Gwen Pov
The moment I stepped into the car, Mom took one look at my face and smiled.
There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that immediately made me suspicious.
“So,” she said, trying very hard not to laugh, “how’s my little Interrogator doing?”
I let out an exasperated groan and dropped into the seat beside her.
“Mom…” I complained, burying my face in my hands for a second.
“You’re not supposed to encourage him. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
She laughed softly, completely unapologetic.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you looked absolutely adorable.”
Before I could respond, Chris closed the passenger door, walked around the car, and settled into the seat across from us.
“I agree,” he said with a faint smile.
“You look really cute when you blush.”
I slowly turned to look at him.
He was smiling.
Not the polite smile he wore during meetings.
Not the calm smile he gave strangers.
This was the smile of someone who knew he’d won.
The absolute devil.
Realizing I wasn’t going to win this battle, I decided the only sensible thing to do was change the subject before either of them found something else to tease me about.
“So…” I said, clearing my throat.
“How did the meeting go?”
Chris leaned back comfortably, as though spending an entire morning taking control of one of the world’s largest corporations had been just another item on his schedule.
“Nothing particularly special,” he replied.
“The board was happy with the direction I want to take Sterling Corporation, so they officially appointed me as CEO.”
He said it so casually that anyone listening would have thought he was talking about passing an exam instead of becoming the head of a multi-billion-dollar corporation.
“And your mother,” he continued, glancing toward Mom, “accepted the position of Legal CEO.”
I blinked and turned toward Mom.
“So… you’re basically his signature?”
Mom smiled and nodded.
“In simple terms, yes. Chris makes the executive decisions, and I’m responsible for ensuring everything is legally approved and properly executed. Anything that requires a legal signature goes through me.”
I looked between the two of them.
“So you’re running the company together.”
Chris gave a small nod.
“That’s one way of putting it.”
For a moment, I simply stared at them.
One was an seventeen-year-old who had just become the CEO of Sterling Corporation.
The other was my mother, who now held one of the most important legal positions in the company.
The truly ridiculous part wasn’t that either of those things had happened.
It was that somehow…
they both made it sound completely ordinary.
I folded my arms across my chest and looked directly at Chris.
“Oh? Then what was all that in front of my friends?”
He met my gaze without the slightest hint of guilt.
“Nothing,” he replied calmly.
“I was simply introducing them to our future relationship.”
I stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
Strangely, I wasn’t nearly as flustered as I had been outside.
Maybe I’d finally grown used to his shameless teasing.
“In your dreams,” I muttered.
“Not even if you were the last man on Earth.”
Instead of looking disappointed, Chris nodded thoughtfully as though he were genuinely considering my answer.
“Fair enough,” he said.
“Then perhaps we should reconsider the relationship.”
His eyes drifted toward Mom.
“Stepmother doesn’t sound quite right…” He paused, pretending to think.
“No… I suppose stepfather sounds better. What do you think, Helen?”
The effect was immediate.
For the first time that afternoon, Mom was the one caught off guard.
She stared at him for a second before clearing her throat.
Although she tried to hide it, I noticed the faint blush creeping onto the tips of her ears.
“Chris,” she said, trying to sound stern.
“Be serious.”
His expression softened.
“I am being serious.”
There wasn’t even the hint of a joke in his voice anymore.
“If I can’t recognize a good woman standing right in front of me because I’m too busy looking somewhere else, then maybe I’m not the right man to lead Sterling Corporation.”
The atmosphere inside the car changed so suddenly that even I forgot to breathe for a moment.
Mom looked at him quietly before a gentle smile appeared on her face.
“You really are different when you’re serious.”
I found myself looking at him a little more carefully.
She was right.
I’d become so used to his teasing and relaxed attitude that I’d almost forgotten he had spent the morning taking control of Sterling Corporation.
I’d never seen him in that boardroom, but for just a moment, I found myself imagining him sitting at the head of the table, speaking with that same quiet confidence and commanding the attention of everyone in the room.
Somehow…
The image suited him far better than I wanted it to.
…Why was that so attractive?
Then, just as quickly, it disappeared.
“I don’t enjoy walking around with a serious expression all day,” he said.
“Teasing the two of you is much more entertaining.”
His gaze moved between Mom and me before he continued.
“Besides, I know neither of you would ever take advantage of me.”
Something about the way he said it made me smile.
There was no hesitation, no doubt.
He trusted us.
More than that, he felt comfortable enough to let his guard down around us.
Then he ruined the moment.
“And even if one day you did,” he added with a mischievous smile, “I’d still find a way to keep us together.”
I closed my eyes for a second before letting out a defeated sigh.
There it was.
The devil was back.
“Okay,” Chris said, ending the conversation before either Mom or I could continue arguing with him.
“Enough games. What do the two of you want to eat?”
I answered before I had a chance to think.
“Steak.”
The word slipped out so naturally that I didn’t even realize I’d said it until both of them looked at me.
Chris simply nodded.
“Steak it is.”
He turned toward Mom.
“And you?”
“Pasta,” she replied with a smile.
“Any particular restaurant?”
She shook her head.
“Anywhere is fine.”
He looked back at me.
“And you?”
I shrugged.
“Anywhere is good.”
Chris pressed the intercom.
“Diablo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take us to the place that serves the best steaks and pasta.”
“Understood.”
The drive only lasted a few minutes.
