Chapter 4: The Man Everyone Feared
2180 Words
Denise Winslow smiled before Aurora could answer.
“Ethan, Aurora is just joking,” she said gently, as if smoothing a wrinkle from an expensive tablecloth. “You know how she is. She says sharp things when she’s upset.”
Aurora looked at her stepmother and almost admired the timing.
Denise had always been good at that.
She never shoved anyone herself. She simply opened the door, tilted her head, and waited for someone else to push.
Celeste stood a few steps away in her white dress, her dark hair falling softly over her shoulders. She looked fragile beneath the lights, like a porcelain figure everyone was afraid to touch.
“Aurora,” Celeste said, her voice low and trembling, “are you still angry about yesterday? Ethan didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Fiona gave a small, sharp laugh. “Right. How are you the one acting wronged? Celeste just came back. She didn’t do anything to you.”
Aurora did not look at either of them.
Her eyes stayed on Ethan.
He stood close enough that she could see the anger in his pupils, but behind the anger there was something else.
Disbelief.
As if she had not ended their engagement at Red Moon House.
As if she had not made him pay for her appearance that evening.
As if the worst thing she could possibly do was stop wanting him.
Ethan repeated, each word low and hard, “You don’t want who?”
Aurora smiled.
It was light, elegant, and almost lazy.
“Is your hearing bad now, Mr. Sterling?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Aurora looked directly into his eyes.
“I said I don’t want you anymore.”
The nearby conversations stopped.
Denise’s brows lifted slightly. Fiona’s mouth fell open. Celeste’s fingers curled around the stem of her champagne glass, knuckles pale.
Ethan stared at Aurora as if she had spoken a language he did not understand.
Then fury rose.
He stepped into her path and caught her forearm before she could turn away.
Aurora immediately pulled against his grip.
“Are you done?” Ethan asked under his breath.
“Not even close.”
“Let go.”
His fingers tightened for one second before the attention of nearby guests registered.
He released her, but remained close enough to block her path.
“This is my grandfather’s birthday banquet,” he said, his voice colder. “Stop making a scene.”
“I didn’t start one. I answered your question.”
“You think you can say you don’t want me and that makes it true?”
Aurora looked up at him. His arrogance was so complete that she almost found it fascinating.
“Yes,” she said. “That is generally how not wanting someone works.”
Before he could speak, Denise took a step closer. “Ethan, why don’t you take Aurora to greet your grandfather first? The guests are watching.”
That was the only sentence Ethan seemed willing to accept.
He drew a breath, pressed down his temper, and gestured for Aurora to follow him toward the main table.
“Behave,” he said.
Aurora followed without another argument.
She had taken his money.
She had come to perform.
And George Sterling had never wronged her.
As Ethan walked her past Celeste, Aurora saw the other woman lower her lashes. The corner of Celeste’s mouth moved, almost too small to notice.
Fiona did notice.
She watched Ethan remain close beside Aurora and stamped one foot lightly, her voice sharp with disbelief. “Celeste, has Ethan lost his mind?”
Celeste did not answer immediately.
Her gaze followed Ethan and Aurora through the crowd. Then she turned to Fiona, her expression soft again.
“Fiona,” she asked quietly, “do you like Ethan?”
Fiona froze.
“What? No. Of course not.”
Her voice became smaller as she continued, “He’s about to be my brother-in-law.”
The last word sounded bitter even to herself.
Celeste looked at her for one long second.
Then she smiled.
“Of course.”
But when she turned back toward the main table, the smile left her eyes.
Five years.
She had been gone for five years.
Now she was back.
And she would take back everything that should have been hers.
At the main table, George Sterling was seated in the center, silver-haired and sharp-eyed despite his age. The old man’s expression softened the moment he saw Aurora.
“Aurora,” he said, holding out a hand. “Come here. Let me see you.”
Aurora pulled herself gently from Ethan’s grip and stepped forward.
“Happy birthday, Grandpa George.” She handed over the small gift she had prepared. “I hope you stay healthy for many more years.”
George accepted it with obvious pleasure. “You’re too thoughtful. Sit, sit. You and Ethan should be the ones closest to me tonight.”
Several guests nearby exchanged glances.
Everyone in the Sterling circle knew what that meant.
George Sterling approved of Aurora Winslow.
He had made that clear for years.
He patted the seat near Ethan. “Speaking of which, when are you two going back to the marriage-license office? Don’t make an old man keep asking.”
Ethan’s arm tensed beside her.
Aurora lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Ethan answered quickly, “In a few days, Grandpa.”
George looked at him. “A few days is not a date.”
Ethan forced a smile. “I’m flying to Harbor City tomorrow for business. I’ll be back the day after. We’ll go then.”
Aurora nearly laughed.
The day after.
He could go with anyone he wanted.
It would not be her.
George’s expression eased a little. “Good. Don’t delay important things.”
“Yes.”
George turned back to Aurora. “You must be tired. Sit down and eat. I may not have time to look after you properly tonight.”
Aurora’s smile was genuine for the first time that evening. “Don’t worry about me. Enjoy your birthday.”
Ethan, however, had already looked away.
Celeste was speaking to Margaret Sterling near the other side of the room, and Ethan’s attention had gone with her.
He gestured carelessly toward a nearby table. “You can sit with Denise and Fiona for now.”
Then he left before Aurora could answer.
Fiona saw it immediately.
When Aurora returned to the table beside Denise, Fiona leaned in with a triumphant little smile.
“See? Celeste is the one Ethan really cares about.”
Aurora did not look at her.
Instead, she turned to Denise with a thoughtful expression.
“Denise, when did you adopt a Sterling son for Fiona?”
