Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 113: Tristan Sterling, Stop Being Passive-Aggressive
She had sprained her ankle when she fell earlier.
Before Holly Sinclair could say a word, the villagers seized the opportunity to swarm them.
Greg sent the charging villagers flying, one kick at a time.
But there were too many of them, and Greg couldn’t cover everyone. A few villagers swung their shovels down at Tristan Sterling and Holly Sinclair.
Tristan raised his arm to block the blow, yanking Holly behind him to shield her with his own body.
THUD.
The dull sound of the impact sent a tremor through Holly’s very soul.
Tristan didn’t even make a sound. His eyes were chillingly dark as he lifted a long leg and kicked the closest villager away.
The man crashed into the people behind him, sending several of them tumbling into a heap.
A chorus of pained cries erupted.
The vicious mob was thoroughly enraged.
They renewed their attack, coming in relentless waves.
"Sir, you and Ms. Sinclair, go!" Greg shouted.
Before Holly could even process what was happening, Tristan had hoisted her onto his back and was making a swift retreat.
The villagers, seething with uncontrollable rage, tried to give chase but were all intercepted by Greg.
The sounds of fighting and screaming were incessant.
Holly kept looking back, extremely worried. "Will Greg be okay?"
"He’ll be fine."
"But he’s all alone..."
"He can handle it."
"But those villagers... they seem inhuman..."
"So concerned about him?" The patience in the man’s voice was suddenly tinged with ice.
"..." Holly’s mouth twitched.
’Greg is risking his life to save us. Shouldn’t I be concerned?’
The path ahead grew darker, and the sounds of the fight gradually faded with the growing distance.
In the mountains at night, the silence was terrifying, and the air was bitingly cold.
Lying on Tristan’s back, Holly’s senses were filled with his familiar scent.
The path was narrow and winding. Tristan’s footing was unsteady, and he nearly stumbled into the mud several times.
"Put me down. I can walk by myself."
After they had been walking quickly for about an hour, Holly could clearly feel Tristan’s pace slowing.
It seemed his strength was beginning to fail.
But the man ignored her.
She frowned and squirmed. "Tristan..."
"Don’t move!"
He gave her a firm smack on the bottom and barked the order in a low voice.
Holly went still.
After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but ask dubiously, "Why are you here?"
Running into him in a place like this... if it was a coincidence, it was too much of one.
’Is he tracking me?’
’But what’s there to track about me?’
"What do you think?"
Tristan shot back, his tone anything but friendly.
"How should I know!" Holly was speechless.
"You don’t know?" he scoffed.
"Tristan, if you have something to say, just say it! Don’t be so passive-aggressive with me!"
She was furious. She hated it when people beat around the bush.
Tristan desperately wanted to dump this sharp-tongued little woman off his back. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
’How dare she speak to me like that!’
’What an ungrateful wretch!’
"Where’s Brandon Sterling?" he asked.
His icy voice carried a hint of jealousy he himself hadn’t even noticed.
"What?" Holly froze.
Tristan said, "Your assistant said you came to Corvium for a vacation."
"..." She was completely lost, baffled by his disconnected remarks. "So what does that have to do with Brandon?"
"Don’t tell me you two didn’t come here together!"
Ever since he learned that the incident from two years ago was a misunderstanding, he had been wanting to have a proper talk with her.
So, he went to her studio to find her.
But her assistant told him she was on her way to Corvium.
Her assistant said she was traveling, and his mind immediately conjured the image of her dining with Brandon Sterling in that restaurant...
So, he immediately had Connor Grant look up Brandon’s itinerary.
As it turned out, Brandon wasn’t at his company either; he had taken three days off.
The two of them "disappearing" at the same time—wasn’t he right to be suspicious?
And it was a good thing he was suspicious. He had tracked her phone’s location and rushed over, saving her in the nick of time.
He didn’t even dare to imagine what would have happened to her if he hadn’t arrived in time today.
"I’m here on a business trip. Alone."
Holly stated calmly.
It wasn’t so much a deliberate explanation as it was her being too lazy to deal with his passive-aggressive attitude.
The reason she’d told her assistant to say she was on vacation was that she didn’t want word to get out and have a competitor seize the opportunity.
She wanted to sign a contract with the intangible cultural heritage inheritor, securing their silk exclusively for her SH Studio for the next two years.
"You’re alone?"
A flicker of joy passed through Tristan’s heart, but it was immediately replaced by rage. "You really are unbelievably reckless! Don’t you know it’s dangerous to travel alone? Is your brain made of mush?"
"..."
Holly was at a loss for words.
’To be honest, he was right to yell at me.’
She had been careless.
She thought something like this was a distant possibility, never imagining she would one day experience it firsthand.
She had traveled alone before and never encountered anything so outrageous.
That was why, after leaving the airport, she had spotted her name among the many welcome signs, seen the honest and kind faces of the middle-aged couple, and let her guard down.
She never expected...
’You can know a person’s face, but not their heart!’
People who looked kind could still harbor a vicious heart.
Neither of them spoke again.
After walking for a long time, he finally carried her out of the mountain pass.
They reached the main road, but not a single car passed by for what felt like an eternity.
Tristan’s phone must have been dropped during the conflict with the villagers. He couldn’t call the police or contact Connor Grant and Greg.
Even though they were on the main road, Holly noticed Tristan’s steps were even more unsteady than they had been on the mountain path.
Just as she was wondering why, he suddenly staggered.
Then, with her still on his back, he collapsed to the ground.
"Ah...!"
Holly screamed in terror.
But in the instant he fell, he did his best to fall face-down, protecting her from any harm.
After he fell, Tristan lay completely still.
Terrified, Holly scrambled up to check on him. "Tristan? Tristan..."
She was about to shake him but felt something sticky and wet on his arm.
Peering at it in the faint moonlight, she paled in horror. "Tristan, you’re injured?!"
His sleeve was soaked through with blood.
He must have been hit by one of those thugs with a shovel earlier.
With her help, he managed to turn over, lying on his back in her arms.
"I-I’m fine..." he forced the words out, looking as if he was about to pass out.
But Holly could see he was just putting on a brave face. Panicked and afraid, she pleaded, "Don’t scare me, Tristan, Tristan..."
She called his name over and over, terrified he would faint.
’Out here in the middle of nowhere, if he passes out, what am I supposed to do all by myself?’
’I can’t just abandon him and run, but there’s no way my small frame can carry him.’
"Tristan, hang in there, don’t fall asleep..." Holly’s voice was filled with frantic urgency.
Just then, a beam of light shot toward them from the distance.
A car was coming.
Elated, Holly immediately let go of the man in her arms, stood up, and limped into the middle of the road.
She spread her arms, forcing the car to a stop.
The person in the car stared at her for a full minute before finally pushing the door open and getting out—
"Are you... Ms. Holly Sinclair?"
