Chapter 371: You Deserve Punishment!!
The music continued playing softly in the background.
Laughter echoed from every corner of the club.
The surprise had completely succeeded.
Miles was still recovering from the shock.
Before he could say another word...
Celina walked directly towards Chloe.
She stopped only a step away.
Without saying anything...
She gently held both of Chloe’s hands in her own.
Then...
She simply stared at her.
For several long seconds.
Chloe blinked awkwardly.
"...Umm?"
Celina’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
"She’s so cute!"
She immediately turned towards Miles.
"Miles."
"You evil man."
"How could you hide someone this adorable from us?"
Becky immediately joined in.
"Exactly."
She folded her arms dramatically.
"Aren’t we supposed to be your friends?"
Rose nodded repeatedly.
"We literally met not long ago."
"And you still stayed quiet."
She pointed at him accusingly.
"You deserve punishment."
Miles looked around helplessly.
"Hm?"
"What did I do now?"
From the side...
Monica couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Silvey covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Even Olivia giggled quietly.
On the other side of the room...
The boys had already started laughing at Miles’ miserable expression.
Josh walked over with a grin.
"No fair, buddy."
"Alright..."
"We weren’t exactly best friends in college."
"But we were still friends."
"You could’ve told us."
Celina looked back at Chloe before speaking again.
"I know..."
"It isn’t nice to interfere in someone else’s personal life."
She smiled gently.
"But..."
"Are we really such outsiders to you?"
The atmosphere became noticeably quieter.
For the first time that evening...
Miles’ playful smile disappeared.
He looked genuinely apologetic.
"I really..."
Before he could finish...
A soft voice interrupted him.
"It’s my fault."
Everyone turned towards Chloe.
She smiled politely.
"I was the one who asked him not to tell anyone."
She slightly lowered her head.
"So..."
"I should be the one apologising to all of you."
Miles looked at her.
"Chloe..."
Across the room...
Alice quietly exchanged a glance with Kate.
Alice smiled softly.
"Chloe is my best friend."
She looked at Chloe with understanding.
"And even she couldn’t tell me."
She shrugged.
"So..."
"I believe there must’ve been a reason."
Chloe looked at her gratefully.
"Lissy..."
Monica clapped her hands once.
"Alright."
"Alright."
She smiled brightly.
"Today is supposed to be a happy day."
"So let’s stop interrogating the groom."
Everyone laughed.
Celina was still holding Chloe’s hands.
She looked towards Miles before smiling.
"I forgive you."
She squeezed Chloe’s fingers gently.
"Only because..."
"She stood up for you."
Miles smiled with relief.
"Then..."
"As punishment..."
He raised one hand dramatically.
"Every drink tonight..."
"Is on me."
The room erupted once again.
"Now we’re talking!"
"Best punishment ever!"
"I forgive you too!"
More laughter filled the club.
Dion immediately wrapped an arm around Josh’s shoulders.
"Come on."
"Let’s begin the important part."
"The bar is waiting."
Josh laughed.
"I knew I liked this party already."
The two disappeared towards the drinks counter.
...
Meanwhile...
Celina gently pulled Chloe along.
"Come with us."
"We need to talk."
Before Chloe could answer...
Becky and Rose had already surrounded her.
Alice and Kate joined them as well.
Within seconds...
The girls had completely kidnapped the bride-to-be.
Questions immediately started flying.
"When did you two meet?"
"How did he propose?"
Chloe laughed helplessly as she disappeared into the cheerful crowd.
Standing near the entrance...
Miles watched the scene unfold.
A warm smile slowly appeared.
"...She lied for me."
His heart quietly warmed.
At that exact moment...
Chloe turned around.
She met his eyes from across the room.
Then smiled.
A small smile.
Yet it carried everything he needed to understand.
Miles smiled back.
Before he could continue watching...
Another group surrounded him.
Chase appeared first.
Followed by Cole.
Sophia.
Isabelle.
Olivia walked over a second later.
Chase enthusiastically stood in front of Miles.
"Brother!"
"You’re getting married too!"
"We’re seriously excited."
Isabelle nodded happily.
"Very excited."
Cole grinned.
"This wedding is definitely going to be even bigger than the last one."
Olivia blinked.
"The last one?"
She looked at Miles.
"...This is your second marriage?"
Silence.
For exactly one second.
Then...
The entire group burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Olivia looked completely confused.
"...What?"
Sophia quickly waved both hands.
"No."
"No."
She laughed.
"Miss Olivia..."
"We’re talking about Brother Dion’s wedding."
"We all attended that one."
Olivia finally realised what had happened.
Her cheeks turned slightly pink.
"Oh..."
"Oops."
She covered her face.
"That was embarrassing."
Miles laughed.
