Chapter 56: Chapter 50: Who Is Begging Whom?

Nocturne Bar.

Isla Prescott had been here a few times, so the bar staff already recognized her.

“Is Young Mr. Sterling in?” Isla Prescott asked.

“Young Mr. Sterling is upstairs sleeping.”

“Could you please let him know that Isla Prescott is here to see him?”

The staff member looked troubled. Everyone knew the boss had been in a foul mood for the past few days. Even the ants on the ground gave him a wide berth, afraid of being scorched to a crisp. The staff’s survival tactic was to avoid seeking an audience with him unless absolutely necessary. Only someone with a death wish would dare provoke him while he was sleeping.

“But… Young Mr. Sterling is sleeping. He doesn’t like to be disturbed when he’s sleeping.”

“Please, I have something very important. How about you just let me go up? I’ll find him myself. I’ll just say I snuck up on my own.”

Perhaps sensing her desperation from her red, tear-swollen eyes, the staff member steeled themself and said, “Wait here a moment.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

The staff member went upstairs and came back down a moment later, smiling. “You’re in luck. Young Mr. Sterling is already awake. He said you can go up.”

“Thank you.”

The staff member led the way for Isla Prescott, and she went straight to the third floor.

Shane Sterling was sitting at the bar. He had probably just washed his face, as droplets of water still clung to his skin. His tie was loosened, and the top three buttons of his shirt were undone, giving him an air of rugged, devil-may-care sloppiness.

“Sean.”

Isla Prescott walked to his side.

He didn’t even look at her, swirling the crystal glass in his hand. “I thought we were from different worlds. How did you manage to show up in front of me? Do you have a private portal, Miss Prescott?”

She called him “Sean,” but he called her “Miss Prescott,” as if to draw a clear line between them.

Isla Prescott could understand his coldness, though. After all, she was the one who had tried to draw a line between them first.

“Sean, my mom is sick.” Isla Prescott suppressed her emotions and explained why she was there. “She has a tumor in her brain. Its location is tricky, so an average surgeon can’t handle the operation. I heard Director King has extensive clinical and surgical experience with brain tumors. I want to ask him to operate on my mother, but he’s on vacation right now. Could you please help me contact him?”

Shane Sterling finally lifted his eyes to look at her. “What makes you think I’ll help you?”

’They had no relationship. He truly had no obligation to help her. Helping her would be a kindness; not helping her would be his right.’

’But Director King was the only hope of saving her mother right now.’

’No matter how indifferent he was, no matter if he held a grudge over her rejection, she wouldn’t give up on asking for his help. On the way here, Isla Prescott had prepared to cast aside all her dignity. All that mattered was that her mother lived.’

“Sean, I know I was the one who rejected you, and now I’m coming back to ask for a favor. It’s shameless of me, I know. But my mom’s condition is really bad. I’m begging you, please save her. I’ll do anything you ask. Even if you want me to kneel and apologize, I’ll do it…”

As she spoke, her knees buckled, and she actually started to kneel.

Shane Sterling saw her intention. In the split second before her knees hit the ground, he dropped to one knee himself, catching her and holding her up.

He’d traded cold words with her, but in the end, he couldn’t bear it.

“Who was that man you were chasing in the rain today?” Shane Sterling asked.

Isla Prescott hadn’t expected him to still be jealous of Quentin Linden. She answered honestly, “He’s just the parent of one of my dance students. There’s nothing between us. I only caught a ride with him today because it was raining, and I left something in his car. That’s why I was chasing after him.”

Shane Sterling’s brow relaxed slightly.

He gazed at her, the glaciers in his dark eyes gradually melting into a spring thaw.

“Then can you give me a chance? Let me be your boyfriend. All I ask for is six months. If you still don’t like me after six months, I’ll let you go.”

In this meeting, he should have been the one with the upper hand. Yet now, he was the one kneeling on the ground, begging her for a chance.

For a moment, it was hard to tell who was begging whom.

“If I agree, will you help me contact Director King?” Isla Prescott asked.

“Yes.”

“Then I agree.”

Shane Sterling, who had been waiting as if for a verdict from fate, his heart hanging by a thread, finally got the answer he wanted. He pulled Isla Prescott tightly into his arms.

’Even if it was a bit despicable, he had to keep her by his side.’

—

The two of them knelt on the floor, embracing in a strange posture. Shane Sterling didn’t let her go for a long time.

Isla Prescott’s cheek was pressed against his chest. She could smell the strong scent of alcohol on him and wondered just how much he’d had to drink.

She suddenly worried he would get blackout drunk, just like before, and forget everything by the next morning.

Isla Prescott struggled out of Shane Sterling’s embrace. “Sean, when will you help me contact Director King?”

Shane Sterling looked down at her. “I already called him. He’s coming back first thing tomorrow morning.”

“What?”

“While you were on your way here, Ivan Fulton called me.”

Shane Sterling had already learned from Ivan Fulton that Isla Prescott’s mother was seriously ill. After hanging up with Ivan, he had immediately called his uncle-in-law, Zachary King.

Just last week, Zachary King had taken his wife, Stella Hughes, to Solara to visit their daughter, who was studying abroad in the US. The couple had planned to stay with their daughter for a while longer, but after getting the call from Shane Sterling, Stella immediately told Zachary to book the earliest flight back home for the next day.

“I can stay here with our daughter by myself. You hurry back and do a good job on the young lady’s mother’s surgery. Sean’s lifelong happiness depends on this operation. As his uncle-in-law, you’d better pull through!” Those were Stella Hughes’ exact words.

Although Zachary King was the esteemed director of a hospital, he had always listened to his wife. Of course, even without his wife’s urging, he would have definitely helped out since Shane Sterling himself had asked.

“So you had actually arranged everything already?” Isla Prescott’s thoughts stuttered. “Then… what if I hadn’t agreed just now…?”

’If she hadn’t agreed, he would have helped her anyway, of course. But there were no more ’what ifs’ now.’

“You already agreed. You can’t go back on your word.” Shane Sterling looked at her possessively, emphasizing again, “You can’t back out, understand?”

“I won’t go back on my word.”

“That’s more like it.” Shane Sterling helped Isla Prescott up and yanked off the loose tie from around his neck. “Wait for me. I’m going to take a shower.”

“A shower?” Isla Prescott instinctively covered her chest. “So soon? My mom is still in the hospital.”

Shane Sterling was in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. Hearing her words, his hands paused for a moment.

“What do you think I’m going to do?” He leaned in, burying his face in the crook of her neck, and asked in a low voice, “Isla Prescott, in your mind, am I a man who only thinks with his lower body?”

Isla Prescott’s ears and face burned. “Then why did you suddenly say you were going to take a shower out of nowhere?”

“To shower, change into some clean clothes, and go to the hospital to see your mother. Is there a problem with that?”

Isla Prescott: “…”

He raised his hand and gently flicked her nose. “Fair skin, but such a dirty mind.”

Isla Prescott: “…”

’Fine, fine. She was the one with the petty, suspicious mind.’

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