Chapter 398

Willow responded to Henry's concern when her peripheral vision suddenly caught Adeline standing in the distance.

"Ms. Wilson is here, too?" She was somewhat surprised.

Adeline nodded slightly and walked over.

Sterling and Henry stepped aside to make way, letting her approach Willow.

"I'm here to give you a checkup," Adeline said.

Willow's last impression of her was when the scandal broke online, and Adeline had proactively stepped forward to clear Willow's name.

As for what happened during her coma, she knew nothing. Maria hadn't wanted her entangled with these Majestic City people again and hadn't mentioned it.

Adeline stepped forward, about to examine Willow.

Henry suddenly piped up from behind her, "Let me introduce you—this is your future sister-in-law."

Adeline's movements froze slightly.

Willow froze, too.

A moment later, Adeline recovered her composure and proceeded to examine Willow as if nothing had happened.

But Willow couldn't help glancing at her, then looking toward Henry in front of her.

If she remembered correctly, Henry's previous attitude toward Adeline...

What on earth had happened during the time she was unconscious?

"You've recovered pretty well," Adeline concluded her examination. "The wound tore open multiple times, so it might scar. I'll have someone send you a topical ointment—three times a day should prevent that."

Willow obediently agreed and thanked Adeline. "I appreciate it."

Adeline nodded, glanced at the time, and said, "I have other matters to attend to. I'll be going."

Henry had indeed kept his word. Though they weren't married yet, he'd already provided resources to the Wilson family as Adeline requested. With Richard washing his hands of everything, all the family's responsibilities fell on Adeline's shoulders—a burden she seemed happy to bear.

Henry, however, was deeply dissatisfied with this arrangement.

"When will you ever have time?" He grabbed Adeline as she tried to leave.

Adeline was forced to stop. "Does Mr. Brown need something else?"

Henry was at his wits' end. They'd met many times recently and done plenty of things together.

Granted, most of those meetings only happened because he'd pressured or bribed her into agreeing.

But still, they were about to get married, and Adeline still treated him like a complete stranger.

"The wedding isn't just my business. Don't you want to offer some input?" he said. "Besides, we haven't formally met each other's families yet."

Adeline seemed indifferent. "Plan the wedding however you like. If you want to meet the families, set a time and I'll coordinate."

Henry couldn't help grinding his teeth. "You—"

"I'm going to be late. If you have something to discuss, you can call me." Adeline pulled her hand free and left without looking back.

Only the three of them remained in the hospital room.

Watching their interaction, Willow felt something was off.

"Henry, are you really going to marry Ms. Wilson?" she asked.

Henry had just been sulking over Adeline's attitude, but hearing Willow's words, his expression brightened.

"Of course I'm marrying her. Her face is exactly my type." He said it casually.

Willow still felt something wasn't quite right. She glanced at Sterling, hoping he could provide answers.

Sterling looked at Henry.

The two men's eyes met briefly before each nonchalantly looked away.

Regarding the circumstances of Adeline treating her, neither planned to let Willow know—it would only burden her unnecessarily.

Moreover...

Henry raised his eyebrows roguishly. "I'll admit, at first, I was prejudiced against her. But sparring with her these past weeks has actually been pretty fun."

He rubbed his chin, thinking of Adeline's cool indifference toward him, and said leisurely, "I'm definitely going through with this marriage. Let's see who can outlast who."

Willow truly couldn't understand his thinking. She only said, "Don't bully her."

Henry smiled with exaggerated innocence. "Can't you see? She's the one who's been bullying me this whole time."

The three chatted for a while.

Willow remembered Henry's earlier words. "You mentioned earlier that you're planning a wedding with Ms. Wilson. When is it? Do you need my help?"

Henry replied, "It's just on the agenda. Didn't you notice I'm the only one rushing?"

His expression turned somewhat resentful.

Adeline had been the one desperate to form this alliance with him, forcing him to go public.

Now his parents knew and were urging him to get married quickly, afraid he'd go back to his old playboy ways. Meanwhile, Adeline wasn't in any hurry at all.

It made it look like he was the one chasing after her.

"Never mind about me." Henry's head ached thinking about it. He tossed the topic back at them. "What about you two? When are you planning to hold a wedding?"

He glanced at Willow's belly, then at Sterling. "If you drag this out much longer, Willow won't be able to hide that bump."

He didn't want his sister getting married with a baby bump and having people gossip about it.

Willow paused.

She'd almost forgotten about this.

Her interactions with Sterling felt so natural that she sometimes had the illusion they'd been together for ages.

She turned to look at Sterling beside her.

Sterling was also looking down at her, his eyes full of tenderness.

Willow unconsciously got lost in his gaze.

A moment later, she heard Sterling's voice in her ear.

"I'm ready whenever you are." Sterling said, "If possible, I'd also like it to be soon."

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Willow's face.

Willow snapped back to reality, realizing he was asking for her opinion.

"I..." She wanted to say she felt the same—anytime was fine.

Henry suddenly spoke up, cutting off her words. "Of course, it should be soon, but before that, hasn't Mr. Lancaster forgotten something?"

Willow looked at him in confusion.

He'd just been the one pushing them to marry quickly, and now he was throwing up roadblocks.

She really didn't know what her biological brother was thinking.

Sterling was equally puzzled.

Until Henry deliberately raised his left hand, playing with the ring on his ring finger right in front of them.

"You want to marry my sister without even properly proposing? The Brown family isn't just for show, you know." Henry's tone was cool.

Whether it was their imagination or not, they seemed to detect a hint of showing off in his voice.

The hospital room fell silent for a few seconds.

When Willow came to her senses and tried to look away from his hand, she inadvertently met Sterling's gaze.

Sterling was looking down at her, his eyes dark and thoughtful.

"Actually..." Willow wanted to say the formal steps weren't that important. She also couldn't quite imagine Sterling doing those things.

But Sterling didn't give her a chance to speak. He said to Henry, "You're right."

Henry raised an eyebrow.

Sterling's voice was low. "Besides this, is there anything else I should be aware of?"

He truly didn't understand these things. He'd always assumed he'd follow his father's arrangements and enter into a strategic marriage with an appropriate family, just going through the motions.

But now, he was marrying Willow, he loved. Sterling wouldn't let her suffer the slightest grievance, and he wouldn't let their marriage have any regrets.