Stella made no more objections after what he said. As Elias and Emma’s father, he had a duty to raise them in the first place.Still, she would never give up her full custody of her kids to him.Once they got on the plane, Stella put on an eye mask and was prepared to rest well since she did not sleep well last night.Meanwhile, Weston just sat next to her and gazed at her face. The flight was a smooth and quiet one. The stewardess had come over to ask Weston if he needed anything several times, only to be politely refused every time.As a man who had graced the cover of financial magazines many times before, no one who worked in the various domestic airlines did not know who Weston Ford was. Some flight attendants liked going after rich men like him, and they were naturally very familiar with him since he was a wealthy and eligible bachelor, after all. Very few of them would not be able to recognize him on sight. Soon, a group of stewardesses got together, gossiping with each ot
“When these two kids just got here, they’d ask me when they could see Mommy again every day. They’d even bawl their eyes out all the time…”“What?” Stella raised her head to look at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because if I told you about it,” Roger sighed, “then you’d drop everything and rush back to Compassvale. I just didn’t want to trouble you, that’s all…”As he spoke, he suddenly noticed Weston Ford behind Stella. His face grew severe, and he stepped forward to stand between Weston, Stella, and the kids.“What are you doing here?” Roger demanded, glaring at Weston with a look of apparent hostility, his eyes burning with resentment and displeasure.Weston paused, but he did not even bother to look at Roger. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Stella, who was busy hugging the two kids. This softened his expressions considerably, and with a soft voice, he replied, “I’m here to see the kids.”“They’ve got nothing to do with you!” snapped Roger, oblivious to the fact that Stella
Emma moved away from her mother and noticed Weston was behind her. Her brows furrowed deeply as she tried her hardest to recall where she had met this man before…Then, her eyes lit up as if she’d realized something. She stretched her arms out towards him, shouting, “Unkie!”Weston knelt down on the floor, his face full of tenderness.“Come over here,” he said with open arms.Emma ran into his arms, giggling happily. Weston picked her up and asked, “Do you still remember me?”“Sure!” she replied. “You’re Unkie! It’s been so long since we last met!”“Yes,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s been so long.”He then noticed Elias standing nearby and asked, “Can I give you a hug too?”Elias seemed a little hesitant and shy. He quickly hid behind Stella and had a look of cold arrogance on his face.Weston smiled helplessly and just rubbed his little head, saying nothing.“Come on,” said Stella, feeling a headache coming on as she watched their interaction, “let’s go home.”Meanwhile,
Surprised to see her children’s reactions, Stella grew distressed. She had always assumed that she was enough for Elias and Emma, that she could love them so much that they would never feel the absence of their father.But now, it seemed they were really curious about who their father was. Only now did she realize that they had never asked her anything about their father, not because they did not care about him, but because they didn’t want to hurt her.After all, they must have noticed that everyone had a mommy and a daddy. The light in her eyes dimmed. She had no idea what to say to them now.Marcus sighed and began to explain to the children. “This man in front of you is your daddy, he’s…”“Grandpa!” Roger suddenly cut him off, evidently disapproving of what Marcus was about to do. He wondered how his grandfather could just blurt out something like that in front of the children. They did not even know if Elias and Emma were ready to accept the truth!“They’re almost four no
Weston stood at the door and knocked gently.“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asked hoarsely.A good while passed, but no sound emerged from the room. Stella sighed.“It’s normal that he can’t accept you right now,” she said. “You should probably wait and talk to him later.”Weston said nothing. His expressions were ambiguous as he stared at the closed door, but a thousand emotions roiled in his eyes.Stella had never seen her children being so gloomy before. She shook her head and told him, “I’m bringing Emma downstairs now.”“Okay,” he replied, then stood there, not moving.Seeing this, Stella ignored him and just went on downstairs. If he wanted to wait, then so be it. Judging from Elias’s stubborn nature, she was convinced that he would only be wasting his time there.After a very long time, Weston could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching from inside the room. The door opened with a click, and a tiny hand appeared between the gaps, followed by Elias’s littl
Elias wiped his mouth and returned to his room without saying anything.Weston called out to him from behind, but he did not answer, leaving the man sitting there awkwardly.Stella sighed and said to Weston, “He’s just being stubborn. It takes time.”Weston nodded.Seeing this, although Emma did not know why Elias was angry, she still hurriedly gathered herself and ran back into the room.Seeing him lost in thought, Stella said to Weston, “Why don’t you go back and rest? You haven’t slept much at all. Maybe they will be fine when you get up tomorrow morning.”He shook his head and refused gently.She said, “You’re not going to stand here all night and watch over them, are you?”“I have not performed my duty as a father in the past three years. One night is nothing.”Seeing that his intentions seemed pure, Stella shook her head, a little helpless.How were they going to get away right under his nose?She blinked her eyes and suddenly said to Weston, “I can’t walk anymore.”W
