Seeing Stella laugh only made Marvin more annoyed. "I'm serious. Why are you laughing? The bottom line is, I don't agree. I don't care if you get mad, I'm not bothered. I'll allow you to have an activity if you work here. That way, I can keep an eye on you. And no one will dare mess with you because they know who I am here.""But I don't want to work, Marvin.""So, you're still stubbornly insisting on continuing your studies, huh?" Marvin asked, his chin lifted."Not exactly. My brain can't handle the assignments the professors will give me anymore. Besides, my life is already happy and filled with luxury. I live in a big, luxurious house. My husband is a CEO and owns a large company. Why should I tire myself working? The activity I mentioned earlier wasn’t about continuing my studies, Darling."Marvin's brow furrowed instantly at Stella's response. "Then? What activity did you mean?""I want to take cooking classes, Marvin. I think that shouldn’t scare you, right? Cooking classes are
Her name is Zaline. She's Mr. Marvin's secretary, and lately, they've been having meals together frequently," said a woman named Emily.She was Fanny's informant, having been Marvin's spy in the company for a long time, so Fanny could keep track of Marvin's activities at work.Fanny's brow instantly furrowed as she looked at the photo on Emily's phone. She examined it closely, feeling a strange familiarity with the woman Emily was showing her.After thinking for a moment, she finally remembered. She had once been annoyed with this woman and had deliberately bumped into her."Ahh... so her name is Zaline," Fanny said. "Wait a minute, did you just say they've been close lately? What do you mean? Are they in a relationship?""I don't know exactly. But what I do know is that lately, Mr. Marvin has always been having lunch at the company cafeteria with Zaline. Usually, Mr. Marvin never eats lunch at the company cafeteria. He's an executive; isn't it strange for him to dine with his employe
"Mr. Marvin isn't having lunch here?"Zaline, who was in the middle of eating her lunch, turned to look at the woman sitting beside her. "I don't think so. Mrs. Stella came here.""Aaahh... in that case, be patient," replied the woman, who was none other than Emily. She lightly patted Zaline's back."Patient? Why should I be patient?" Zaline asked, her brows furrowing."Don't you know that you're often the subject of gossip? The people here talk about you a lot, Zaline. Especially Lusi. She gossips about you all the time," Emily said, beginning to dig for information about Zaline and Marvin's relationship as per Fanny's request."Gossip about me? What have I done for them to talk about me?""Haven't you noticed? You're often seen with Mr. Marvin these days. You go out together and even have lunch here together. That's what they're gossiping about. They say you and Mr. Marvin are having an affair behind Mrs. Stella's back.""What? Did I hear that right?" Zaline asked, staring at Emily
"Have you been waiting long? Sorry, I'm late," Emily said as she took a seat across from Fanny at a café."No, I just arrived too. So, have you managed to get the information I wanted? Is it true that the woman named Zaline is involved with Marvin?""Unfortunately, no. I pressed her and asked many questions, but her answers remained the same.""Are you sure she was being honest? If she really is involved, she wouldn't admit it openly. Of course, she would keep it hidden and as secretive as possible.""I’m sure this time. Her face looked serious, and she denied it quickly without hesitation. Isn’t it true that liars usually show signs of lying? They might look awkward or speak nervously. Zaline didn’t do that at all. She spoke clearly and looked me in the eye. Isn’t it said that people who lie often can’t maintain eye contact? But Zaline? She spoke confidently and looked me straight in the eyes.""I also find it hard to believe that Marvin would cheat. It's just not like him. He’s the
“Isn’t that Mrs. Stella?” Emily asked, pointing to two adults standing together.Fanny’s gaze shifted to where Emily was pointing. She saw a woman and a man standing together, looking quite familiar.“Yes, that’s Stella. What is she doing there? And who is she with?”Emily didn’t answer. Instead, a clever idea suddenly popped into her head. She took out her phone and aimed it at Stella.“What are you doing?” Fanny asked.“Taking advantage of this opportunity,” Emily replied, her eyes focused on the phone screen.Fanny frowned in confusion. “Taking advantage? What do you mean?”“I’ll explain later. Let me focus for now. I’m sure this will be very beneficial for you."Fanny didn’t respond further, allowing Emily to concentrate on what she was doing. Meanwhile, Fanny, curious about who the man with Stella was, took out her phone to send a message asking someone to find out the identity of the man with Stella.“Alright, let’s go, driver,” Emily said to the chauffeur.Hearing Emily’s comma
"Why are you silent? Answer my question. Who's better? Me or Lily?" Stella asked. "And who made the biggest impression? Who made you the happiest? Who stands out in your heart? Me or Lily?"Seeing Marvin silent made Stella frustrated. Her chest even felt a bit sore, and she felt a little tightness.The man had repeatedly said how much he loved her. He had also mentioned that once half of his love was for Lily and the other half was for her. But now, after spending more time together, he had taken the half meant for Lily and given it entirely to her.But what was happening now? When she asked a question that should be easy to answer, Marvin took a long time to think."Never mind. You don’t need to answer! I know what the answer is," Stella said. "Just go, I’m going inside." Stella turned and walked away from Marvin."Darling, I haven’t spoken yet," Marvin said."Later," Stella replied, continuing to walk. "Why bother saying it if your answer will only make me hurt!" Stella muttered, "W
Stella, who had just arrived home, flopped onto the sofa, her mind wandering back to Delvin. The man had seemed shocked when she mentioned her marriage."Should I tell him that I initially married Marvin as part of a deal? But... why should I? It’s not important to him. Ugh! Stella, why did you have to say that to Delvin? You should have just kept quiet!" Stella leaned back on the sofa, arms folded under her chest. Her eyes stared ahead, focused, her mind working hard."Oh well, I guess he’ll forget about it by tomorrow. But... all he talked about was the past, about how I had once rejected him. He also seemed to imply that he still has feelings for me. My words earlier must have made him curious, right?"Back when Stella had just started high school, Delvin frequently visited her house as he was a friend of her brother's. Stella was the type of person who easily adapted to new people. She was talkative and quite chatty. She didn't hesitate to engage with her brother's friends, inclu
"Stella," Marvin called as he managed to grab Stella's elbow.Stella stopped in her tracks and looked at Marvin."I—" Marvin’s words were cut off when the sound of Selena crying from upstairs was heard.“Selena’s crying. I’ll check on her,” Stella said. She released Marvin's hold and walked away.Tap, tap, tap.“What’s wrong?” Stella asked as she opened Selena’s room. During the day, Selena would be with her nurse in the baby room right next to Stella and Marvin’s.“She seems thirsty,” replied a woman who was fifteen years older than Stella.“I’ll take care of it. You can rest."“Alright, Ma’am,” the woman responded and left the room.Stella immediately picked up Selena and offered her a bottle, but the three-month-old baby refused to drink and kept crying. Stella checked Selena’s diaper, thinking she might have soiled it, but it was clean, leaving Stella confused and unsure of what to do.“Why, sweetheart? Why are you crying so much?” Stella trying to soothe Selena by gently patting