Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 479: A Desperate Departure

Chapter 479: A Desperate Departure

"What are you talking about? You’ve finally come back, but what’s going on? Weren’t you fine before?" Riley Turner asked in disbelief, staring at the changed demeanor of Damien Sterling. She was more terrified than anyone.

But Mr. Sterling Senior remained calm, watching Damien with his usual composed expression.

"Grandpa, I need to talk to you," Damien Sterling ignored Riley Turner, turning his attention to his grandfather.

Given Mr. Sterling Senior’s understanding of Damien, he had already sensed something the moment he saw Damien’s determined and commanding gaze—the same look he only had when his memory was intact.

"You should go upstairs," Mr. Sterling Senior instructed Riley Turner.

Although Riley didn’t understand what was happening, since Mr. Sterling Senior had spoken, she had no choice but to head upstairs, reluctantly glancing back with every step.

The grandfather and grandson sat on the sofa, the atmosphere growing heavy.

Mr. Sterling Senior, trying to appear relaxed, smiled and asked, "Where did you go today? Did you have a good time?"

Damien Sterling returned the smile. "Thank you for your concern, Grandpa. I’m fine. There’s just something I can’t quite figure out."

"Go ahead," Mr. Sterling Senior prompted.

Damien’s fingers twisted together, and after a few moments of silence, he finally spoke. "Why have you never been able to accept Emma Hart?"

"So it seems I was right—you’ve regained your memory," Mr. Sterling Senior said, sitting upright, smiling, though it was hard for even Damien to tell if he was pleased or disappointed.

"Does that mean that if I hadn’t regained my memory, you would have continued to deceive me as my elder? Letting me live my life with a woman I don’t love, sending my children away, and driving away the woman I love most?" Damien Sterling’s brow furrowed deeply. The person he was speaking to now wasn’t his respected grandfather; it was someone who had done wrong out of selfishness—a selfish liar.

Mr. Sterling Senior had anticipated this day. He knew Damien too well, but he had taken a gamble anyway.

"No matter what, I am your elder. The way you’re speaking now shows no respect for your place in the Sterling family. And all of this over a woman who’s nothing?" Mr. Sterling Senior shouted sternly.

Damien Sterling seethed with anger. "Emma Hart may be nothing—no family background, no great talents—but she’s the mother of my children, the only woman I want to protect. I won’t allow anyone to hurt her. No one."

His words were clear and deliberate.

Meanwhile, Riley Turner’s heart shattered into pieces.

Her fingers gripped the railing so tightly they could barely bear the weight. Her red nails, like they were stained with blood, trembled as she muttered to herself, "He remembers, he remembers, and he still can’t forget Emma Hart. He’s back, and soon Emma Hart will be back too."

Recalling Damien Sterling’s earlier attitude towards her—not even coldness, just indifference—Riley felt a deep wound. She was a well-bred daughter from a prestigious family, educated and accomplished in her career. Why couldn’t that man show her even the smallest bit of respect? What had she done wrong?

Riley Turner couldn’t bear the reality of Damien Sterling’s recovered memory. Her face turned ashen.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Max.

He was the only one who treated her like a princess.

Riley answered the call, and as soon as she heard his voice, she began to sob uncontrollably. Then, she abruptly hung up. She was a proud princess—she couldn’t show weakness in front of any man. She couldn’t be so powerless.

She wiped away her tears, and a proud smile slowly returned to her face. After straightening her clothes, she confidently walked downstairs.

Damien Sterling’s gaze shifted to Riley Turner, following the sound of her high heels as she descended.

Riley Turner forced a slight smile, but that strained expression looked more painful than tears. However, Damien Sterling showed no intention of acknowledging her and turned his head back to continue his conversation with Mr. Sterling Senior.

"Damien Sterling," Riley Turner called out suddenly, her voice calm and measured, perfectly matching her dignified presence. She smiled faintly, "Now that you’ve remembered everything, what do you plan to do next?"

She had originally intended to leave right then and there.

But a proud woman never gives up so easily. She wanted to hear Damien Sterling tell her to leave in no uncertain terms, to hit rock bottom and find a reason to finally give up, rather than clinging to some vain hope.

"Riley Turner, if I were you..." Damien Sterling paused, and though Riley wanted him to stop, she also needed to hear him finish. "If I were you, I would have distanced myself the day a man said he didn’t love me. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, clinging shamelessly to become his wife, getting his body but never his heart—that’s a woman’s greatest failure. If you have any dignity left, you should leave immediately."

Those words pierced Riley Turner’s heart, leaving it in shreds. She hadn’t realized that hearing those words from Damien Sterling would hurt so much, but the pain was hers alone to bear. No one here, no one but her, understood her position.

She slowly walked up to Damien Sterling, glanced at the cup of tea on the table, picked it up, and splashed it forcefully in his face.

Even she couldn’t believe she had done it.

Her gaze was so cold it could almost draw blood.

"Remember this, Damien Sterling—I, Riley Turner, liked you. But from this moment on, even if I die of heartache, I won’t care about you again. Your life has nothing to do with me anymore, because you’re selfish. You took advantage of someone’s love and hurt them. You don’t deserve to be the person I care about."

Riley Turner forced back her tears and said these words before turning and walking away.

Mr. Sterling Senior, despite all his years of experience, was still surprised by Riley Turner’s actions. A woman’s pride, once wounded, is truly formidable.

As soon as Riley Turner stepped outside the villa, she clung to a tree and broke down in tears. She wasn’t sure what she was mourning—perhaps it was the regret for her past self. Her love had been ignited and then burned to ashes by Damien Sterling’s words.

It was both the most painful and the most cleansing moment.

Max’s call came through again, and this time, her emotional defenses crumbled.

"Max, where are you? I’m coming to find you," Riley Turner finally made the decision to leave everything behind and go to the man who truly cared for her.

In that moment, all the clouds hanging over her seemed to lift.

Having gone through so much, Damien Sterling was no longer the same heartless man who only knew how to hurt others. He had learned to feel, to hate, to suffer. So when Riley Turner acted as she did, he didn’t say a word.

He stood by the window, watching Riley Turner leave, and smiled with relief. Better a short pain than a long one. Riley Turner, I hope you find happiness.

Mr. Sterling Senior coughed, his throat feeling a bit rough—a reminder of his advancing age.

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