Although Stella did not know why Elias was so hostile to Weston; he was her son, so she respected his thoughts.According to her understanding of Elias, he actually had a pretty good impression of Weston. Even if he knew all of a sudden that he was his Daddy, he would not have such a big reaction.He might be a little repulsive at first, but his repulsion should not last so long that he’d want to run away.This made her curious about Elias’ thoughts, and she asked, “You want to avoid uncle because you think he’s bad?”Elias shook his head and then nodded.He did not know how to express himself, so he said, “I want to stay with Mommy.”He suddenly hugged Stella. “And Emma. I don’t want anyone else.”She was stunned, then picked him up. “Okay, I understand.”It was already late when Weston woke up in the mansion.Almost immediately, he felt the emptiness beside him on the big bed and jerked awake—He sat up straight. The bed was completely devoid of warmth, telling him that Ste
Weston did not linger any longer and called Ben. “Investigate the gates of each country and see exactly where Stella and the children have gone.”This was a large-scale mission, but Ben was already numbed.Anything related to Stella would make Weston become unlike himself. He would be no different from a madman.Sitting on the plane back to the city, Weston propped his glabella.He never thought that the brief tenderness of last night was just to numb his nerves.He thought that Stella was still a little bit attached to him.It did not occur to him that her deliberate gentleness was only to enable her to leave him with the two children silently the next day.They were willing to go to this extent just to get away with him…Should he really let go?He had only brought them endless troubles and boredom after all…At such a time, even if he was hurt, he was in no position and was unqualified to blame Stella for cheating him.There was only disgust for himself.…Stella wasn’t
Stella had rarely ever woken up before him.He had always been terrifyingly strong, but their lovemaking last night must have consumed a lot of his energy, leaving him so tired that he was still sound asleep.She stared at him and suddenly felt like doing something naughty. She pinched his nose and held her fingers there, trying to suffocate him. Unsurprisingly, he soon knitted his handsome brows and quickly woke up.He was surprised to see her mesmerizing eyes as soon as he woke up, which made him pause. He then took her hand into his and kissed it again and again.“Are you okay?” he asked with concern, remembering how wildly he ravaged her last night.She had only been willing to be intimate with him because she was under the influence of a drug, yet he had taken advantage of her and had his way with her over and over again last night.Stella did not speak. Seeing her like that made his expressions turn a little colder. He fell silent for a long time before he got up and sl
The moment Stella saw him, she flew into his arms and clambered onto his body. She kissed him again and again, trying to search for his breath so she could explore his body even deeper. All she wanted was to let him extinguish the fire burning inside her.Half an hour had passed, and the effect of the drug on her body was its strongest now.Weston swallowed his saliva. Without any hesitation, he pinned her against the bathroom mirror and kissed her vehemently on her face, her shoulders, then her neck.Stella could not stop herself from letting out loud moans. The sounds she produced only drove Weston wilder. Even the corners of his eyes began to turn red now.Luckily, there was still a thread of reason in his mind. He pushed her away and, while panting heavily, asked her, “Who am I, Stella?”But Stella’s mind was occupied with her primal urges. She ignored his question and grabbed his shirt collar, saying, “Let’s do it…” The sight of her filled Weston with a desire to just give
Weston paused, then simply replied, “Okay.”When he saw her changing into a pair of high heels, he followed her around and asked, “Where are you going?”“Oh, to a private concert.”Then she added, “If you’re going to spend the night here tonight, then please take care of Elias and Emma. But if you have to leave, I’ll ask Roger to come over instead.”“Don’t worry,” he said. “Just go out and enjoy yourself. I’ll be at home and take good care of the kids.”Stella paused suddenly, feeling inexplicably weird about what Weston had just said. It sounded like she was forcing him to stay at home and take care of the kids while she went out to have fun without a care in the world. She turned around to look at Weston, feeling like he was acting like a poor neglected housewife.She shook her head and tried to shake this terrifying thought out of her mind.When they arrived at the concert, Hayden offered his arm to her like a gentleman. They then walked into the private concert together, w
