Evelyn Grant had never done this before.
So it didn't go very smoothly.
Her fingernails dug deep into Ryan Sterling's arms and back, leaving a row of marks, big and small.
"Evelyn Grant, just relax!"
She wasn't the only one being driven mad by the situation.
Ryan Sterling had no experience either, and to make matters worse, he was dealing with an Evelyn Grant so tense she was practically as stiff as a corpse.
When reality shattered that final barrier, there was no turning back.
She cried.
Tears streamed from the corners of her reddened eyes, and each time, Ryan Sterling leaned down to kiss them dry.
"Do you regret it?"
His voice was a low, rough rasp, as if spoken directly into Evelyn Grant's ear.
She was in too much pain to speak. She could only cling tightly to Ryan Sterling's neck and shake her head vigorously.
"Evelyn Grant, that's not what I was asking."
Suddenly—
The sound of a lock turning came from outside the Sterling Estate!
Julian Sterling was back, and he'd brought people with him.
Her eyes flew open, wide with terror and confusion. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, like a leaf in the wind.
"Ngh… Fuck!"
The grunt and the curse both came from Ryan Sterling.
He was done.
But his handsome face was as black as thunder.
He glanced down at Evelyn Grant. Luckily for him, how long he had lasted was the furthest thing from her mind.
Her face was flushed, her breathing ragged. A sweat-soaked lock of hair clung to her cheek, making her look for all the world like someone just pulled from the water.
Ryan Sterling pushed himself up, snatched the dark robe from the side of the bed, and threw it on. He crossed to the door in a few long strides before glancing back at her.
"If you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant, lie there for another ten minutes. Then get dressed and come out."
"But your brother…"
"He wouldn't dare to barge into my room."
With that, Ryan Sterling shut the door and left.
Meanwhile, in the living room on the ground floor of the estate, Julian Sterling stood with a menacing crowd of people he had brought with him.
His thick brows furrowed the moment he saw his younger brother.
"Ryan? What are you doing back in the country?!"
'Hasn't he been living in Eldoria for the past three years?'
"With something as big as your divorce on the line, of course I had to come back."
Ryan Sterling still wore that same roguish grin. He leaned lazily against the sofa, cupped a lighter in his hand to light a cigarette, and took a long drag before speaking with a smile.
"Brother, you're making such a scene. Did it ever occur to you... that you might have gotten it wrong about her?"
"That little fool has been completely in love with you for ten solid years. To win your favor, she even gave you the only piece of land her father left her, no questions asked."
But it was a pity Julian Sterling was in no state to listen to any of this now.
His handsome face was a mask of cruelty, his voice as cold as the wind. "I don't give a damn! She hurt Jane, and I want her dead!"
"Tsk. Fine."
Ryan Sterling exhaled a cloud of gray smoke, his eyes flicking toward the third-floor landing.
Evelyn Grant was already dressed and standing there. He had no idea for how long.
She had clearly heard every word Julian Sterling just said.
She used to love the sound of Julian Sterling's voice—it was so elegant and deep, the very essence of a gentleman.
She would listen to the voice messages he sent her over and over again before adding them to her favorites.
But now, that same voice was insisting that she had to die.
How ironic.
Evelyn Grant clenched her fists and walked, step by step, until she stood before the man she had once loved so deeply, meeting his look of utter disgust.
"Did you ever believe me? Not even once?"
'All of those claims were just a trap to get her to agree to the divorce.'
"Julian, I just want the truth. Did you ever love me? Even for… a fleeting moment."
Even now, she refused to give up hope.
'Of course, she could cooperate with a police investigation.'
'But it shouldn't be Julian Sterling who sends her to prison.'
'He was her husband.'
'The man she had cherished every single day for ten years!'
Evelyn Grant's eyes were so bright they actually seemed to leave Julian Sterling in a daze.
He didn't answer.
After a long moment, he spoke, his voice sharp. "You took a life, so you'll pay with yours!"
Finally.
The light in Evelyn Grant's eyes died.
Extinguished forever.
Her shoulders slumped, and her long, dark lashes swept down, hiding her eyes.
"Fine."
"..."
"You don't have to drag me. I'll go on my own."
With that, she walked straight out of the estate without another glance at anyone.
Before long, silence returned to the living room.
Ryan Sterling's deep-set features were obscured by the haze. He narrowed his eyes and stubbed out his cigarette.
The secretary, who had been waiting outside the whole time, came in only after the others had left. He asked hesitantly, "Mr. Sterling, didn't you already…"
"I was afraid Evelyn Grant's heart wasn't completely broken."
His gaze followed the direction Evelyn Grant had gone, the corner of his mouth twisting into a mocking sneer. "Who told her to choose my brother all those years ago?"
After all, during the ten-plus years the Sterling and Grant families had lived together in the military compound, he had been the one to always stay by her side, to protect her!
He admitted to himself that he was a bit sharp-tongued, but when their two families discussed strengthening their ties through marriage, Evelyn Grant had shyly declared she wanted to marry his older brother!
It made Ryan Sterling so angry that he left the country immediately, staying away for three years, until—
Evelyn Grant got into trouble.
"She deserves it!"