When the car finally came to a stop, I looked out the window and immediately wondered whether Diablo had misunderstood Chris’s instructions.
This didn’t look like a restaurant.
It looked like a skyscraper.
A towering building of glass and polished steel stretched into the sky, its reflective exterior gleaming beneath the afternoon sun.
Luxury cars lined the entrance while impeccably dressed valets moved with practiced precision.
Even from inside the car, the place radiated a level of elegance that made me instinctively sit a little straighter.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Mom studied the building for a moment before turning toward Chris.
“Chris…” she said carefully.
“This place has a dress code.”
Her gaze shifted to me.
“Gwen won’t be allowed inside.”
Chris didn’t look concerned in the slightest.
“It’s okay.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
The jacket was much too large for me, the sleeves almost swallowing my hands, but somehow it fit comfortably enough.
Chris adjusted the collar with practiced ease before taking a small step back to look at me.
“There.”
For some reason, that simple gesture made me feel strangely safe.
Mom smiled softly without saying a word.
She was still wearing the elegant business suit she’d worn to the board meeting, so she had nothing to worry about.
When we reached the entrance, one of the security guards stepped forward with a professional smile.
Chris didn’t announce his name or argue about being stopped.
He simply reached into his pocket and handed over a sleek black card.
The guard looked at it for barely a second before immediately straightening his posture.
“Welcome, Mr. Sterling.”
His tone changed completely.
“This way, sir.”
That was it.
No questioning.
No proving his identity.
Just a single card.
I couldn’t help smiling to myself.
Maybe all those stories where rich protagonists spent ten minutes arguing with security before dramatically revealing who they were…
only happened in novels.
Reality seemed much simpler.
Within moments, we were escorted away from the main lobby and into a private elevator.
The ride was so smooth I barely noticed we were moving until the doors quietly opened.
Waiting outside was an entire line of impeccably dressed staff.
Mom and I both slowed our steps instinctively.
This was…
A man in a perfectly tailored suit stepped forward.
For a brief second, I thought he was Diablo.
The cut of the suit was almost identical, although unlike Diablo, every part of his appearance was completely formal.
His eyes briefly swept over the three of us.
The moment he noticed Chris wearing only a dress shirt before his gaze shifted to me wearing Chris’s suit jacket, something seemed to click in his mind.
Without saying a word, he lowered his gaze respectfully before making a subtle motion with two fingers.
Every employee behind him immediately followed his lead.
None of them looked directly at me anymore.
The gesture was so subtle that I almost missed it, but I immediately understood why he’d done it.
He had noticed I was uncomfortable.
Instead of making a scene or pretending nothing was wrong, he’d silently made sure none of the staff would add to my discomfort.
Somehow…
That tiny gesture meant more to me than the luxurious hotel itself.
“Welcome, Mr. Sterling,” the man said respectfully.
“Had we known you were coming, we would have prepared a proper reception.”
Chris dismissed the idea with a small wave of his hand.
“No need. We’re only here for brunch.”
“Of course, sir.”
The man stepped aside.
“If you’ll follow me.”
As we began walking, Chris quietly offered one arm to Mom and the other to me.
Mom accepted without hesitation.
After only a brief moment of uncertainty, I slipped my hand around his arm.
There wasn’t a trace of teasing behind the gesture.
Nor did it feel romantic.
It was simply…
graceful.
Elegant.
The kind of effortless courtesy that belonged in another era.
For just a second, an absurd thought crossed my mind.
He looked like a prince escorting two ladies through a royal ballroom.
I immediately shook my head.
A prince?
No.
He was just…
A ridiculously well-mannered billionaire.
The same man personally escorted us into a private dining room overlooking the city.
Instead of handing us off to a waiter, he remained by our table until we had finished placing our orders.
As he turned to leave, Chris spoke again.
“One more thing.”
The man stopped immediately.
“Yes, Mr. Sterling?”
“Not hotel portions.”
Chris closed the menu with a faint smile.
“I’m hungry.”
His gaze shifted toward Mom and me.
“And the same goes for them.”
The man nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Certainly, Mr. Sterling.”
Once the door closed behind him, I finally looked at Chris.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I mean.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“Go ahead.”
“Why is everyone treating you like you own this place?”
He looked genuinely puzzled by the question.
“My father financed most of the land acquisition and construction,” he replied before taking a sip of water.
“Sterling Corporation owns a significant share of the hotel.”
He said it with the same casual tone someone might use to mention today’s weather.
I found myself staring at him before my gaze wandered around the room.
Every member of the staff had greeted him with effortless respect.
The manager had personally welcomed him, the security guard had recognized him with nothing more than a single card, and everyone had treated his presence as something completely ordinary.
It slowly dawned on me that none of this had been arranged because Chris wanted to impress us.
This wasn’t him showing off.
This wasn’t him pretending to be someone important.
This was simply the world he had grown up in.
Luxury hotels knew his name.
People recognized him before he introduced himself.
Elegance wasn’t something he practiced—it was simply part of who he was.
Strangely, instead of making him feel distant, the realization did the exact opposite.
Someone who belonged so naturally in a world like this still chose to spend his time teasing Mom and me, laughing with us, and treating us like family instead of people beneath him.
For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, that thought made me smile.
Maybe…
His serious, elegant side was nice to see once in a while.
But…
I think I liked the teasing Chris more.
Even if it meant I had to suffer a little.