My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 26: The Joint Trial

The first thought that flashed through Celia Sterling’s mind was ’An interrogation.’

She froze, hesitating before she spoke. "Brother... Silas."

A bottle of red wine and a few plates of snacks sat on the coffee table between Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood. Kian swirled the wine in his glass, eyeing Celia. "Come here. Sit."

Celia walked over in silence and sat beside Kian.

"So, you’ve gotten bold. Daring to go find male escorts all by yourself." Kian’s expression was unreadable.

Celia lowered her head and said nothing.

Kian sneered, his tone severe. "Going is one thing, but you didn’t even bring your bodyguards. Do you have any idea how many creeps in Metropia have their eyes on you?"

A pang of guilt struck Celia, and she didn’t answer. But Kian wasn’t wrong. In their branch of the vast Sterling Group, it was just the two of them. With their family’s immense wealth, plenty of the good-for-nothing playboys in their circle wanted to use her as a shortcut to success, hoping to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor.

"And you hid it from me." Kian clicked his tongue. "Am I getting in your way now?"

"I’m sorry, Brother," Celia apologized sincerely, meekly admitting her fault. "I’ll try not to party like that with them anymore."

Kian watched her, his face impassive. "Tell me. What exactly did you and those pretty boys get up to?"

"Nothing. I was just having fun with Quinn and the others. Those... *ahem*... those male attendants just helped tidy the room and pour drinks."

Kian hummed, then turned to Silas Norwood. "Is that so?"

Silas recalled the scene he’d walked in on. The male escort had seemed perfectly proper, but his eyes held a subtle, seductive glint whenever he looked at Celia. Silas’s pale gold eyes rested on her now. The girl’s fiery spirit from when she’d smashed the bottle was long gone. Now, she just looked meek and timid...

Silas hummed softly, his tone ambiguous. "Pouring drinks was part of it."

’If that was part of it, then there was more.’ Kian set his glass down with deliberate quietness and picked up his phone, his gaze unreadable. "Are you going to tell me, or do I need to pull the security footage?"

Celia looked at Silas, who was fanning the flames, and felt a surge of helplessness.

"Nina and the others knew what they were doing, but I... I just had him peel some sunflower seeds for me and, and sing a couple of songs. I ignored him after that."

"You’re glossing over the important parts." Kian had been both a father and a mother to her growing up; he knew her temperament inside and out. "My Cece has never been a well-behaved little girl."

Celia knew Kian was truly furious. She steeled herself and let it all spill out. "I made him call me ’Big Sis’ dozens of times, d-dance a few provocative dances for me, and I tipped him a hundred thousand."

Kian slowly reached over and picked up a list from a side table. "The youngest of them is twenty-five. And you had him call you ’Big Sis’? My Cece certainly has exotic tastes."

Celia’s almond-shaped eyes grew red as she lowered her head in silence.

Kian wasn’t about to let her off the hook. "And the alcohol? How many glasses did you have?"

"I don’t remember... at least a dozen." Celia’s voice was barely a whisper. "We were playing truth or dare. Nina and the others were asking vicious questions and giving nasty dares. I didn’t want to do them, so I chose to drink instead."

"Tell me," Kian said, his voice deceptively mild. "I’m curious."

Celia fell silent for a moment. "They asked about... your private physical stats."

Kian: "..."

"Then they dared me to undo one of the escort’s buttons with my teeth. I—"

Before Celia could finish, the air around Kian turned frigid. "You did it?"

And Silas was right there.

Celia’s face burned, and she stammered, "I took the drink... I don’t remember what happened after that."

"You really don’t remember?" Silas picked up the thread of conversation, his voice unhurried.

Celia’s gaze snapped to him.

She saw his gaze was lowered, his large, well-defined hand toying with a black, jade-like button.

The image of her biting down on it at the club flashed through her mind—absurd, intimate, the scent of him enveloping her...

Celia quickly averted her eyes. "I drank too much. I really don’t remember."

"As it happens, I remember what happened next." Silas’s voice was gentle, yet it carried an inscrutable undertone. "Shall I help Cece recall?"

Celia looked at Silas again.

Her wide, almond-shaped eyes were filled with mortification. She pressed her lips together in a silent plea, the outer corners of her eyes turning red. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Flushed from the alcohol, she looked fragile and pitiable—a stark contrast to her usual proud demeanor. It stirred a strange desire to tease her.

Silas watched her quietly for a moment. His gaze lacked Kian’s oppressive force, but his own commanding presence made Celia squirm.

Flustered and cornered, she knew there was no escape. "Yes... and right in front of Silas, I..."

Silas sighed. "Right in front of me, you propped a foot on the table and started smashing bottles for fun. Our Cece looks so delicate, I never imagined she had such a wild side."

Celia wisely kept her mouth shut, her gaze toward Silas filled with gratitude. ’Smashing bottles is uncivilized, but Kian knows exactly what I’m like. It’s much better than him finding out I bit Silas in front of everyone...’

"Was the wine good?" Kian’s aura was chilling as he asked in a low voice.

"It was fruit wine. Very low alcohol content," Celia answered sullenly. "I hadn’t had a drink in over six months."

Kian said nothing. He just shifted into a more languid posture, continuing to eye her. His well-defined fingers tapped a slow, deliberate rhythm on the arm of the sofa, his deep red cuffs glinting coldly in the dim light.

The silence was terrifying.

The intense pressure was too much. Celia’s composure shattered, and large teardrops began to stream down her face.

Kian and Silas exchanged a look, and by tacit agreement, pretended not to notice, letting her cry for a while.

Then, the suffocating pressure was broken by a different, cooler presence.

Silas’s warm voice cut in. "Having a drink now and then is nothing. Giving up all fun for a perfumery hobby would be rather dull, wouldn’t it?"

Celia looked at Silas, her eyes brimming with tears.

Something twinged in Silas’s heart. He softened his voice even more. "If Cece wants to drink in the future, I can take you. But people can be treacherous out there. Just... don’t sneak off to clubs to find male escorts anymore."

Hearing this from her own fiancé should have felt mocking. But Silas’s eyes were calm and his expression was proper. You couldn’t detect a hint of AuraScent on his face—only a considerate warmth, like a spring breeze melting snow.

Celia gave a small, meek nod.

"Let’s put this matter to rest." Silas stood and handed her a tissue. "Go upstairs and freshen up. You can join us for lunch in a bit."

Celia looked to Kian.

Kian’s face was still taut. "Go on."

Celia turned and went upstairs.

Once her silhouette vanished down the third-floor corridor, Silas withdrew his gaze. His expression cooled as he clinked his glass against Kian’s.

"How long do you think that scare will last?"

"At least a year." Kian took a slow sip of his wine and scoffed. "Easy for you to play the good cop. You left me to be the bad guy."

"I’m sure your heart was breaking, Kade." Silas was nothing if not perceptive. Celia hadn’t noticed, but he had keenly caught the profound pain hidden in Kian’s eyes as he’d made her cry—that, and a dark glint that even he couldn’t decipher.

Kian’s eyes narrowed. He tugged nonchalantly at the purple-and-gold snake chain around his neck but didn’t reply.