My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 25: Unseemly

A hot, clinging breath, like a feather, brushed against Silas Norwood’s sensitive Adam’s apple.

A soft head buried itself in the crook of his neck, and wine-stained red lips haphazardly tugged at the black jade button on his collar.

Even for a man like Silas Norwood, who was accustomed to grand occasions, his mind went blank for several seconds.

As for the other five young ladies from prominent families, they froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, their drunkenness vanishing in an instant.

A faint snap echoed.

The sound of a thread giving way.

The collar of the aloof, ascetic man’s shirt gaped open, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of his collarbone. The girl’s waterfall of hair obscured most of the view, but a few strands slipped inside his shirt...

Celia Sterling, dazed, tried hard to remember. "They just said... to un-unbutton..."

"Unbutton four," Nina Sterling answered reflexively. Although she had sobered up, she was growing dizzy again just from looking at Silas Norwood. The moment she realized what she’d said, she wanted to slap herself.

Celia Sterling was already searching for the second button.

Silas Norwood pinched the fallen button. As Celia Sterling’s gaze drifted downward, his cool palm gently covered her eyes.

"Nonsense."

The word was spoken with a measured tone. It sounded like a reprimand, yet it was delivered with such gentleness. The inexplicable frustration that had been building up inside him completely dissipated because of this little scene.

He held Celia Sterling’s squirming body still and lifted his gaze, looking coolly at the young ladies who were enjoying the show. His tone was gentle yet distant.

"Shall I arrange for my bodyguards to escort you all home?"

Quinn Sinclair and the others woodenly shook their heads.

"At Kade’s request, I’ll be taking Cece with me." Silas Norwood gave a cultured, gentle nod. "Please, carry on."

He then released Celia Sterling, pressing her unsteady form against his chest. Placing a hand on her waist, he led her away.

The noble figure of the man receded into the distance, light and shadow playing across him from the skylit corridor. In his arms, Celia Sterling squirmed like a restless kitten.

The man lowered his head, his voice too low to be heard clearly. "Behave yourself."

A moment later, they disappeared around the corner.

Back in the private room, Quinn Sinclair shivered as she snapped back to her senses. "I thought he was supposed to be the untouchable prize on the highest mountain? Then what do you call Celia gnawing on his button?"

Eldest Miss Sterling let out a long breath, patting her chest over her heart. "So all these years, the reason we could never conquer him... was because we were too subtle? We should have just pounced and taken a bite?"

Miss Warren, however, was focused on something else. "’At Kian Sterling’s request?’ Silas Norwood and Kian Sterling... the untouchable dream and the unforgettable memory. Since when did they get so close?"

The Second Miss March still hadn’t recovered. "He really lives up to his reputation as the ultimate dreamboat. So mesmerizing... My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would leap out of my chest."

Only Jasmine Lowell remained, standing rooted to the spot. She stared blankly at the door, replaying Silas Norwood’s coolly alluring voice in her mind as if she were possessed.

’So, after all this time, after all my searching... the Norwood Young Master I’ve been dreaming of day and night... was him.’

’Who the fuck would have guessed it was him?’

’Back then, separated by just a single screen, I was so close to being the woman who captured the ’Moonlight’.’

"Celia Sterling..." Jasmine Lowell trembled all over. The memory of Celia dragging her away from that matchmaking session, cursing her out with the foulest language, flooded her mind. "Fuck your brother!"

「In the club’s front lobby.」

Theo Chambers and a group of bodyguards waited at the main entrance, staring straight ahead. His mind, however, was already playing out various scenarios of a dramatic, love-hate confrontation.

’When the Boss went in just now, I saw that icy aura around him plain as day. And I got a clear look at that meek little puppy next to Miss Sterling, too.’

’Knowing the Boss’s temper, this probably won’t end well. I wonder if half an hour is even enough time for things to wrap up.’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Silas Norwood emerge with Celia Sterling.

’Has it only been a few minutes?’

Theo Chambers was baffled. He snuck a subtle glance at Silas Norwood’s face. ’He went in looking like a gathering storm, but he’s come out all elegant and gentle, as if touched by a spring breeze. Has he been soothed already?’

He respectfully opened the rear car door for Silas Norwood.

Silas Norwood gently helped Celia Sterling into the back seat. Her pale arms instinctively wrapped around his neck. "Three more to go."

Theo Chambers thought, ’Three more? Three more what?’

Silas Norwood gently caught her restless hands, his grip tightening imperceptibly. "Cece, this isn’t proper."

’That tone...’

Theo Chambers thought silently, ’...so gentle. It doesn’t sound at all like they were just fighting.’

Silas Norwood followed her into the car.

"To Jade Orchid Manor," he ordered in a low voice, lowering his gaze to toy with the thumb ring on his finger. Celia Sterling rubbed her throbbing temples, then leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Silas Norwood paused for a moment, then his slender, well-defined hand slipped through her cascading hair to gently cradle her head.

Her breath tickled the side of his neck, her soft body pressed close to his, separated only by the thinnest layer of fabric. Silas Norwood was composed at first, but gradually, he lost all interest in toying with his thumb ring.

An hour later, the Guster arrived at Jade Orchid Manor.

Silas Norwood instructed the butler to have a maid escort Celia Sterling to a bath, while he headed to his own bedroom.

He unhurriedly took off his black shirt, his eyes falling on the broken threads at his collar where the button had been torn off.

Then, he lowered his head, drew closer, and slowly pressed his pale lips to that very same spot.

After a long moment.

"A thirty-one-year-old man can’t handle being teased like this..."

With a soft sigh, he grabbed the shirt and headed into the bathroom.

Silas Norwood usually showered in ten minutes, but this time, he took a full hour. When he emerged from the bathroom, Assistant Thorne, who was in charge of his laundry, was standing respectfully outside.

"Boss, I didn’t see the shirt you changed out of."

"I’ll take care of the shirt myself," Silas Norwood replied flatly, then added, "And arrange for another female assistant. She’ll be serving my wife from now on."

Assistant Thorne acknowledged the order and silently withdrew.

Silas Norwood left the room and went downstairs, casually asking, "Where’s Cece?"

"Miss Sterling bathed and has already fallen asleep," the butler replied quickly. "Chairman Sterling arrived a short while ago. He’s in the drawing room."

Silas Norwood nodded. "Go to my wine cellar and bring the ’45 Pinot Noir."

Celia Sterling slept for quite a long time.

When she awoke, it was already noon. Her eyes opened to a completely unfamiliar bedroom. The decor was elegant yet neutral. Through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, she could faintly see the surface of a distant lake shimmering with light.

After a moment of disorientation, Celia Sterling closed her eyes, and fragments of memory from before she got drunk slowly began to surface.

’Six obedient male models... a chaotic game of Truth or Dare... and after that... Silas Norwood?’

’And that black button... the one I bit off...’

Celia Sterling’s face suddenly flushed beet red. Just what kind of absurd, outrageous thing had she done under the influence of alcohol!

’Drinking really does lead to trouble,’ she thought, both embarrassed and panicked. And this was big trouble. She spun around and ran downstairs.

Each floor of Jade Orchid Manor was enormous. After running blindly in a panic for a while, she finally found the staircase. She rushed down the steps, only to freeze in place the next moment.

Downstairs, in the vast living room, two men were seated in separate armchairs.

Kian Sterling, dressed in a wine-red business suit, looking sharp and dangerously alluring.

And Silas Norwood, dressed in white loungewear, looking noble and coolly reserved.

The moment she appeared downstairs, both men turned their gazes on her at once.