The meeting between the Sterlings and the Norwoods was scheduled for the weekend.
Declan Nash was known for his clingy personality. His father, Justin Norwood, knew his only son's temperament all too well and deliberately kept the meeting a secret from him, sending him abroad to negotiate a project.
The meeting was to take place at the old Norwood family residence.
The Sterlings had not yet arrived.
Justin Norwood sat on the sofa, his brow tightly furrowed. He had already smoked three cigarettes.
Mrs. Norwood's expression was hardly pleasant either as she instructed the servants to prepare tea and snacks.
A slender, aristocratic silhouette appeared on the spiral staircase. The figure's features were indistinct, but their bone structure was exquisitely refined.
Justin Norwood and Mrs. Norwood both looked up in unison, greeting him reflexively:
"Silas."
A faint "Mm" was the reply.
Silas Norwood descended the stairs with his long legs. As he drew closer, his refined features were revealed—his exceptionally rare amber eyes were deep and inscrutable, his thin lips cool and detached. His minimalist, custom-made black shirt was buttoned to the top, and aside from a gleaming black thumb ring, he wore no other accessories.
His aura was as cold and pure as snow falling between pines—noble, ascetic, and utterly unapproachable. Yet, having been steeped in his family's status and power for so long, even when he was silent, reserved, and elegant, he exuded the uniquely intimidating pressure of a man in charge.
Justin Norwood was terrified of his youngest brother.
Especially since his one and only son had apparently caused a huge disaster. Seeing the head of the family—a man he rarely saw more than once every couple of weeks—made Justin Norwood feel even more guilty.
"Silas, you aren't busy today, are you? I have a small favor to ask..."
Silas Norwood gave him a cool glance. "I'm very busy."
Justin Norwood was momentarily embarrassed, but no one besides Silas Norwood could resolve the absurd mess Declan had made.
"Don't go to the office today. Stay home and help me meet with someone."
Silas Norwood didn't stop walking, nor did he look back. "If my older brother needs me to handle even basic social relations, then I think we can find someone else for the general manager position."
"It's Kian Sterling. No one in the circle can keep him in check but you," Mrs. Norwood said hurriedly. "The Sterling Conglomerate is at the height of its power, and Kian Sterling himself is an extremely headstrong and domineering man. Your brother is afraid he can't handle him alone."
Justin Norwood also chimed in eagerly:
"Silas, you and Kian Sterling have had quite a few dealings in the circle. Just help me out today. If things get heated between me and Kian, you can mediate. The great families of Metropia are all connected. It would be unseemly if this blows up."
Silas Norwood's eyes were like abysses as he gazed coolly at his older brother. "Kian Sterling isn't an unreasonable man. For him to come knocking on our door, what did you do?"
"It's your nephew, Declan Nash." Justin Norwood knew he couldn't hide it and forced himself to speak. "He did something stupid. The Sterling Family is here to break off the engagement."
Silas Norwood stopped dead in his tracks. "Break off the engagement?"
In the main seat of the living room.
Silas Norwood sat in an armchair, his long, amber eyes revealing no emotion. The thumb of the hand wearing the black ring casually toyed with an engagement cancellation agreement, and the pressure in the air around him was dangerously low.
"You're always extremely busy and rarely pay attention to the gossip about the younger generation in the family. Plus, that trending topic was as fleeting as a night-blooming cereus, so this matter really shouldn't have been brought to your attention."
Even as Justin Norwood said it shouldn't be his concern, he proceeded to explain everything Declan had done in detail:
"That boy, Dec, he really does like the Sterling girl. But you know how men are, full of vigor. Kian Sterling demanded he remain chaste for three years right from the start. How could he stand that? He went to Port Sovereign, his good-for-nothing friends there egged him on, and that Miss Sutton happens to look a lot like the Sterling girl. He got drunk and lost his head, but he said it himself—it didn't go all the way."
"She's Kian Sterling's woman. What else was he planning to do?" Silas Norwood's voice was cold with a sharp edge. "Marrying the sister while playing around with the lover... Declan certainly has some nerve."
Justin Norwood rubbed his hands together awkwardly.
"Kian Sterling had someone deliver the cancellation agreement yesterday and scheduled a meeting for ten o'clock this morning to discuss breaking off the engagement."
