My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 45: A Live Soft Knife Lesson

In the past, Gavin Sterling would have dismissed such words, but things were different now.

After all, he had just recently witnessed Stella’s unhinged behavior with his own eyes.

Not only did she talk back defiantly, but she had even dared to get physical.

She had slapped Kiana several times, and Chase hadn’t even been able to stop her.

And now, Stella had Owen Rhodes to rely on.

Gavin still hadn’t gauged the extent of this "favor," forcing him to tread carefully when it came to matters concerning Stella.

But the current situation didn’t allow him the luxury of deliberation.

The Hollis father and son were standing not far away. He couldn’t possibly embarrass them in public. Besides, what was this business about her being "married"?

Gavin had never paid much attention to Stella’s affairs.

Even when Madeline Jennings constantly complained about Stella’s rebellious and unmanageable nature, he had always assumed that with Madeline watching over her, nothing truly serious could happen.

But now, something serious had happened.

Stella had gone and gotten "married" without a word!

He then recalled that during their argument the other day, Stella had mentioned a matching ring.

At the time, he had dismissed her little ploys as an attempt to keep pestering Ethan Rhodes and hadn’t given it a second thought.

Now, it seemed the ring was most likely just a front.

’But why couldn’t it be "real"?’

For a family like theirs, freedom in marriage was nothing more than empty words.

Marriage was a powerful tool for consolidating interests.

Kiana had already secured the Rhodes family for him through Ethan. He was counting on Stella to marry into another alliance and further expand their own company.

’Who gave her the right to make her own decisions?’

Besides, even if Stella wanted to get married, without Ethan Rhodes, who would have her?

Stella was a bird in a cage. Her social circle was tiny, with only a few people she saw regularly. The number of men was even more pathetic—there was Ethan Rhodes, Joel Joyce, and Ryan Shaw.

’Ethan Rhodes and Joel Joyce are out of the question. Ryan Shaw? Heh, even more impossible.’

’Married?’

’What a joke.’

’Does she think she can fool me with a ring?’

Gavin’s face fell. He warned in a low voice, "If you dare cause a scene here today, don’t blame me for disregarding our father-daughter bond! I don’t care if this ’married’ business is true or not. Right now, you will go apologize to President Hollis and his son. Tell them you’re single! I gave you two days of freedom out of respect for Owen Rhodes. Do you really think you’ve grown wings?"

Stella sneered. ’He’s being completely unreasonable.’

"And if I don’t apologize?"

"Hmph, as if you have a choice!"

With that, Gavin reached out, grabbed Stella, and started dragging her to apologize.

Furious, Stella raised her hand, ready to smash her plate at him.

Just as she lifted her arm, someone stopped her.

She turned her head and saw it was Joel Joyce.

’He’s impossible to shake!’

With a deadpan expression, Joel intercepted the plate in her hand, set it on a nearby table, and then silently stepped aside.

The entire time, he was like an emotionless robot, never even lifting his gaze.

Stella felt like she had thrown a punch into a ball of cotton. The frustration only made her angrier.

Just then, a cheerful voice called out from nearby, "Stella! Ah—!"

Ariana Grant appeared out of nowhere, calling Stella’s name cheerfully as she jogged over, holding up the hem of her dress.

In a moment of carelessness, she lost her footing. Her body swayed, and she stumbled forward.

Unfortunately, she was holding a glass of champagne. As she fell forward, the entire contents of the glass splashed squarely onto Gavin Sterling’s face.

SPLASH.

Her aim was so perfect, it was hard not to suspect she had done it on purpose.

Gavin Sterling froze, stunned.

The clear, alcohol-scented liquid dripped from his hair and ran down his cheeks. Shocked and enraged, Gavin stared, speechless.

Ariana barely managed to steady herself. When she looked up, her face was a mask of apology.

"Oh my! Mr. Sterling, are you alright? I’m so, so sorry! Look at how clumsy I am. Quick, let me help you wipe that off!"

Apologies flew from Ariana’s lips as she hastily grabbed a "colorful" napkin from the edge of the table and started dabbing at Gavin’s face.

Stella: "..."

’Leave it to you.’

Stella wanted to applaud her.

The napkin was from the buffet table, used to rest the tongs for the meat dishes. It was covered in yellow grease stains, which Ariana was now smearing all over Gavin’s face.

To make matters worse, at his makeup artist’s suggestion, Gavin had put on foundation for the ceremony earlier.

Now, after Ariana’s "help," his face was a spectacular mess.

"You—"

Gavin pointed at Ariana, about to erupt in anger, but Ariana’s eyes immediately welled up. Looking helpless, she said, "Mr. Sterling, I’m so sorry. It was a complete accident. Please don’t be angry. I apologize, I’m so sorry..."

With her wide, doe-like eyes brimming with tears, Ariana apologized and bowed repeatedly, her sincerity so profound, you would think she was bidding him a final farewell.

Walter Hollis and his father stood nearby, taking in the whole spectacle.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of the people around them.

Stella stepped up beside Ariana and gestured toward her own face. "President Sterling," she reminded him, "I didn’t want to make a scene, but you’re the one who looks like you’re in the middle of one. Everyone’s watching. You should go get cleaned up. It’s embarrassing."

Gavin glanced around, gritted his teeth, and stormed away.

Stella, in turn, soothed the "inconsolably weeping" Ariana as they walked off in the other direction.

Once they were in a less crowded spot, Ariana’s bright, dark eyes scanned the area. Seeing no one was paying attention, she sniffled and began today’s lesson.

"Stella, let me teach you another trick today. You’re just too rigid. You don’t always have to be so confrontational and butt heads with people. Sometimes, a subtle approach works better than a direct one. If you can’t beat them out in the open, then you play dirty. Got it?"

This was why they said Ariana was the one leading Stella down the path of mischief.

She was holding nothing back, teaching Stella everything she knew!

Recalling what Gavin had looked like just moments ago, Stella couldn’t help but laugh. "Got it."

Ariana had only said it casually, not expecting Stella to put her teachings into practice so quickly down the line.

Besides Walter Hollis and his father, another person who had just witnessed the spectacle was Owen Rhodes, who had been quietly observing from the sidelines.

Silas Jacobs stood beside him, a glass of wine in hand. His shoulders were shaking as he bit his lip, trying to stifle his laughter, nearly sloshing his drink out of the glass.

Finally, he added to Owen, "For the record, I’m definitely not laughing at your esteemed father-in-law."

Owen said, "No one’s stopping you from laughing."

’Well then,’ Silas thought, ’looks like he’s not close with his father-in-law.’

Silas raised an eyebrow and draped an arm over Owen’s shoulder.

"Who’s that girl with your wife? Your wife is interesting, and so are her friends."

’Who would even think to smear a towel like that on someone’s face?’

Owen was concise. "Crestwood of Sudleigh, Ariana Grant."

Silas was stunned. "She’s *the* Ariana Grant? Your wife has some hidden depths."

Just as he said that, Ariana and Stella happened to walk past them.

Guessing that the couple intended to act like strangers, Silas didn’t call them out on it.

However, as Ariana passed him, he raised a hand to stop them.

With a roguish grin, Silas looked at Ariana and said, "Well now, miss. I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before."