My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 169: Cece, I’m Daddy
The next day, Natalie Shepherd didn’t come over right after her classes ended. Instead, she first went back to the Shepherd Family home.
By the time she arrived at Sterling Villa, Silas Norwood and the others were also getting home from work, arriving one after the other.
"Hey, Brother-in-law." Natalie Shepherd glanced behind Silas Norwood. "Where is she?"
"Cece’s busy in The Perfumery Lab." Silas Norwood wasn’t lying. On the way home, his wife had been struck by a sudden burst of inspiration. The moment she got back, she locked herself in The Perfumery Lab, leaving both her husband and her brother out in the cold.
Looking a little dejected, Natalie Shepherd slowly sat on the sofa, opened her backpack, and took out her homework.
Silas Norwood glanced at her impassively. "If there’s something you need, you can tell me or Kian Sterling. Anything Cece can solve, your brother and I can handle just as well."
"I promised I’d show her the photos yesterday," Natalie Shepherd mumbled. "I told her Mommy loves her the most, but she doesn’t believe me. At night, Mommy often looks at her childhood photos and cries, missing her."
Silas Norwood, who had been working on his phone, froze.
He slowly set down his phone and tapped the table gently. "Let me have a look."
Natalie Shepherd pulled three small, yellowed photos from a hidden pocket in her pencil case and handed them over. "I took these from a photo album. Please be careful with them. Mommy guards these photos closely; she’ll be angry if they get damaged."
Silas Norwood murmured a soft "Mm," his deep, unreadable gaze falling upon the photos in his palm.
There were three photos: one of her as an infant, one at two or three years old, and one at four or five.
The little girl was skin and bones, her complexion an unnatural, ashen white. She looked unbearably frail. Even having made it to four or five years old, her sickly appearance hadn’t improved; if anything, it seemed to be worsening. The opulent, custom-made gown, inlaid with gold and jade, felt like the brilliant flash of a firework before it vanishes—it had an air of unreality.
This was the real Celia Sterling.
The congenitally frail Celia Sterling from his memories.
Not the chubby, rosy-cheeked, adorable Celia Sterling from the photos brought back from Port Sovereign.
Holding the photos, Silas Norwood found himself lost in thought.
"Silas, see all the little yellow spots on them? Those are from Mom’s tears," Natalie Shepherd said softly. "My sister refuses to believe me."
Silas Norwood hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing.
Kian Sterling, now in casual loungewear, came downstairs. He looked down on the two of them in the living room. "What are you doing?"
"Brother!" Seeing Kian Sterling, Natalie Shepherd instantly perked up, greeting him in a fawning tone. "I was showing Silas photos of my sister when she was little."
The air around Kian Sterling seemed to cool. He descended the stairs at a leisurely pace, his long legs moving unhurriedly. He nonchalantly plucked the photos from Silas Norwood’s hand, gave them a cursory glance, and slipped them into his pocket.
"Brother?" Natalie Shepherd looked baffled.
"I’ll return the photos to Mother myself," Kian Sterling stated. "Don’t bring any more photos here again."
"I... I just wanted my sister to know that Mommy loves her the most," Natalie Shepherd said, blinking.
"Mother doesn’t love Cece," Kian Sterling said coldly. "What she loves most are her own interests."
With that, he started shooing her away. "Go upstairs with the assistant to do your homework. This is your last night here. I’m having you sent back to the Shepherd Family first thing in the morning."
Looking thoroughly wronged, Natalie Shepherd followed the assistant upstairs.
Silas Norwood watched all of this unfold in silence, not saying a word.
Kian Sterling sat down across from him, leisurely poured a glass of red wine, and only then met Silas Norwood’s gaze.
"What’s on your mind?"
"The photos," Silas Norwood said with a faint smile, his voice gentle and calm. "I never imagined Cece was so frail when she was little."
He made no mention, however, of the Port Sovereign photos he had seen.
Kian Sterling didn’t seem inclined to dwell on the topic. He offered a noncommittal smile. "Good thing she’s quite healthy now, with plenty of energy."
Having said that, he immediately steered the conversation toward business projects.
Silas Norwood went along with it, discussing the major projects their two families were collaborating on. They exchanged words amicably, but both were clearly preoccupied.
In their downcast eyes, each man concealed a glimmer of something the other couldn’t comprehend.
At dinner, Celia Sterling emerged from The Perfumery Lab and sat down between Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood.
Natalie Shepherd, seated on the other side of the table, was listlessly poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. Celia Sterling paused before placing some food on her plate. "Don’t look so miserable. Anyone would think you were being bullied here."
Natalie Shepherd looked at Kian Sterling with pleading eyes. "Can I stay a little—"
"No," Kian Sterling cut her off without a shred of courtesy.
Seeing Natalie looking like she was about to cry, Celia Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you going to show me some photos? You little liar."
"I did bring them!" Natalie’s attention was successfully diverted. "Kian took the photos. They’re in his pocket."
Celia Sterling let out an "Oh?" and held her palm out to Kian Sterling.
"I already gave you so many photos last time. Do you really need these few?" Kian Sterling remained unmoved. "There’s nothing worth seeing."
Celia Sterling studied him with curiosity. "They’re just photos. Why are you hiding them? I just want a look. It’s not a big deal."
"Not happening." Kian Sterling’s domineering and autocratic nature was on full display.
Celia Sterling scanned his devilishly handsome face. "Brother, you’re not acting right."
Beside her, Silas Norwood gently patted Celia Sterling’s palm, then smoothly enclosed her fingers in his hand. He said softly,
"Cece, I’ve seen the photos."
"You got to see them?" Celia Sterling turned to Silas Norwood. "Then why won’t my brother show me?"
"Maybe... they’re too unflattering," Silas Norwood said, choosing his words carefully. "Of all the photos I’ve seen of you, Cece, those are the most wretched."
Celia Sterling was normally quite vain, so hearing this, she gave her brother an understanding look. "Fine, then. Don’t take them out. And you can forget how awful I looked in them, too."
Kian Sterling’s gaze flickered over Silas Norwood’s face before he gave a noncommittal "Mm."
"And don’t show them to anyone else, especially not Silas Norwood," Celia Sterling added with a light cough. "I have my pride to think about."
Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood exchanged a glance, then smoothly looked away.
Halfway through the meal, Celia Sterling’s phone rang.
’An international call?’
She was in the middle of her soup, so she propped the phone on the table and casually put it on speakerphone.
At first, there was only silence from the other end. Then came the soft, tentative, yet intimate call of a middle-aged man: "Cece?"
Celia Sterling froze. Beside her, even Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood focused their attention on the phone. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
"Who is this?" ’An unknown international number. It’s either a scam call or a client I haven’t spoken to in a long time.’ Celia Sterling searched her memory but couldn’t place the voice.
On the other end, once he was sure it was her, the voice grew warmer and more familiar. "Cece, it’s Daddy."
Celia Sterling: "..."
Her mind went blank, and she instinctively looked toward Kian Sterling.
Kian Sterling, however, was perfectly composed. "Cece, hang up."
He reached over and decisively ended the call for her.
But suddenly, the soup in Celia Sterling’s bowl lost its appeal. She bit down on her spoon, feeling agitated and lost as she stared at her brother.
"Why would he call me? We haven’t spoken in over a decade."
