"Stella's point of view,""Because I caused you harm, I have to care for you while your hand is healing, and I will not shirk my duties." He answered as he fastened the bandage to my hand.I tried to look into his eyes to find the same emotion that was there earlier, but this time there was none; instead, they were as cold and lifeless as glacier ice that had been frozen solid. Perhaps I attempted to see something else in his eyes since he felt nothing at all for me. My heart was filled with hope, though, as he pulled the first aid kit out of Steve's hands and treated my wound with care.He seemed envious of Steve. Why did he treat my wound with such tenderness, as if it had happened in his hand instead of mine?Did you not hear him correctly when he said that he did all of this to apologize and show that he will be a gentleman by feeling guilty about his error and your wound? My subconscious was suppressing the hope that had grown in my heart.I got the idea that you shouldn't give m
"Ethan's point of view,""Where is Stella, Ethan?" As soon as I exited the airport, Grandma's query welcomed me."I do not know where she is." I answered in a grating manner.I don't want to bring up that girl at all; if she cares about her lover so much, she may live in peace in California, and I won't bother her in the least. After all, she has trouble taking my word for everything. I don't know what her issue is since whenever I tell her not to do something, she always follows through.If she had returned to California after meeting my grandmother, would there have been a problem? Her sweetheart wouldn't have died if he had been alone for a few more hours; after all, she had been apart from him for so long.Why am I thinking about that girl when I don't want to anymore? She constantly brings up our contract; therefore, going forward, we will only be together, as stated in our agreement. I shall no longer be concerned for her or meddle in her private affairs.Are you truly capable o
"Stella's point of view,""What?Are you stating the truth?Do you miss Mr. Woods?Are things going well between the two of you?"Avery's inquiries show no signs of abating."Please don't bother me with your questions, Avery; nothing has transpired the way you expect it to; nothing has worked out between us; in fact, our distance has grown even more." I stated this while inhaling deeply."Stella, stop taking things so seriously if you and your partner disagree over something. After all, every husband and wife argue from time to time." She shook her shoulders in response."Do you not remember that our relationship is based solely on a contract and that neither of us is your typical husband and wife?" I spoke in a grating manner."Why did you go on your honeymoon, though?" After hearing all of her questions, my brain is spinning."Stop babbling, Avery, and pay attention to driving the car." I started getting inside the car and occupying the passenger seat."What?What's that I hear?Why
"Ethan's point of view,""Steve, I need my pineapple juice." To relieve my aggravation, I loosened my tie's knot and ran my fingers through my hair."Ok, Mr. Woods," Steve got up from his chair as soon as he noticed the anger on my face and hurried to the pantry to grab me some pineapple juice.By now, Stella's flight must have arrived in California. Should I give her a quick call?You don't have to speak to that girl; have you forgotten that? I wanted to call her, but my male ego prevented me.But I'm concerned about her.She doesn't care about you, though, and she left you here alone to see her boyfriend in California. My male ego is currently stoking my rage.I don't want to consider that at all. By any means necessary, I must turn my focus away from her.I turned on my gaming PC.Yeah, this is the most effective way to get your focus away from her. Within five minutes of the game beginning, a random online player joined me in the NFS most wanted, and I quickly defeated him. I didn
"Stella's point of view,""Stella, you need to look into this immediately." Avery put the news on the international financial market in front of me as I was working on my laptop."Oh no, this is a big story." I grabbed the tab out of her grasp and read the entire news report."Oh crap, I knew this was going to happen." As the call flashed on my phone's screen, I muttered."Then what will happen?" She was looking at me with a curious and perplexed expression in her eyes."I don't know, Avery; let me take this call first." I said this while holding up my phone."What did they say, exactly?""They have scheduled an emergency meeting to address the issue as quickly as possible, and I must go.""What?But where?After all, in which American city is this meeting being held?" Her voice was distinctly apprehensive and shocked."Avery,the meeting has taken place in China, not the United States.""What?So, you're visiting China? When will you be back?How are you going to travel there by yours
"Ethan's point of view,""There must be some crucial tasks at hand if the legendary Ethan Woods thought to contact me." As soon as Jack received my call, he began teasing me."Put an end to your nonsense. Jack, I have no response to your foolishness, and I have no desire to ruin my mood by engaging in a pointless debate with you. So please don't ruin my day by interrupting me now." Stella has already made me quite upset, and at this point, Jack is merely stoking my rage.Jack asked in a serious voice, sensing the intensity of my rage, "Ethan, what happened that made you so angry?""Stella Parker. That obstinate girl has become my greatest challenge. What does she think of herself, after all? How can she leave without telling me in this manner?""I don't understand a word you're saying. Could you maybe clarify to me what happened between the two of you this time?" As I listened to Jack, I became aware that, in my rage, I had already given him a hint about the conflict between Stella an
