Her left lower leg had been amputated a few years ago.
Vivian Linton, mortified and heartbroken, felt her eyes instantly turn red. She quickly pulled the blanket back over herself.
"Brother-in-law, surely you haven't forgotten how my sister lost her leg, have you?" Nicole Linton demanded, her tone aggressive and pressing.
Tristan Sterling's thin lips pressed into a grim line.
"Nicole Linton!!"
Vivian Linton, deeply shaken, quickly scolded her sister.
Then, she turned to Tristan Sterling with a pitiful expression. "Tristan, Nicole didn't mean anything by it. She was just upset for my sake and spoke without thinking. Please don't hold it against her…"
"Get some rest. I have to get back to the office."
Without a single glance at Nicole Linton, Tristan Sterling tossed the words to Vivian Linton indifferently and turned to leave.
"Tristan, Tristan."
Vivian Linton tried to make him stay.
But he left without a backward glance.
Vivian Linton's brows knitted together as she watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.
"Sis, what are you thinking?"
"Nicole, you said… you hit Holly… Do you think Tristan is angry?"
Vivian Linton asked worriedly, once she was sure Tristan Sterling was gone.
Nicole Linton immediately burst out laughing.
"How could that be! Brother-in-law hates Holly, so why would he be angry that she got hit? Even if he was a little upset, it would only be because he felt we disrespected him. After all, like the old saying goes, you have to consider the master before you beat his dog."
"But I was gone for two years. What if he's fallen for Holly by now? She's so beautiful, after all, and they even spent the night together…"
Vivian Linton grew anxious as she recalled the suggestive sounds she'd heard over the phone and the scene she'd witnessed outside the Sterling family's main gate.
Nicole Linton curled her lip in contempt. "So what if she's beautiful? Brother-in-law's heart still belongs to you. Hasn't he come running to your side every single time you've called?
"Sis, don't worry. You're the one who saved his life. Based on that alone, Holly will never be able to win against you! As for them spending the night together… heh. To him, she's just a tool for sexual release. Nothing to worry about."
Vivian Linton thought her sister's analysis made sense.
'After what happened all those years ago, there's no way Tristan could have feelings for Holly.'
'If they spent the night together, Holly must have seduced him.'
'Tristan carrying Holly to the car? She must have been faking being hurt.'
Therefore—
'It's Holly who's shamelessly refusing to let go!!'
...
Holly held her brother's hand and cried her heart out.
She vented all the grievances she had been suffering lately.
After composing herself, she went to the underground parking garage.
Just as she was about to get into her car, a large hand shot out and grabbed her arm.
Startled, she thought it was a mugger and reflexively swung her purse to strike.
But when she looked up, she saw a handsome face that was familiar to her very bones.
"Let go of me."
She cried out instinctively, struggling as she frowned.
Tristan Sterling said nothing, simply pulling open the rear door and shoving her inside.
"What are you doing…"
Her voice trembled with anger and resentment.
She was already feeling low, and his brutish treatment made her eyes well up with tears again.
The man didn't answer, instead lifting her skirt.
"Tristan Sterling, what are you doing?!"
Holly was both shocked and furious, thinking he'd lost his mind and was about to assault her.
As she demanded an answer, she secretly clenched her fists, ready to plant one on his face at a moment's notice.
But then—
He lifted her leg to examine the wound.
She froze for a second, then realized the position was revealing.
Holly frantically gathered her skirt, pressing it between her legs.
She shielded herself from his burning gaze.
Tristan Sterling saw it.
Her purple panties.
Elegant and sexy.
"What are you hiding? Is there any part of you I haven't seen?" Her guardedness clearly displeased him, and he let out a cold snort.
His words conjured images in her mind, and a flood of past moments that made her blush and her heart race rushed back to her.
'He hadn't just seen; he had explored every inch…'
"Let go…"
Holly said angrily, pulling her leg back to resist his touch.
"Don't you want to be able to wear skirts anymore?"
But he held her ankle firmly and, as he spoke, pulled an alcohol spray and bandages from his pocket.
"…" She was stunned again.
'Yes.'
'She loved wearing skirts more than anything.'
'Because on her sixteenth birthday, she had worn a long, light purple dress, and he'd told her she was beautiful, praising her as a little fairy who had fallen to earth…'
'Ever since then, she had developed a special love for long, flowing dresses.'
'He was probably just giving a casual compliment, but she had taken it to heart.'
'Not only had she taken it to heart, she'd ended up losing her own in the process…'
"Ah!"
A sudden, sharp pain pulled Holly from her memories.
Tristan Sterling was cleaning her wound with the alcohol.
She flinched from the pain, her eyes red and her pitiful expression like that of a little rabbit caught in a trap.
On impulse, Tristan Sterling lowered his head and blew gently on her wound.
"Hooo… hooo… hooo…"
Each breath was long and gentle.
His warm breath washed over the wound. Whether it was a placebo effect or genuinely analgesic, the pain seemed to slowly fade away.
A tear rolled down Holly's cheek.
'She thought of her brother.'
Tristan Sterling cleaned the wound, applied the ointment, and bandaged it in one swift, seamless motion.
He looked up and met Holly's tear-filled eyes.
"Why are you crying? Does it hurt that much?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
'He instinctively wondered if he hadn't been gentle enough.'
"No." Holly quickly and roughly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.
'She didn't want him to see her so weak and miserable.'
Tristan Sterling stared at Holly.
Waiting.
He was waiting for her to explain what had just happened.
But Holly remained silent and expressionless, her gaze lowered as she focused on arranging her skirt.
Tristan's expression darkened.
"Holly, there won't be a next time," he said coldly.
She looked up at him.
'It suddenly dawned on her.'
'So this was his real purpose—to call me to account!'
'So, his pretense of treating her wound was just a prelude to making her go back and apologize to his precious untouchable love?'
'Hah.'
"Stay away from Vivian."
Tristan Sterling added.
'Who exactly should be staying away from whom?!'
Holly laughed, though it was a laugh born of pure fury, her eyes filled with ice. "Sign the papers. Just sign the divorce agreement, and I'll get far, far away from all of you. I can even promise that you'll never see me again for the rest of your life!"
'Divorce again…'
'And never see him again…'
Tristan Sterling's handsome face instantly clouded over.
Seeing how ungrateful she was, he tossed the ointment at her and turned to leave.
Holly immediately threw the ointment to the ground.
SMASH.
The glass vial shattered into pieces.
The sound echoed throughout the silent garage.
'She didn't want his hypocritical kindness.'
Tristan Sterling turned back.
He looked from the shattered vial to the defiant little woman, his face as black as coal.
Holly ignored him.
Having smashed the vial, she got out and moved to the driver's seat.
She started the car and sped away under the man's predatory, cold gaze.
...
After sending out countless résumés, Holly finally found a job.
The place that hired her was a small, run-down qipao studio.
The owner was a handsome and cheerful man who had been her upperclassman in college.