn’t the younger Miss Sterling going to do anything about it?"

’But then again, she’s all on her own, going up against Ethan and the entire Rhodes Family. Yeah, it’s a losing battle.’

But that wasn’t entirely true, was it?

"But then again, she has you. Within the Rhodes Family, wouldn’t a single word from you settle things? Go on, back her up."

As soon as the words were out, it dawned on Silas. "No wonder you made a point of asking her for help just now. You were putting the weapon directly into her hands."

And Owen Rhodes... he was the weapon.

Now that Stella Sterling had helped him, he owed her a favor. It was up to her to decide how he would repay it.

Owen Rhodes asked a server for a shawl. "This is nothing yet."

Silas Jacobs nodded in agreement. "True. It was a minor favor. Even if she wanted you to repay her, she couldn’t very well make a huge demand. You’d need a life-or-death situation for you to offer yourself in return, right?"

After a moment of serious consideration, Owen Rhodes replied, "Then I’ll make sure a life-debt finds its way to her."

’Silas froze. Was he actually being serious?!’

A gentle sea breeze was blowing. Suddenly, Stella Sterling felt a warmth on her shoulders.

She turned to see Owen Rhodes’s sharply defined face.

"Careful, you’ll catch a chill."

Stella Sterling thanked him softly. Then she heard him ask, "What are you thinking about?"

His voice was pleasant, not as stiff as it had been during the day. The sea breeze seemed to soften his tone, giving it a strangely captivating quality.

"I was wondering... what Mr. Rhodes could possibly want with me now."

"I came to thank you." Owen Rhodes looked earnestly into her eyes, which were red-rimmed as if she’d been crying. "Thank you for your help earlier."

"It was nothing."

’Stella couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some unreadable emotion in this man’s eyes.’

She had assumed he was just here to exchange a few pleasantries, but she never expected him to say what he said next:

"Miss Sterling, I’m a direct person, so I won’t beat around the bush. What just happened... was my first kiss."

Stella Sterling: ...???

’The sea breeze suddenly felt a bit strong.’

’Isn’t that a little too direct?’

’What was she supposed to do now?’

’Apologize?’

’Surely he wasn’t going to make her take responsibility for it, was he?’

"My family is very traditional. A kiss is a commitment for life." The man even produced a blue velvet jewelry box with a flourish, slowly getting down on one knee before her. "So, will you marry me?"

Stella Sterling: ???

’The sea breeze must be really strong tonight.’

’She had to be hallucinating, right?’

Watching from afar, Silas Jacobs blurted out, "Holy shit," when he saw Owen Rhodes’s move.

"...Mr. Rhodes, this joke isn’t funny at all."

"I never joke."

"...Then why didn’t you refuse just now?"

She was talking about the kiss.

"I didn’t want to."

"..."

His deep eyes were fixed on her, as if nothing else in the world existed.

The boisterous bonfire belonged to them; here at the water’s edge, there was only her and the man proposing to her.

’She knew she shouldn’t look too deeply into those eyes.’

Owen Rhodes gently took her left hand. He began to slide a tiara ring, crowned with a pear-cut pink diamond, onto her ring finger.

The diamond caught the firelight, refracting it into a rainbow of colors. One look was enough to tell the ring was worth a fortune.

She snapped back to reality and clenched her fist, stopping the ring at her knuckle.

"At least... at least let’s talk after tomorrow."

Time seemed to fly by during her stay in Lumina.

It wasn’t until that evening, as she crossed another day off her calendar, that she realized tomorrow was the final day of the 100-day deadline she had given Ethan Rhodes.

She couldn’t bear to hear Ethan Rhodes declare their end, but she also couldn’t bring herself to say the words "it’s over" herself.

That would feel like she had lost to Kiana Sterling.

And so, she had given Ethan Rhodes a deadline—and in doing so, had given herself one too.

days.

After 100 days, if Ethan Rhodes hadn’t come for her, they would go their separate ways for good.

The jewelry box was pressed into her hand, and the man’s clear, low voice pulled her from her reverie. "Alright. I’ll wait for you."

The commotion from the sudden proposal had indeed dissipated much of the unhappiness caused by the two phone calls from the afternoon, but Stella’s mind only felt foggier.

Coupled with the wine she’d had, Stella didn’t stay much longer. After saying her goodbyes, she took her leave.

The moment Stella left, Owen Rhodes lost all interest in staying as well.

He stood up to leave, but Silas Jacobs stopped him. "Where are you off to?"

"Back to my room to rest."

"Weren’t you the one who wanted this bonfire party? Look at the time! You’re leaving after just one drink?" Silas tried to persuade him. "I know you’re not used to these kinds of events, but that’s okay. You’ll get the hang of it. I can show you a good time!"

This Owen Rhodes held most of Jandor’s economic lifelines in the palm of his hand, and the rumors about him were legendary.

In reality, only his few close friends knew that the man was incredibly reserved.

In the decade-plus they’d known each other, Silas had never seen a woman by his side, let alone heard him suggest going to a place like a bar.

’Silas thought the man might as well become a monk.’

That’s why he had agreed so readily when Owen asked him to arrange a bonfire party today.

’Owen, that old man, was finally coming to his senses at his age!’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He’d organized it with such fanfare precisely so Owen could experience the joy of letting loose for the first time.

’And what was the result? How long did he even stay? And now he was leaving?’

Owen Rhodes walked around him. "The bonfire party has already completed its mission."

’Bonfire parties have missions now?’

’Why couldn’t he understand a single thing this guy was saying today?’

...

Stella didn’t know how she got back to her apartment. She wasn’t dizzy, but her head felt heavy and her feet light, as if she were floating.

’Today had been so surreal.’

She casually tossed the blue velvet jewelry box onto the entryway cabinet. Next to it lay a diary, open to a page with her life list written on it.

After a moment’s thought, she picked up a pen and placed a checkmark next to the item: "Be proposed to at a bonfire party on the beach."

’It didn’t say by whom, anyway.’

Of her 100-item life list, only a few remained unchecked.

She flipped back a few pages and began to chronicle the day’s surreal events.

She twirled the pen in her hand.

’His name is Owen... It feels strange to even write it.’

She didn’t write in her diary every day, only when she was feeling extreme emotions.

Compared to her usual diary entries, which were overflowing with negativity, the tone of today’s entry was a breath of fresh, albeit strange, air.

After finishing her play-by-play of the day’s events, Stella picked up the jewelry box again.

A five-carat, FL-level pink diamond. It was the kind of piece that would spark a bidding war at auction.

Coincidentally, just over two weeks ago, Kiana Sterling had sent her a photo. It was of a pear-cut pink diamond tiara ring slated for Frey’s Summer Jewelry Auction.

Kiana had even sent a taunting message along with it.

"Stella, look, isn’t this pink diamond ring beautiful? Ethan said he’s going to buy it at auction and use it to propose to me ^^"