"It’s a good thing Chloe didn’t hear that."
"I’d never hear the end of it."
Everyone laughed again.
A familiar voice then spoke from behind.
"Congratulations, Brother."
Miles turned.
"Silvey."
He smiled.
"I didn’t know you were coming."
Silvey shrugged.
"Sister Monica invited me."
"How could I refuse?"
She smiled before gently pulling the woman beside her forward.
"And..."
"I brought Layla this time."
Miles looked at her.
A playful grin appeared.
"Hey, Luna."
The young woman immediately shook her head with a smile.
"Please."
"Call me Layla."
She proudly folded her arms.
"I’m officially Layla now."
Miles nodded warmly.
"Good."
"I’m happy for you."
Layla smiled back.
"Thank you."
Chase scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry for interrupting..."
He looked between Miles and Silvey.
"But..."
"Can someone explain this ’Brother’ thing?"
He pointed towards Silvey.
"The last time we all met at the beach..."
"You never mentioned she was family."
Silvey laughed.
"Fair point."
She smiled proudly.
"My full name is..."
"Silvey Sterling."
Chase blinked.
"...Sterling?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Miles is my cousin."
"Just like you."
For a second...
Chase simply stared.
Then his face lit up.
"Wait."
"That means..."
"We’re related too?"
Silvey laughed.
"In a way..."
"Yes."
Chase looked genuinely delighted.
"That’s so cool!"
The group laughed once again.
Around them...
The music continued.
Glasses clinked.
Friends reunited.
Chloe excused herself from Celina and the girls.
Holding a glass of juice, she quietly walked towards Miles.
"Miles."
Miles turned immediately.
"What’s wrong?"
The conversation around him stopped for a moment.
Chase and the others looked over curiously.
Chloe smiled and gently shook her head.
"Nothing is wrong."
She looked around at everyone.
"I just thought..."
"We’re meeting for the first time."
"So I should properly introduce myself."
"And exchange a few words with everyone."
Miles blinked.
Then smiled.
"Oh."
"Right."
"You don’t know most of them yet."
Chase chuckled.
"Looks like Brother forgot."
Miles scratched the back of his head.
"I actually did."
He stepped beside Chloe.
"Alright."
"Official introductions."
He pointed towards Silvey.
"This..."
"Is Silvey."
"Silvey Sterling."
"She’s from ACE Group."
"And..."
"My cousin."
The moment he mentioned ACE Group...
Chase’s eyes widened.
"Wait."
"Did you just say..."
"ACE Group?"
Miles nodded casually.
"Yes."
Even Chloe looked a little surprised.
She had heard the name countless times.
One of the largest corporate groups in the country.
Chase looked even more excited.
"This keeps getting cooler."
Chloe smiled before extending her hand.
"It’s nice to meet you..."
"Miss Silvey."
Silvey immediately pretended to be offended.
"That’s not fair."
She gently held Chloe’s hand.
"Call me Silvey."
"You’re about to become my sister in law."
Chloe laughed softly.
"Alright."
"Silvey."
Silvey smiled brightly.
"Much better."
Miles pointed towards the young woman standing beside her.
"And behind her..."
"Is Layla."
"Silvey’s best friend."
Chloe smiled warmly.
"It’s nice meeting you too."
Layla returned the smile.
"Likewise."
Miles continued introducing everyone.
"And this..."
He gestured towards Olivia.
"Is Olivia."
"You may have seen her around."
"She lives in my neighbourhood."
"And..."
"She’s another cousin."
Olivia waved cheerfully.
"Hi."
Chloe smiled.
"Hello, Olivia."
Then Miles looked towards Chase.
"And this..."
"Is Chase."
He grinned.
"I’ll let you guess who he is."
Chloe carefully observed him.
"He looks younger."
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"He must still be a student."
"So..."
"I’m guessing..."
"Another relative?"
Miles smiled proudly.
"Impressive."
"But..."
"Look a little more carefully."
Chloe studied Chase’s face once again.
Chase smiled back patiently.
Suddenly...
Her eyes widened.
"He looks a little like Sister Monica."
She pointed between the two of them.
"Wait..."
"He’s..."
"Her younger brother."
Chase clapped happily.
"You got it, Sister in law."
Everyone laughed.
Miles nodded.
"Exactly."
"He’s also my cousin."
He continued.
"And these are his friends."
"Cole."
"Isabelle."
"Sophia."
Each of them greeted Chloe warmly.
She smiled at everyone.
Then she looked back at Miles.
"You know..."
"At first..."
"You told me we were meeting three friends."
She looked around the room.
"Then I met all these people."
"And now..."
"I’m discovering half of them are actually your relatives."
Everyone laughed.
Miles shrugged helplessly.
"To be fair..."