Kian Sterling's sister had a prestigious family background and was exceptionally beautiful. Countless young masters in the Capital Circle were sharpening their heads trying to marry her. His own rebellious son had pestered her relentlessly to secure the engagement first. Justin Norwood had hoped to use the tailwind of this marriage alliance to elevate the main branch of the Norwood Family to its peak. After the engagement was settled, he had actively facilitated over a dozen major joint projects, tightly binding the interests of the two top-tier families.
Regarding the broken engagement, Justin Norwood no longer had any say in the matter.
He shamelessly passed the ball to Silas Norwood's court and didn't dare to look at his brother's expression.
The atmosphere remained heavy for a long moment.
Silas Norwood's expression was frigid, his cool, detached voice questioning slowly:
"The eighteen major projects between the Sterlings and the Norwoods, founded on this marriage alliance, are mostly in their middle stages. If they are halted now, do you have any idea the losses our Norwood Family will suffer?"
Justin Norwood's scalp tingled with fear. He stammered, "I do."
He didn't just know. He had been the one to sign most of the contracts for those dozen-plus major projects with Kian Sterling. The initial capital investment alone was already an astronomical sum. If the engagement was broken and investments were withdrawn, the resulting losses would absolutely be enough to have the Norwood Family's shareholders show up at his door with knives.
Silas Norwood glanced at his watch, his amber eyes hidden in the dim backlight. He sent a text to his assistant and said no more.
The more silent he was, the more pressure Justin Norwood felt, and a thin layer of sweat gradually formed on his back.
Ten o'clock sharp.
A stunning "Big Lizard," flanked by several bodyguard cars, executed a sharp drift and came to a steady halt in the villa's parking area.
The next moment, a dozen or so bodyguards with grim expressions stood flanking the Big Lizard. The doors opened, and Kian Sterling emerged from the passenger seat, his gaze falling on the driver's side.
He was devastatingly handsome, dressed in a striking, custom-made wine-red suit that made his aura seem all the more powerful. His sharp eyes softened when he looked at Celia Sterling.
Celia Sterling didn't get out of the car right away. She just leaned over the steering wheel and gave him a soft smile. "Brother, how was my drifting just now?"
Kian Sterling nodded lightly. "Mm, you've inherited three-tenths of my skill."
Celia Sterling's pretty almond eyes crinkled with a smile. She hopped out of the car. Kian Sterling was very tall, and she only came up to his chin, so she had to tilt her head up to give him a playful glare.
"Only three-tenths? We should race someday."
"Just don't come crying and clinging to me when you lose." Kian Sterling's lips curved into a low chuckle. He held out his hand to her, his tone becoming cooler. "Let's go. Time to meet the Norwoods."
Celia Sterling habitually hugged Kian Sterling's arm with both of her hands as they walked together toward the villa's reception room.
Inside the reception room, Silas Norwood had seen the entire scene with perfect clarity.
His expression remained unchanged as his gaze rested quietly on the tall, handsome man and the delicate, radiant girl beside him.
As fellow patriarchs of the Capital Circle's great families, he and Kian Sterling had dealt with each other quite a bit over the years; they could even be said to have a personal relationship to some extent. And the path this head of the Sterling Conglomerate had taken to power was a classic tale of a deposed crown prince seizing the throne. Even though Silas wasn't one for gossip, bits and pieces of what happened back then had reached his ears.
Fifteen years ago, Kian Sterling's father was exposed for keeping a mistress. His mother abandoned Kian and his sister, divorced, and remarried. Kian was, for a time, cast aside as a disfavored son while the illegitimate children were brought into the family to carve up shares of the company, causing a massive scandal.
Kian Sterling plotted in secret for years, seizing power in a bloody struggle six years ago. He ruthlessly forced his father and two illegitimate half-brothers abroad, took control of the Sterlings, and in just a few short years, shattered the chasm-like barrier between prominent families and the super-rich, elevating the Sterlings into the circle of the true elite.
And this powerful head of the Sterlings was incomparably handsome and had countless admirers, yet not a single one was ever publicly acknowledged. It was only recently that it was suddenly revealed he had long since built a love nest in Port Sovereign with the sensational starlet Summer Sutton, a topic that trended for days.
And that Superstar Sutton was the catalyst for today's meeting between the two families.
Silas Norwood's attention returned to Celia Sterling.
His amber pupils darkened slightly.