"Stella's point of view,""Avery, my beloved P.A., you catch the evening flight to China." I called her number as I walked out of the building after my meeting."What? Your meeting was over so quickly." Her tone of voice conveyed obvious disbelief."What has so surprised you, Avery? The conference began last evening as soon as I arrived in China, and now that I am free after staying up all night to attend it, why are you asking me useless questions rather than asking about my condition?" I am feeling quite upset because I am already very weary from not sleeping all night yesterday."Stella, please remain calm. I fly into China this evening.""Good girl," huh I exhaled deeply and let go of my stress.Before I leave for my hotel, I should call Ethan one more time. I had just gotten the phone out of my handbag and was about to dial his number when my phone's battery unexpectedly died.Oh crap, ever since I got on the plane yesterday, my phone has been in flight mode. Even when we were in
"Ethan's point of view,"I took hold of her hand just as she was going to collapse and stop her. She's undoubtedly feeling uneasy in her heels."Thank you, Mr." She thanked me for helping her balance."May I dance with you?" Before I accept her gratitude, the music begins, and I extend my hand in front of her, inviting her to dance with me.Thanks to the loud music, she can only see my outstretched hand and not hear me speak. She accepted me as her dancing partner right away, holding my hand.I dislike Mr. Chang, but even I have to admit that his party concept is cool. With the use of this party mask, I could keep my identity a secret from Stella and other people. Even Mr. Chang hasn't noticed my presence yet.She made eye contact with me and placed both of her hands softly on my shoulder. Even if the spark is still there, as it always has been, something is lacking in her eyes today—what she was missing.She's missing her lover at the moment, which explains her sad expression. I get
Ethan~"Thank you, Avery." Steve smiled broadly at the sight of Stella's assistance. "My pleasure, Steve." Avery's face also blushed. What's going on between them? I was surprised to find them. "I hope getting there isn't too tough for you, Mr. Woods." Avery questioned me. "Not at all; with your help, we had no trouble getting here." Before I could respond, Steve answered her question. What the hell? How is it possible for my assistant's love story to be resolved more easily than mine? Stella didn't want to talk to me and locked herself in the room, and here my assistant flirted with her assistant. "Steve, please bring me some coffee; I'm starving." I felt a slight wave of jealousy as I watched him happily conversing with Avery. Why won't Stella speak to me with such affection? Because you always irritated her by showing your anger. Without asking, my subconscious gave me the answer. Avery followed Steve into the kitchen to help him get coffee for me. Why did Stella lock her
Stella~"Stella, you didn't do good by insulting Mr. Woods." Once I finished my office work and sat in my car to return home, Avery complained to me. "Avery, please don't begin now; I am already upset with what he did in the conference hall. I mean, how could he do this?" I tighten my grip on the steering wheel in anger. "Stella, you are overreacting; he did nothing wrong; he was clearing his doubts." Avery and I argued for Ethan Woods. "Really? Oh, my God! You said that The Great Ethan Woods did nothing wrong when he offered me to work for his company for my desired salary." I gave her a furious glance. "That's precisely why I'm curious why he gave you money to work for his business when, as his wife, you are obligated to do so for free." Her remarks only heighten my ire. "First of all, Avery, we are not real husband and wife; we are just contracted married. Second, if you think he owned me because of our relationship, then you are also my friend, so you too don't have to take m
"Ethan POV,""Why are you staring at me?" My face heated up when I saw her staring at me. "Nothing. You look cute when you blush." She made fun of me. This woman dares to make me feel nervous. I scratched my neck and stared at the ground. Knowing he wasn't her boyfriend brought me a sense of relief. But why did she return to California without even saying goodbye to me? Her assistant entered the office with two coffee mugs. "Welcome to California, Mr. Woods. You did a great job coming here, as Stella missed you so much last night that she couldn't sleep." Placing the coffee mug down on the table, she turned to face Stella. "Is she telling the truth?" I looked at Stella in surprise. "No, she is telling a lie; I didn't miss you." She refused to accept what Avery said to me, but her expression revealed something else. Her hazel eyes did not meet mine; her cheeks flushed. My subconscious is urging me to interpret the deep, buried emotions in her eyes, but my ego is telling me to be