"I only found most of them this year."
That made everyone laugh even harder.
Chloe quietly looked around the club.
Her eyes wandered from one smiling face to another.
Then she softly said,
"This feels..."
"So warm."
She smiled.
"I’ve never felt this safe..."
"Inside a nightclub."
Several people nearby smiled after hearing those words.
The atmosphere became even more relaxed.
...
Hours quietly slipped away.
Even Chloe slowly became part of every conversation.
By midnight...
People had started growing tired.
One by one...
Everyone began preparing to leave.
Miles had already arranged transportation.
Several Sterling Security vehicles quietly arrived outside the club.
His agents politely helped everyone return home safely.
Before leaving...
Miles looked towards Silvey and Chase.
"Come home and stay tonight."
Chase immediately laughed.
"No way, Big Bro."
"Aunt Elena will definitely scold me."
He scratched his head.
"I’ve been drinking."
"We’ll come tomorrow morning."
Silvey nodded in agreement.
"Same here."
"We’ll see everyone in the morning."
Miles smiled.
"Alright."
"Drive safely."
Everyone waved goodbye.
The lively club gradually became quiet once again.
...
Inside the car...
Only Miles and Chloe remained.
The roads were almost empty.
Soft music played quietly through the speakers.
After a few minutes...
Miles broke the silence.
"Thank you."
Chloe looked towards him.
"For what?"
Miles smiled.
"For standing up for me earlier."
"You didn’t have to lie."
She looked genuinely surprised.
"What?"
She smiled gently.
"It’s my duty."
"I’m supposed to stand beside you."
Miles glanced at her.
"You already sound like my wife."
Chloe smiled before gently leaning against his shoulder.
She lightly squeezed his arm.
"Those shoulders are quite strong."
She looked at him affectionately.
"But..."
"Please let me carry some of the heavy things too."
Miles smiled quietly.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Chloe laughed softly.
"I honestly had no idea..."
"You have so many cousins."
Miles chuckled.
"They appeared one by one."
She remembered something.
"ACE Group..."
She looked at him.
"Isn’t that an enormous corporation?"
"I still can’t believe..."
"You’re part of the Sterling Family."
"And..."
"You built another business empire that can rival ACE Group."
Miles immediately shook his head.
"There could never be a rivalry."
Chloe tilted her head.
"Because they’re family?"
Miles smiled.
"Yes."
"But..."
"There’s another reason."
She waited.
"I inherited the majority of the shares in ACE Group."
Silence.
Chloe stared at him.
"...You what?"
She slowly leaned back.
"You’re..."
"So rich."
She folded her arms dramatically.
"I’m jealous."
She pointed at him.
"You’re basically Batman."
Miles laughed.
"You’re still holding onto the superhero thing?"
She giggled.
"Well..."
"If you suddenly told me..."
"That Reaper Group also belongs to you..."
"I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised anymore."
Miles looked at her strangely.
"Wait."
"You didn’t know Reaper Group is mine too?"
Chloe blinked.
"...What?"
She sat upright immediately.
"Really?"
"I always thought..."
"Sister Monica calling you ’Boss’ was just..."
"A nickname."
Miles couldn’t help laughing.
"I thought you just said you wouldn’t be surprised."
Chloe narrowed her eyes.
"Hmph."
"You really deserve the punishment."
She pointed at him accusingly.
"Just like Celina said."
"You’ve been hiding things from me too."
Miles smiled apologetically.
"I’ve told you almost everything."
"The only thing I unintentionally hid..."
"Was my college friends."
"And I admitted that was my mistake."
He looked ahead at the quiet road.
"But honestly..."
"Reaper Group."
"ACE Group."
"They’ve never felt important compared to you..."
"And our family."
"So..."
"I never even thought they were worth mentioning."
He glanced at her.
"...Are you upset?"
Chloe gently smiled.
"Not at all."
She reached over and intertwined her fingers with his.
"These little surprises..."
"They’re actually sweet."
She laughed.
"If you still have more..."
"Save them."
She looked at him playfully.
"But..."
"Don’t hide anything truly important."
Miles smiled.
"Why would I?"
She rested her head against the seat again.
"So..."
She started counting on her fingers.
"Sterling Enterprises."
"ACE Group."
"Reaper Group."
She looked at him with exaggerated admiration.
"You’re practically running half the country."
She grinned.
"So..."
"Do you have any more identities..."
"That I should know about?"
Miles genuinely thought about it.
"Hmm..."
"I don’t think so."
A brief pause.
"Oh."
"There is one."
Chloe looked at him expectantly.
"I’m also..."
"An Honorary General of the Army."
The car suddenly became completely silent.
Chloe slowly turned towards him.
Her eyes were wide open.
"...You are..."
"...What now?"