My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 11: Returning the Ex’s Betrothal Gifts

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Returning the Ex’s Betrothal Gifts

Silas Norwood had a preference for a cool and detached style.

Today was no different; he wore a minimalist, haute couture black casual suit. A mysterious and noble crest was embroidered in silver thread on the cuffs. Aside from a striking black thumb ring, he wore no other accessories.

Surrounded by the crowd, Silas Norwood’s eyes were as pale as if coated in a thin layer of ice.

He sat on the sofa with an elegant and aristocratic air, like a sculpture of ice and jade—impeccably refined and unapproachable. It was as if a layer of fog separated him from the surrounding clamor. But when his gaze met Celia Sterling’s, her reflection was etched clearly into his amber eyes, and the distant aura around him instantly melted away like snow and ice.

The feeling was indescribable.

It was as if... to him, she was different from everyone else.

A faint blush rose to Celia Sterling’s cheeks, and she reflexively avoided his gaze.

The faintest hint of a smile flickered in Silas Norwood’s eyes. He lowered his head again, flipping through a document in his hands without saying a word.

After Justin Norwood, Jude Norwood, and their wives had been chatting back and forth for over ten minutes, Silas finally interrupted them calmly:

"Brother, Second Brother, Chairman Sterling is a busy man. That’s enough pleasantries."

Justin and Jude Norwood tactfully fell silent, ceding the floor to the current, unpredictable head of the family.

Silas pushed the document in his hands toward Kian Sterling. "Kade, shall we get straight to the point?"

Kian Sterling teased, "You were quiet for so long, I thought you were going to leave the matter of the marriage switch entirely to your brothers and wash your hands of it."

"How could I dare let someone else handle my own marriage?"

Silas Norwood’s voice was crisp as he answered Kian seriously. He then turned his gaze to Celia Sterling’s face, his sharp eyes softening a fraction. "Cece, we meet again."

Celia recalled the slightly awkward moment when they’d added each other as friends yesterday. Her composure, which had just been shaken by his subtle gaze, instantly returned. She greeted him politely:

"Silas."

Silas gave a soft "mhm" in acknowledgment, then opened the document and asked for the siblings’ opinions in a refined manner:

"Chairman Sterling, Cece, shall we proceed with signing the new marriage agreement?"

Kian casually tossed a document over as well.

"This was Declan’s original contract. The engagement to him is void. Within three days, the Sterling Family will return the relevant betrothal gifts mentioned in the agreement, including Declan’s personal assets: several hundred million in stock equity, eighty-eight real estate properties, and one hundred million in cash."

Celia tugged on Kian’s sleeve. "Brother, there’s also that whole cabinet of trinkets."

Kian glanced at his sister. "There are a few pieces in there I remember you being quite fond of."

Celia made a soft sound of acknowledgment. "They’re just material things. Nothing irreplaceable."

A smile flashed in Kian’s eyes as he turned back to the Norwoods.

"Over the years, Declan gave my sister a considerable amount of jewelry. All told, it’s worth nearly four hundred million, including the Star of the Blue Sea, which was recently purchased for 180 million at a Port Sovereign auction. That will all be returned as well."

When Justin and his wife heard the words "four hundred million" and "180 million," even for people from a super-rich family, they were still left speechless with anger at their own spendthrift, love-addled son.

The first branch of the family was in decline. For the initial betrothal gifts, Declan had put up nearly all of his personal, liquidatable assets. Although Justin and Mrs. Norwood were dissatisfied, they knew Miss Sterling was a prized match, so they just grumbled a bit and let it go.

’Who would have known that prodigal son would blow through so much more money trying to please Celia over the past few years? No wonder the companies under his name were poorly managed and financially unstable. He was always coming home crying poor. With all his money drained, it would have been a miracle if they *were* stable...’

Frustrated as they were, they had to keep up appearances. Mrs. Norwood smiled and demurred:

"Return what’s on the betrothal list, of course, but there’s no need to return the jewelry. After all this, Celia will still be one of the Norwoods. She can just keep them to play with." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Celia’s tone was serious. "If we’re returning things, we should return everything completely. It’ll prevent needless gossip."

"Keep them," Silas said unhurriedly. "After today, he’ll have to call you ’Little Aunt.’ It’s only right for a nephew to show respect to his elders with a few small trinkets."

The smiles on Justin and Mrs. Norwood’s faces nearly cracked!

Silas not only controlled the majority of the Norwood Conglomerate’s shares but also had several massive, self-founded ecological-model corporations with enormous cash flow. Money was the one thing he didn’t lack.

A few hundred million might be a "small trinket" to Silas, but for the semi-powerless first branch of the family, it was a significant sum.

Getting it back would naturally be for the best.

But Silas had always wielded a quiet, domineering authority within the family. When he made a decision, never mind others—even his own brothers, Justin and Jude, had no say in the matter.

Justin’s heart was bleeding, but he smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes, Miss Sterling, please keep them."

Celia shook her head slightly, looking at Silas seriously. "I said, I’m returning them."

Her eyes were bright and clear, yet held a captivating charm that seemed to tug at the heart. Silas met her gaze for only two short seconds before looking away.

"Then return them. I’ll refill your cabinet with double the amount later."

He had changed his mind so easily because of a single sentence from Celia. Justin and Jude exchanged a look of shocked suspicion. For Justin, however, the recovery of several hundred million in jewelry was a huge relief, and his smile became a little more genuine.

"Silas, several auction houses have sent their catalogs to the Norwood Family. When you have time, you should pick out some show-stopping treasures for our Cece."

"I’ll decide what to give my fiancée. You don’t need to worry about it, Brother."

Silas replied coolly, his hand with the thumb ring tapping lightly on the other agreement, bringing the topic back on track.

"Although this is a groom switch, the Norwood Family was discourteous first, so we naturally can’t use the previous standard for the betrothal gifts. This is the list of gifts from my side. Chairman Sterling, Cece, would you like to take a look first?"

The agreement was quite thick. Its contents were largely the same as the voided one, but the amounts for the stock equity, real estate, and cash gifts had been multiplied several times over. It was incredibly extravagant, yet not entirely out of line considering Silas’s personal net worth.

Staring at the astonishing figures on the densely packed list, Celia, for the first time, truly understood the extent of the wealth possessed by the man known as the number one Moneybags of the Capital Circle.

"Only the value of the betrothal gifts has been adjusted; the wedding date remains the same." Silas paused for a moment. "The wedding is in three months. Since Cece and I are not yet well-acquainted, I hope we can go on at least two dates a week during these three months to cultivate our relationship."

Celia was a bit stunned and didn’t know how to respond.

Kian, however, gave a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile, his voice chilling slightly. "Dates? What kind of dates?"

Kian was extremely protective and strict with Celia. In Declan’s three years of dating her, the most intimate they had ever been was holding hands and hugging.

It wasn’t that the restless and lustful Declan hadn’t tried for more. He had gone to great lengths multiple times to lure Celia to his own territory, but he only succeeded once—and that was because Kian had personally accompanied her.

"I heard you invited my sister to play an ’exploration game.’" Kian said with a cold smile. "Explore what? Her body?"