After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 74: Not Helping Her, but Harming Her

As Wyatt Sterling approached, Owen Sterling immediately let go of Alice and pulled her behind him protectively.

"Third Uncle!"

Owen Sterling was on guard from head to toe.

Alice York looked up at Wyatt Sterling. His face was expressionless, impossible to read, but she could clearly feel his anger...

After a moment’s hesitation, she quietly stepped out from behind Owen Sterling.

Owen Sterling immediately grabbed her wrist. "Alice, I’ll protect you this time. I won’t let them take you away again."

"That’s not..."

Before she could finish, Owen Sterling tugged her back.

"You just got back from abroad, didn’t you? Since when were you two siblings so close?" Wyatt Sterling asked, his piercing gaze fixed on Alice York.

Owen Sterling replied frankly, "Third Uncle, you rarely visit the family estate, so it’s only natural you wouldn’t know how close Alice and I are. Before I left the country, she was always by my side. A mere three years could hardly weaken the bond between us."

Wyatt Sterling’s gaze turned sharp. "Is that so?"

Owen Sterling: "Of course."

Alice York understood that Owen Sterling was trying to back her up, deliberately making her seem important in front of Wyatt Sterling.

’But... why does it feel like Owen isn’t helping me, but hurting me instead...’

The atmosphere turned frosty.

Standing to the side, Mason Cheney held his breath, frantically trying to catch Alice York’s eye.

Alice York got the hint. Just as she was about to speak, Wyatt Sterling walked over and stopped beside Owen Sterling. "An older brother should act like one. What’s all this pulling and grabbing?"

The uncle and nephew were roughly the same height, but Wyatt Sterling had the broad shoulders and solid frame of a mature man, while Owen Sterling was leaner, giving him a more boyish look.

"I haven’t seen Alice in a long time. Try to understand, Third Uncle." Owen Sterling refused to back down this time.

Wyatt Sterling gave a cold laugh and walked inside, his face grim.

Not until the tall figure disappeared into the foyer did Owen Sterling put some distance between himself and Alice York. He took two steps back and looked down at her. "Were you scared?"

Alice York shook her head.

Owen Sterling noticed the marks on Alice York’s neck and raised a hand to touch them. "Your neck..."

Alice York avoided Owen Sterling’s touch.

She had deliberately worn a turtleneck today, and it hid most of the bruises on her neck, but not all. They were still visible if you looked closely.

"Who hurt you?" Owen Sterling’s face fell.

It was too difficult to explain, so Alice York could only say, "It was an accident."

"Those are either ligature marks or bruises from a chokehold. How could that be an accident?" Owen Sterling wasn’t an idiot. He could tell at a glance those marks weren’t from an accident.

Alice York sighed softly. "Owen, just pretend it was an accident, okay? Please don’t ask."

’The Churchill Family’s affairs were too complicated; it was impossible to explain.’

A lump formed in Owen Sterling’s throat, and he swallowed the rest of his words. "Fine. I won’t ask. I’ll wait for you to tell me yourself."

After he spoke, he led her to a small gazebo.

Alice York asked him, "Weren’t you going out?"

"Now that you’re back, why would I go out?" When they reached the gazebo, he guided her to a seat and then sat down beside her.

There was a teapot on the table. Lifting the lid and seeing it was empty, he waved a servant over to bring a fresh pot of hot tea.

With so much on her mind, Alice York couldn’t sit still. Owen Sterling noticed and reassured her, "You just got back. Grandfather will definitely see you. Let’s wait. When he sends someone to get you, I’ll go with you."

A servant brought a steaming pot of tea, and Owen Sterling poured a cup, placing it in front of Alice York. "I noticed your hands were ice-cold earlier. Drink this to warm up."

Alice York held the cup but didn’t drink.

’She was realizing that Owen Sterling’s concern for her was almost... excessive.’

The atmosphere was quiet for a long moment, until Alice York called out softly, "Owen?"

Owen Sterling looked up. Seeing the change in his eyes, Alice York faltered, "Owen, you..."

The corners of his eyes were rimmed with red. Guilt washed over him in a tide, and self-blame crushed him, making it hard to breathe. He felt he had profoundly failed her.

"Alice, I said I would bring you back, but I failed. I’m useless."

With that, Owen Sterling slammed a fist on the stone table, punishing himself for his own powerlessness.

Startled, Alice York put down her teacup and grabbed his hand. "Owen, your hand!"

"Alice, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry..." Owen Sterling apologized to her over and over.

Seeing Owen Sterling like this, Alice York couldn’t help but think of the past.

Back then, Mindy Vaughn had been singularly focused on having a son to solidify her status, almost forgetting she had a daughter whom she’d brought into the Sterling family. She neglected her completely.

She vividly remembered one very cold, rainy day. With a runny nose, she had sat on the steps outside, motionless as a stone statue, staring into the distance, hoping her mother would appear, hold her, and just talk to her for a little while.

She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there, but eventually her body grew scorching hot with a high fever, and she passed out. When she came to, she saw Owen Sterling watching over her with a worried expression, the family doctor he’d summoned at his side.

Her fever hadn’t broken, and she was too delirious to recognize anyone. Lying in bed, she stared blankly and called for her mother. Through her hazy vision, she saw Owen Sterling plunge into the rain to go find her.

Mindy Vaughn did come, eventually. But she didn’t hold her or stay with her. She just stood to the side, scolding her for being so much trouble and saying that a little fever wouldn’t kill her...

She cried silently. In her peripheral vision, she saw Owen Sterling, soaked to the bone, standing by and watching over her quietly.

"Owen, you’ve always been so good to me. No one could have intervened this time. You don’t need to blame yourself," she soothed him softly.

But Owen Sterling said, "I’d rather you just blame me."

Alice York shook her head. She wouldn’t.

"By the way, Alice, did you come back on your own, or...?" Owen Sterling seemed uncertain. "I thought I saw you coming in with Third Uncle just now."

"You weren’t mistaken. I came in with Third Uncle. We came back from Washington together."

"So, are you free now?" This was what worried Owen Sterling the most.

"I suppose I’m free, for now," she said.

The matter couldn’t be explained in a few words, and Alice York didn’t dare reveal too much to Owen Sterling. Mason Cheney had told her that from the moment she got to Washington, Wyatt Sterling had been controlling the entire situation.

She only gave him a rough outline of her time with the Churchill Family, not describing it in a way that sounded too awful. On the surface, it sounded uneventful.

But Owen Sterling was no fool. He was certain Alice York’s time with the Churchill Family had been far from the placid existence she described.

"They forced me to come back. Third Uncle even had me placed in confinement to stop me from contacting you. I went through hell just to get in touch with Second Aunt, but then they locked me up again..."

At this, Owen Sterling grew furious. "That man, Third Uncle... for the sake of profit, there’s nothing he won’t do. I already asked Grandfather. Grandfather said this whole scheme was Third Uncle’s idea from the start, including sending you to the Churchill Family. It was all his doing."

Alice York froze, her expression filling with confusion. "But wasn’t... wasn’t the plan to send me to the Churchill Family Grandfather’s idea?"

"It wasn’t Grandfather. It was Third Uncle. Third Uncle is the one who wanted to send you to the Churchill Family." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Owen Sterling’s tone was adamant.