Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Must You Fight Tristan for His Woman?

The call was from Adrian Grant.

Hugo Sterling thought for a moment before answering.

"It’s almost noon. Let’s get lunch."

Hugo knew exactly why he was calling at this hour.

Still, he wanted to ask Adrian what these feelings he had for Noelle actually were.

After all, Adrian was the only one with any real relationship experience.

Kyle Sawyer had plenty of women, but it was all physical for him, never emotional. Asking him would be useless.

After a brief pause, he asked, "Where?"

"Myre River Pavilion."

"Okay, I’ll head over in a bit."

Hugo closed his phone but remained by Noelle’s bedside.

Noelle hadn’t slept all night, so she had drifted off not long ago.

Before leaving, Hugo called a female secretary from his company and left a room key at the front desk for her.

When he arrived at Myre River Pavilion, Adrian was already waiting for him in a private room.

"Tristan isn’t here?"

This was the first thing Hugo said as he sat down.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You two are just as sharp as each other."

A cold smile touched Hugo’s lips.

He hadn’t been answering Tristan’s calls, so of course Tristan would try to reach him through Adrian.

"What did he tell you?"

Adrian shrugged. "Not much. Just asked me to invite you to lunch. He should be on his way. I get the feeling there’s something going on between you two. It’s not about his wife, is it?"

The moment Hugo walked in, Adrian had noticed the strange aura about him today.

Now, Hugo’s thin lips tightened even more.

Adrian had a good idea of the reason now. "You’ve really done it this time," he said. "Of all the people to fall for, you had to pick Tristan’s wife. Get a grip before it’s too late. A friend’s wife is off-limits. Don’t you understand that simple rule?"

’I do! But I can’t help it.’

Hugo clenched his fists. "There are things you don’t know."

"Even if I don’t know everything, I know a thing or two. Tristan’s wife wants a divorce, right? Whatever squabbles they have as a couple are their own business. As their friend, there’s no need for us to get involved. But seriously, Tristan’s tolerance for you is unusually high. You can’t keep testing his limits like this."

Feeling like he still hadn’t made his point clear, Adrian continued, "I know Tristan kept his marriage a secret all these years and never brought his wife out before. We all thought he didn’t care about her. But he never once mentioned divorce. Not even when Sophie Hughes came back. It doesn’t seem like the thought ever crossed his mind. This time, it’s his wife who’s pushing for the divorce. It’s gotten to this point, and you still don’t get it?"

Hugo scoffed. "Are you saying Tristan likes Noelle now?"

"What else could it be? Sophie Hughes is in the past, and it’s not like they can be together anyway. The way I see it, this is definitely because Sophie came back and Tristan’s wife is jealous. Once Tristan sweet-talks her a bit, the whole thing will blow over. Why do you have to get yourself mixed up in it?"

As Tristan’s friend, Hugo might have thought the same way as Adrian in the past.

But he couldn’t now.

He couldn’t stand to see Noelle suffer even the slightest bit.

"You’re overthinking it. Tristan has never truly cared for Noelle."

Adrian frowned. "Why won’t you listen to reason? Are you determined to fight Tristan over a woman?"

Just as he said this, Tristan happened to walk up to the door of the private room.

He stopped in his tracks.

A moment later, Hugo suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Yeah. And I’m going to win."

Tristan pushed open the door to the room.

Adrian’s eyes froze.

’What a coincidence! Did Tristan hear that?’

Tristan walked in with a cold, grim expression and sat down next to Adrian, directly facing Hugo. He didn’t speak right away.

The atmosphere was terrible.

Caught in the middle, Adrian felt extremely awkward.

Fortunately, a waiter came in to serve the food, breaking the cold silence.

"Let’s eat first."

Adrian urged.

But neither of the two men moved.

They hadn’t come here to eat.

Adrian looked at Tristan, then at Hugo. He didn’t know what had happened last night, so he assumed Hugo was in the wrong for coveting Tristan’s wife. He shot Hugo a meaningful look, hoping he would take the initiative and speak to Tristan.

They were all friends. They could smooth this over, let it go, and move on.

But to his surprise, Hugo didn’t respond to him at all.

Instead, it was Tristan who spoke first. "Where is she?"

Adrian stared at Tristan in astonishment.

’What on earth happened?’

"Aren’t you supposed to be so capable? What’s the matter, can’t find her?"

Hugo had placed Noelle in a hotel owned by the Sterling Group without any check-in records. It would be nearly impossible for Tristan to find her quickly.

Adrian immediately tried to mediate. "Hugo, that’s enough."

But Tristan cut Adrian off. "It’s okay. I was the one who was wrong first."

Adrian was dumbfounded.

’Hugo has clearly hidden Tristan’s wife away, but Tristan isn’t even angry? And he’s admitting he’s at fault?’

Tristan spoke again. "In the current situation, if I don’t go and explain things to her, it will only make matters worse. Please, tell me where she is."

Even though Hugo had metaphorically stabbed him in the back, he had no intention of holding it against him.

After all, he really was in the wrong.

He wasn’t even angry that Hugo had taken Noelle away.

Because Hugo was protecting Noelle.

What happened last night wasn’t what he wanted.

He had gone there to comfort her. He didn’t know why it had ended up like that.

Perhaps... it had been too long. He had longed for her too much...

"Stop putting on an act. Do you really think she could ever forgive you? Wake up. I suggest you divorce her as soon as possible!"

"Hugo!" Adrian said urgently. "Why won’t you listen to reason?"

Tristan raised a hand, signaling for Adrian to stay quiet.

He stared at Hugo. "I won’t get a divorce."

"You think it’s still up to you? Dream on!"

Hugo’s face, which usually wore a smile, was completely void of one today.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Tristan’s attitude wasn’t overly harsh.

"Give me her address, and I will use all my resources to help you find your sister."

Other than this, Tristan couldn’t think of any other offer that might tempt Hugo.

’Finding my little sister is important, and urgent. But I can’t just ignore what’s happening with Noelle. Tristan has a lot of high-tech online resources at his disposal. If he went all out to find her, he’d be much faster than me. But I won’t use Noelle as a bargaining chip.’

Hugo said nothing.

Adrian tried to persuade him. "Hugo, come on. Noelle is Tristan’s wife. Hiding her away like this isn’t right. Whatever problems they have as a couple are not for you to interfere with. Just tell Tristan, okay?"

Just then, Tristan’s phone rang.

It was a call from Mrs. Miller.

"Sir, you need to come home right away! People from the Disabled Persons’ Federation and the Women’s Federation are here. They said if you don’t come back soon, they’re going to call the police."