Tristan Sterling scanned the room.
It was a small, dilapidated studio apartment, entirely visible in a single glance.
He didn't see any men's belongings.
The gloom in his eyes lessened slightly.
He lowered his gaze, looking coldly at the woman in front of him who was trying to block his way.
She was soaked to the bone, her face pale. She looked as pitiful as a kitten abandoned in a storm.
Pitiful...
And detestable!
"Feeling bold now, are you?"
Tristan Sterling narrowed his dark eyes dangerously, forcing the words through his teeth.
Holly Sinclair pressed her lips together and said nothing.
SLAP!
The man raised a hand and slammed a manila folder onto the coffee table.
Holly Sinclair glanced at it.
It was the divorce agreement and wedding ring she had left for him when she moved out.
To her, the unsellable wedding ring was just trash. She couldn't care less about it.
Seeing no guilt or regret on her beautiful face, Tristan Sterling grew even more furious.
After they parted on bad terms that night, he had left for a business trip the next day. When he returned a week later, he found the house empty.
Running away from home was one thing, but how dare she leave this damn thing for him?
"You've got a big appetite."
Tristan Sterling's lips curled into a cold sneer.
Holly Sinclair knew what he was talking about.
Although she was shivering from the cold, she forced herself to stand straight and said defiantly, "It's what I deserve. Fifty million is just a drop in the bucket for you."
"You're the one who wants a divorce. Why should I give you any money?" The man laughed, his dark eyes growing even colder.
"Because you cheated during our marriage!"
That's right. In the divorce agreement, she had demanded he pay her fifty million in alimony.
She wasn't so high and mighty as to ask for nothing.
"With which eye did you see me cheat?"
"Tristan Sterling, you've already paraded your mistress around town—"
"Holly Sinclair, watch your mouth!" he barked.
Holly Sinclair's heart twitched.
'He couldn't wait to defend her, even though I was just telling the truth.'
'It's so obvious how much he loves Vivian Linton!'
The pain was so sharp it made her laugh. She feigned indifference. "Did that hurt your feelings? Then let's get a divorce. Once you've divorced me, you can make her your official wife..."
"You want a divorce?"
He suddenly grabbed her wrist, hissing through a cold smile, "Fine! You can leave with nothing!"
"On what grounds?!" Holly Sinclair couldn't hold back her anger. "Tristan Sterling, we're a legally married couple! Even if I asked for half of your assets right now, you'd have to give it to me."
"Are you sure about that?" he sneered.
Her frail body swayed slightly.
'No.'
'She wasn't sure.'
'With his ruthless methods, he had countless ways to make sure she wouldn't get a single penny.'
Her shoulders slumped and her eyes reddened. "I'm only asking for fifty million..."
"You leave with nothing!"
"You..."
She clenched her fists and glared at him, furious and hateful, but utterly helpless.
Seeing her look of fury that she didn't dare to voice, the frustration in Tristan Sterling's heart dissipated significantly.
With a sudden, forceful tug, he pulled her into his arms.
"Holly Sinclair, without the title of 'Mrs. Sterling'..." He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, leaning close to her ear, his every word a stab to the heart. "You are nothing."
"Right! I'm nothing, so let's get a divorce!" she shouted, but her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Leave with—"
"Fine! I'll leave with nothing! As long as you sign the papers right now, I don't want anything!"
"You don't want your brother's life either?"
The air fell silent.
Holly Sinclair pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes bloodshot.
A deep sense of powerlessness and sorrow welled up in her heart.
'He always knew exactly how to control her.'
"Holly Sinclair, stop acting up. Just be a good Mrs. Sterling, and I'll tell Mom to add five hundred thousand to your monthly allowance," Tristan Sterling said lightly, looking at her dejected expression.
Holly Sinclair lowered her gaze and gave a bitter smile.
'Listening to his tone, he probably thinks he's bestowed some immense gift upon her.'
'So am I supposed to kowtow to him in gratitude now?'
Seeing her lower her eyes without a word, he assumed she had realized her mistake.
"Alright, stop making a fuss. Be good."
He pulled her into his embrace, his long fingers pinching her chin, forcing her to lift her small face.
As his words faded, his kiss followed.
Their lips met.
His were cool, hers were scalding hot.
The familiar, dominant male scent flooded her mouth, and Holly Sinclair, her mind hazy, froze for a few seconds.
When she came to her senses and tried to struggle, she found she didn't have a shred of strength.
Tristan Sterling was satisfied.
'Seeing how obedient she was being, he decided to forgive her recent series of unreasonable tantrums.'
It had been half a month since they had last made love. Tristan Sterling had a fire pent up inside him, and with a soft, warm, fragrant woman in his arms, he was immediately aroused.
The feeling was overwhelming.
Sweeping her up into his arms, he strode toward the bedroom.
They both tumbled onto the soft, large bed.
The kiss was fiery and passionate.
Holly Sinclair was forced to endure it.
She wanted to resist, but her burning body desperately craved his cool hands and lips.
His kiss brought a brief respite from the fire that felt like it was consuming her.
It was a physical instinct, unrelated to her heart.
The man's kisses deepened.
However, as his lips traveled down her smooth, fair neck, he was startled to realize something was wrong.
She was so hot!
Her whole body was burning up.
Tristan Sterling looked up, only to see that Holly Sinclair's Daisy brows were tightly furrowed, her eyes were shut, and she was already losing consciousness.
Alarmed, he quickly patted her abnormally red cheeks.
"Holly Sinclair, Holly Sinclair?!"
...
"How is she?"
Tristan Sterling asked the family doctor he had urgently summoned.
"A fever. 38.7 degrees. I've given Mrs. Sterling a shot to bring it down. Her temperature should start to drop soon," the family doctor replied.
Tristan Sterling's tightly furrowed brow relaxed a little.
The doctor gave a few instructions and then left.
"Are you as stubborn as a mule? Did you have to be so obstinate with me?"
Tristan Sterling stood by the bed, looking at the woman lost in a feverish nightmare, and snorted irritably.
'He couldn't figure it out.'
'How had the woman who was once so completely obedient to him suddenly become so unreasonable?'
'All she had to do was be a little more obedient, bow her head, and admit she was wrong, and she wouldn't have to debase herself in this shabby apartment that was no better than a slum.'
'Even less would she have to look for some worthless job.'
'She could still be the glamorous Mrs. Sterling that everyone envied, living a life of luxury above all others.'
'But her?'
'She just had to act up!'
'She just had to defy him!'
'She just had to make him unhappy!!'
'Really...'
'She was asking for it.'
'Making trouble for herself when there was none!'
'Serves her right!!'
"Cold..."
"So hot..."
Holly Sinclair was in agony, murmuring in her sleep.
She felt like she was in an ice cellar one moment and a furnace the next.
The alternating waves of cold and heat were unbearable.
Just when she felt like she was about to die from the discomfort, a cool, large hand rested on her scorching forehead.
She grabbed it at once.
Like a drowning person clutching at a life-saving straw.
...
「The next day.」
Holly Sinclair woke up.
The first thing she felt was a dull ache all over her body.
She tried to stretch, but found she couldn't move her arms or legs.
Looking closely, she saw that she was nestled completely in a man's arms.
Tristan Sterling!
With no time to wonder how he had ended up in her bed, Holly Sinclair reacted violently, jolting away from him.
But the next second, he pulled her back, trapping her in his embrace.
"Don't move, sleep a little longer... Mmm..."