Stella’s words rendered Weston speechless. She was right. He had been the one to agree to let Stella date other people, so he must seem like a fool saying all those things to her.He withdrew his hands and forced himself to calm down a little. “I have no intention to stand in your way,” he told Stella. “I was only worried about Elias and Emma. Since they’re also here, I think you need to take their feelings into consideration.”The children could sense the strained atmosphere between the adults, so they just waited patiently on the couch with Roger, occasionally poking their heads out to look at their parents.Seeing his kids like that, Weston slowly added, “I’m only here to see the kids, so both of you can go ahead with your date.”Stella said nothing and just took Hayden’s hand and left.When they got downstairs, Hayden glanced at her and asked, “Are you sure you want to just leave him like that?”“I don’t know,” Stella massaged the point between her brows. “I’m not sure wh
Hayden Quirk arrived half an hour earlier than Stella did on their first date.“You’re much earlier than I expected,” he joked as Stella walked in.Stella was actually on time, but she still felt a little guilty when she saw him already waiting for her when she arrived.“The traffic is terrible today,” she said.“Don’t worry about it,” Hayden said, handing her the menu. “Mr. Ford expected me to wait for you for at least an hour.”“I seriously don’t know what you guys are up to,” she grumbled, exasperated, “but I hope it will at least be over soon. Just don’t drag it out and cause me any trouble.”She ordered a few dishes, then handed the menu back to him. Hayden took it from her, ordered a few more signature dishes that the restaurant was popular for, then looked at Stella with a faint smile.“Did you think this is all just a joke?” he asked.“What else could it be?”“I am serious about this,” he told her, his voice suddenly turning grave. “Since even Mr. Ford agreed that we s
Weston raised his eyebrows at Ben’s words. “But he’s divorced. He has an ex-wife.”“What’s wrong with having an ex-wife?”Ben found Weston’s comment strange. “This man has good qualities. Upon investigation, he has a very good personality too. He was an active member during college. He also has an amazingly beautiful resume. It’s normal that a man like him has been married before… Besides, hasn’t Ms. Sealey been married before herself? She even has two children.”Weston’s expression turned cold at once. “Are you discriminating against her?”“I’m not.”Weston said, “Or do you think she can only find a divorced man for her second marriage?”Ben panicked. “I wouldn’t dare!”With Weston’s ridiculous amount of nitpicking, they could find no one that would match Stella.Hayden sat beside and quietly reviewed Weston’s latest psychological health report. As he turned the page, he suddenly said, “I’m actually a little interested in Ms. Sealey.”Hayden laughed a little and turned to Wes
Stella opened her eyes and shot Weston a cold look. Then, she turned her head the other way.Weston did not touch her again. He knew she was probably angry with him, so he stayed silent.A few moments later, he reminded her, “Don’t be angry. That man is unreliable.”Stella propped her chin in her palm. “And what does that have to do with you?”Weston pursed his lips, setting his jaw in a tight line. He said, “I’ve promised to stop pestering you. It’ll be a promise. I’m fine with seeing you with another man, but at least find someone who makes me feel at ease.”“Why do I need your approval when I’m just looking for a date?” Stella found his words funny. “You’re just my ex-husband. Don’t you think you care too much?”Weston rubbed his brow, and his voice suddenly went cold. “If you don’t want me to keep pestering you like I just did, maybe you should listen to me.”Stella questioned, “Are you threatening me?”“No. I’m suggesting.”Stella was lost for words. Then, she suddenly
Stella froze for a moment when she heard the voice. When she turned around, she saw that Weston had appeared behind her at some point.Weston stared at the man behind Stella with a cold gaze and an icy aura around him. Weston had always emitted a strong aura around him. Anyone who saw him would immediately be terrified because of his intimidating aura.The man froze for a moment at Weston’s sudden appearance. He took a step back and quickly steadied himself before greeting Weston, “Mr. Ford.”He still had the same calm and gentle look. “I’m sending Miss Cicily back.”“I know. Don’t ever show up in front of her again,” Weston told him. “You don’t have to send her back. Stay away from her.”It would be a little inappropriate for the man to act a fool at Weston’s straightforwardness, so he tugged at his collar and asked Weston with a polite smile, “Mr. Ford, you should give me a reason, shouldn’t you? I’m having a good time with Miss Cicily.”“You’re the one who thinks she’s having
Stella smiled. It seemed like he had come prepared.Stella enjoyed chatting with the man. He was sincere and introduced himself properly as soon as they started chatting.The man was also a pianist and came from a scholarly family. Although not super wealthy, he was doing considerably well in the middle class. Stella would not need to worry about the quality of life with him, but that was about it. She certainly could not live a luxurious life.Stella had a good impression of him. She also talked to him a little more about piano music.Stella twirled her hair and smiled. She told him with a nice voice, “I’m sure Roger has already told you about my situation.”“I know.”The man looked at her gently and set the coffee in front of her. He said to her, “I’m very interested in you. I think we’re very suitable for each other. Our living standards nowadays have improved quite a bit. Not many look for a partner purely because of material qualities. People with emotional needs will search