Stella~"Et... Ethan... w... what are you doing here?" When I saw him standing in my office, my speech trailed off. "Who is he?" He ignored my question and cast an angry look at David. I'm at a loss for words. What should I tell him?In my absence from California, David and his mom created countless problems for my business, constantly pressuring Avery to ask me to return. I never thought my crafty aunt would team up with Mr. Chang to harm me. At first, she used her fake affection to lure me into marrying her son, but when I refused, she switched tactics. She physically attacked me just before my wedding. If Avery hadn't helped me escape through the backyard gate, things could've been much worse. Poor Avery, she even broke her leg, saving me from Aunt Lily.I thought marrying Ethan would end Aunt Lily's interference, but she keeps finding ways to meddle. Today, she sent David to try to negotiate a deal-she wants a 50% share in my company in exchange for keeping my past life secrets
Ethan~"Open the door, Stella." I knocked on my room's door, but she didn't respond. Huh, what's wrong with her? I tried to be civil by asking her permission before entering, but what does she think of herself? She's not Queen Victoria, from whom I should request entry into my bedroom. My male ego forced my hand onto the doorknob.Are you planning to confess your feelings to her in this manner? You've already realized how you feel, so don't let your ego control you now. Otherwise, your love confession will feel more like an invitation to war, my subconscious advised, trying to calm the fury rising inside me.I loosened my grip on the knob and padded softly into the room. "Where are you, Stella?" Anxiety crept in as I found the room empty. I searched the bathroom-nothing. Where could she have gone at this late hour?My heart started pounding. I had put so much effort into preparing to confess my feelings to her, but it all seemed futile now. She's gone. It took me a long time to und
Stella~"Stella, how are you feeling now?" Seeing concern in his eyes, I rubbed my own in disbelief. What happened to this monster overnight? How could someone go from being a monster to a nice guy in a single night?"I'm feeling tired," I finally replied. I could feel the heat of his palm beneath my cheek. Oh, he waited for me to wake up the entire night while sitting here. I felt as though I had entered a different universe.Shut up and stop being dramatic, my subconscious scolded. I already told you he's not as bad as you think."Get up quickly so we can go to the doctor for a checkup," he said, assisting me as I got off the bed. After my parents' deaths, I hadn't experienced this much concern from anyone, so seeing his genuine worry made my eyes moisten. I quickly wiped my tears, not wanting him to make fun of me for crying."Stella, how are you feeling right now?" His grandparents entered with worried expressions."Grandma, she's all right. You don't need to worry about her." E
Ethan POV "Please move away from me; what are you doing?" She attempted to shove me away from her."Stella, don't move, please. They have their eyes on us," I said softly in her ear."Who's watching us closely?" she questioned, staring directly into my eyes."My grandparents." I pointed towards the shadows that had appeared in our chamber."Get away from me, Ethan. Your heavy body is choking me." She tried to shove me away once more."No, I can't." I felt a wild impulse to kiss her pulpy lips. As soon as I met her hazel eyes, I lost all sense of reality. I don't know how my hands were able to grasp hers firmly or how my lips could latch onto hers. I kissed her and felt a peculiar calmness. It had been a while since I saw my grandmother this happy. I hoped to grant her wish. I wanted to clarify grandma's confusion, but my grandparents were so happy about her pregnancy news that I couldn't bring myself to ruin their joy. As I licked her soft lips, my hand inadvertently moved to her s
Stella POV "Stella, how are you doing?" His grandmother was rapping on the bathroom door. I washed my face with cold water and then dried it with a towel. I looked in the mirror and saw myself. My eyes were red, and I looked pale. It was all because of the sight of mutton on the table. I completely neglected to mention that the sight of the mutton on the dinner table made me sick to my stomach. Since it's impolite to get up from the table before dinner has even begun, I did my best to contain my nausea. However, I had to bolt for the bathroom when I saw the red meat in front of me. What will they think of me now? I must apologize to them for my impolite behavior.With hesitation, I opened the bathroom door. I apologized for ruining the dinner, bowing my head in embarrassment."Stella, I'm grateful that you granted my wish." His grandmother gave me a joyful hug before I could say anything further. I became perplexed when I saw her joy. In my quest to understand her enthusiasm, I gla
"Ethan's POV""When did you arrive here?" She turned to face me, her stuttering making it clear she wasn't expecting me to enter her room. She hadn't noticed me standing in front of her door because she was too preoccupied talking to herself in the mirror. Seeing her stunning beauty, I started having hiccups once more. She looked even more breathtaking in this outfit than in the afternoon. Perhaps her messy hairstyle and minimal makeup contributed to her overall beauty. Why did her outfit make her appear so tall? My masculine ego was dismayed to see her standing before me, staring directly into my eyes. However, I'm relieved her boyfriend can't contact her right now. She must be upset with her partner for not getting back to her in the morning. That's why she claimed not to love him."Shall we proceed?" She gently waved her hand to break my train of thought. Stopping her from receiving calls from her boyfriend satisfies my ego. She will now be with me all the time.You violated y