Denise’s smile froze. “What?”
Fiona snapped, “What are you talking about?”
Aurora glanced at her. “You keep saying Ethan’s name like he belongs to you. I assumed your mother had given you a Sterling brother while I wasn’t looking.”
Fiona’s cheeks flushed red. “I never said that!”
“No?” Aurora smiled. “Then perhaps stop acting as if every man you want is yours by birthright.”
Fiona’s eyes widened with rage. “You—”
Denise caught her wrist under the table.
“That’s enough,” Denise said, still smiling, though her voice had thinned. “Tonight is Mr. Sterling’s birthday.”
A server approached before Fiona could explode.
“Miss Winslow,” he said politely, “Mr. Sterling would like you at the main table.”
Aurora rose at once. “Of course.”
She walked away without sparing Fiona another glance.
Behind her, Fiona’s face twisted.
“Mom, did you hear her?”
Denise’s fingers tightened around her glass. “Calm down.”
“She humiliated me.”
“And you almost let her make you lose control in front of the Sterlings.” Denise’s gaze followed Aurora across the room. “Remember why we came tonight.”
Fiona bit her lip.
Then voices from the next table drifted over.
“Have you heard? Callum Sterling is coming back tonight.”
“The Callum Sterling?”
“Who else? He stabilized Sterling Group’s overseas division years ago. Everyone knows he’s the one who really runs the family business.”
“I thought Ethan’s father managed the domestic side.”
“He does. But management and power are not the same thing.”
“Isn’t Callum still single?”
“Which is why half the women in this room have been waiting for him to return.”
Fiona’s anger flickered.
Then something else appeared in her eyes.
Interest.
At the main table, George personally had Aurora seated beside Ethan.
“That boy,” George said with a pointed look at Ethan, “doesn’t know how to look after his own fiancée. Of course she should sit here.”
Richard Sterling gave an awkward laugh. Margaret Sterling smiled and patted Aurora’s hand.
“Yes, Aurora. I’ve been waiting for you to officially join the family.”
Aurora’s fingers almost curled.
Officially—the word felt like a joke now.
Margaret turned to Celeste, who had just approached the table with Ethan at her side.
“Celeste, you’ve been abroad for so long. You may not know everyone anymore. This is Aurora Winslow, the Winslow family’s eldest daughter. Ethan’s fiancée. You two should remember each other, yes?”
Celeste’s smile stiffened for the briefest moment.
Then she nodded softly. “Of course. Aurora was my senior in high school.”
Ethan saw the change in her expression.
Immediately, he took a shrimp from the shared appetizer platter and placed it on Celeste’s plate.
“Eat,” he said. “You always liked these.”
Celeste looked down, her cheeks faintly pink. “Thank you, Ethan.”
The table went quiet for a second.
George’s eyes narrowed almost invisibly.
Margaret’s smile wavered.
Ethan seemed not to notice.
He had already taken a second shrimp. George glanced at it and said, “Offer that one to Aurora.”
Ethan paused.
Then, as if remembering he had a fiancée sitting beside him, he lifted the shrimp toward Aurora’s plate.
Aurora’s voice was calm.
“No, thank you.”
Ethan looked at her.
Aurora met his gaze. “I’m allergic to shellfish.”
The silence this time was worse.
Ethan’s hand froze in midair.
Celeste’s eyes flickered.
Margaret’s smile disappeared entirely.
Aurora glanced at the shrimp, then back at Ethan.
“Celeste can have that one too.”
Ethan slowly lowered his hand.
George’s expression darkened.
But it was his birthday banquet. He did not scold his grandson in front of the guests. He only turned to the server and said, “Please bring Aurora the grilled fish entrée.”
Aurora lowered her eyes. “Thank you, Grandpa George.”
George waved it off, then seemed to remember something.
“Callum said there was traffic. He told us not to wait for him.”
At the mention of that name, Ethan shifted.
“Grandpa,” he asked, trying to sound casual, “is Uncle Callum staying in the country this time?”
George looked at him. “Why? Afraid he’ll come back and manage you?”
Ethan gave a stiff laugh. “Of course not.”
But Aurora saw the truth before he could hide it.
He was afraid.
That alone amused her.
Ethan Sterling, who treated her feelings like air, who moved through rooms as if everyone owed him patience, was actually afraid of someone.
George’s youngest son.
The man who truly controlled Sterling Group.
The man even Ethan did not dare provoke.
Aurora’s lips curved before she could stop herself.
Ethan noticed.
He leaned slightly closer, his voice low and irritated. “What are you smiling at?”
Aurora picked up a piece of fish and placed it neatly on her plate.
“Nothing.”
“Aurora.”
She took a bite, then looked at him with calm eyes.
“I just realized you can be funny.”
Ethan’s expression darkened.
Before he could reply, a low male voice came from behind them.
“What’s so funny?”
The voice was not loud.
It did not need to be.
The entire table quieted.
Aurora’s hand stopped over her plate.
Her heartbeat missed once.
The man continued, tone cool and unhurried.
“Share it with the rest of us.”
Aurora turned.
A tall man walked toward the main table in a deep gray suit, his black shirt buttoned to the collar. He moved without haste, but every person in his path seemed to step aside before realizing they had done so.
His face was sharply cut, his eyes dark and unreadable beneath straight brows. There was no smile on his mouth, no warmth offered to the room, and yet every whisper died as he approached.
Callum Sterling.
George Sterling’s youngest son.
Ethan’s uncle.
The man everyone in Northbridge feared.
He stopped beside George’s chair and inclined his head.
“Dad,” he said in an even voice, “I’m late.”
- Writer
