Chapter 262
Wallace helped Harold down the stairs.
Passing by Charles, Wallace brought up casually, "Where's Ophelia? Why didn't you bring her along?"
At his words, Harold's attention shifted to Charles as well.
Charles smiled. "I invited her, but she said she already had plans today. Next time I'll give her more notice—I'll definitely bring her."
Harold nodded slightly. "You're getting married soon anyway. Once you're wed, she'll be family. She'll have to come sooner or later."
He settled onto the sofa and asked Charles about wedding matters. "How are the preparations going?"
Charles replied respectfully, "Following Ophelia's wishes, we hired the best planning team. She's overseeing everything."
Harold gave him a reproachful look. "A wedding is a two-person affair. What kind of man lets a young woman run around handling everything?"
Wallace smoothed things over from the side. "Dad, didn't Charles just say? Ophelia enjoys doing it herself."
Harold shot him a glare, then looked back at Charles. "Since you've decided to marry Ophelia, from now on, stay away from that girl from the Smith family, and that Willow too. Ophelia is different from them."
He didn't specify how she was different, but everyone present understood.
The Smith family was still a notch below the Lancaster family. As for Willow, she had no background whatsoever. Those two were fine to mess around with.
Ophelia, however, had a mayor for a father. Even though she wasn't particularly valued in her own family, that didn't mean the Lancaster family could mistreat her.
"I understand, Grandfather." Charles kept his eyes lowered submissively in Harold's presence.
Wallace took the opportunity to mention, "Once Charles and Ophelia are married, with Mayor Thompson's connection..."
He'd been about to suggest having Charles return to the Lancaster Group.
Before he could finish, butler Peter entered with Sterling.
"Mr. Harold Lancaster, Mr. Sterling Lancaster has arrived," Peter announced respectfully.
At his words, Wallace's voice trailed off. He turned to look in their direction.
Charles turned even more eagerly, meeting Sterling's cold, sharp gaze head-on.
Sterling's expression was bland, but his eyes brimmed with icy intent. When their gazes locked, it felt as though cold seeped into one's very bones.
Charles felt a momentary flash of fear, then quickly understood the meaning behind that look and smugly curled his lips.
"Where's Elaine?" Harold didn't deal in subtleties. He glanced behind Sterling, saw no sign of Elaine or the child, and his tone grew displeased.
Sterling reined in his edge and walked over at an unhurried pace. "Little treasure isn't feeling well. Elaine's home with him—they couldn't make it."
At that, Harold thumped his cane heavily against the floor. "What nerve!"
Sterling didn't respond. He glanced toward the dining room. "Is dinner ready?"
Harold rose with the support of his cane. "Forget about her. Peter, have them serve the meal."
"My wedding with Ophelia is scheduled for next weekend. Uncle Sterling should already know—will you be free that day?"
During the meal, Charles looked toward Sterling as though it were nothing.
Before Sterling could speak, Harold's voice rang out first. "Even if you're not free, you'll make time. Mayor Thompson will be there that day. We can't embarrass him."
Sterling's chopsticks continued moving. "My nephew's wedding—naturally, I'll attend as his uncle."
He looked up meaningfully at Charles. "But if someone treats marriage like a joke and holds weddings every other week, I might not have the time."
Charles caught the sarcastic undertone, and a flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes.
"Speaking of which, Dad, didn't you mention wanting to introduce some young women to Ster?" Wallace interjected at just the right moment. "Ster should still be single, right?"
He looked at Sterling. "How about I help scout out a few candidates?"
Harold's gaze followed.
Last time their conversation had been cut short by Elaine's appearance. This time, he needed an answer from Sterling.
"Ster, what do you say? Do you have anyone in mind?" Harold asked.
Willow's face floated through Sterling's mind. His eyes darkened.
Seeing him remain silent, Harold's expression grew stern. "A few days ago, the Lancaster Group was falsely accused of plagiarism. What was that about? Wallace told me it involved the department where Willow works?"
Sterling pulled his thoughts back and glanced imperceptibly at Wallace.
Though Wallace had returned to work at the Lancaster Group, he didn't spend much time there. Yet he constantly kept tabs on company matters—especially anything related to Sterling and Willow.
Sterling had handled the plagiarism incident quickly enough, suppressing it the same day.
Though Wallace had reported it to Harold, Harold hadn't taken it seriously at the time.
Now, bringing up Sterling's marriage prospects, Harold remembered the matter again.
Deep down, he still believed Sterling's relationship with Willow wasn't simple.
"Willow has resigned from the Lancaster Group." Sterling's voice was low.
Harold's tone grew harsher. "So that incident really was related to her! I said all along we shouldn't have kept her!"
"Dad." Sterling's tone dropped, cutting Harold off.
Harold's face was full of displeasure.
Wallace added ambiguously from the side, "Dad, since Ms. Spencer has already resigned, don't press the issue. After all, she and Ster won't have any contact going forward."
Between the lines, he was still hinting to Harold that Sterling and Willow's relationship ran deep.
The pressure around Sterling grew increasingly heavy.
That's when Charles spoke up. "So she resigned from the Lancaster Group. No wonder she came looking for me again."
His tone carried a hint of smugness. As he spoke, his sidelong glance monitored Sterling's expression.
"You're saying Willow came back to you?" Harold felt inexplicably relieved, though he quickly grew serious again. "What did you tell her? Charles, don't forget what I told you!"
Charles deliberately put on a dismissive air. "Of course I..."
Before he could finish, a fork flew straight at his temple.
Fortunately, Charles dodged fast enough—otherwise the fork would have gone straight into his eye.
"Ster, what the hell are you doing?" Wallace witnessed the whole thing. His smile vanished, his face cold as he demanded an answer.
Only the knife remained in front of Sterling. His expression was dark enough to drip water.
Charles touched his temple. Where the fork handle had grazed him stung sharply—the skin had probably broken.
Yet he felt no displeasure whatsoever. On the contrary, his heart soared with satisfaction.
Sterling's loss of composure, attacking someone in Harold's presence—it only confirmed that Sterling and Willow had split up.
Charles even took the initiative to cover for Sterling.
"Uncle Sterling probably just had a momentary slip and accidentally flung the fork. I'm not really hurt anyway, so it's fine."
His face was full of smiles as he picked up the fork from the table and called over a servant. "Get my uncle some fresh cutlery."