They had only stayed at Stardust Mansion for about six months. But Stella had a feeling that she was all too familiar with each corner of the house.She even remembered which layer of the wardrobe Weston’s frequently used shirt was kept at, and which tie he liked to match it with.Habit was a scary thing.Stella had previously packed up her luggage, so it only took her less than ten minutes to leave the master bedroom with her luggage bag in tow.The man was seated casually on the living room sofa with an arm propped on the armrest. His black shirt further darkened his expression. Weston had a freshly lit cigarette sandwiched between his fingers.The smoke in the air had yet to dissipate. He narrowed his eyes at Stella, then looked at her luggage bag. “You don’t have to move out. I can give you this mansion.”He recalled how he had pitied her for some reason just now.When Stella was changing into her slippers with her back facing him, he saw how skinny she was from the line
It wasn’t until the hot water splattered onto her that Stella snapped back to her senses.After seeing the dispirited look on Stella’s face, Yvonne understood it all.She didn’t continue the subject but asked, “By the looks of it, you haven’t found a place to stay, have you?”Stella grunted a reply. “I’ll stay at a nearby hotel for now and slowly search for a place.”Her salary as a trainer here was actually quite lucrative.Besides, Yvonne was also a generous person and offered Stella commissions, so Stella had some savings.Yvonne knew many rich wives, and their children had wealthy family backgrounds. So the families who sent their children here to learn extra skills could obviously afford to spend. As a result, Stella had earned quite a bit over the course of a year.However, Roger’s medical bills were a bottomless pit, so Stella had to live frugally.Although Weston had promised to bear Roger’s medical bills, Stella was now with child. She had to work hard for their sake.
Stella said nothing to Weston at all during the whole process of obtaining their divorce certificate.Guinevere was waiting outside. When she saw Weston come out, she immediately went over and latched onto his arm. “Did everything go smoothly?”Being a man of few words, Weston only grunted a reply, but it was obvious that he had a lot of patience to offer Guinevere.After walking a few steps, Guinevere abruptly stopped and looked back at Stella. “You came here by cab, didn’t you, Ms. Sealey? If you don’t mind, Weston and I can give you a ride.”Stella rejected her without hesitation. “That’s alright. It’s easy to get a cab here.”Then, she walked past them to leave.Guinevere raised her eyebrows slightly as she watched Stella leave, seemingly wanting to say more. Weston retracted his gaze and said, “Gwen, don’t do anything unnecessary.”His voice was low as a whisper and there was a look of warning in his eyes.Guinevere’s smile disappeared. “Are you pitying her?”Having said
She tried her best to open her eyes a little, hoping to see her surroundings. But then, she heard a very familiar voice.“You don’t need me to teach you what to do after this, right?”“I understand! We’ve already contacted Mr. Ford to come with the ransom money. Then, we’ll have him choose between you two, and the remaining one will be taken away as our hostage!”Was that… Guinevere’s voice?Stella’s body went cold. She thought she had heard wrong.“Mr. Ford will surely choose you. As for this woman… We’ll take her to a secluded place as per our original agreement, and remove the child inside her…”Then, the man suddenly paused before asking carefully, “Ms. Cohen, what if Mr. Ford doesn’t choose you…”“Do you think that’s possible?”A chuckle interrupted the man, and Guinevere slowly made her way over. “I have at least that much confidence, but… I changed my mind.”She went over to Stella and looked at her unconscious face. Suddenly, she gripped Stella’s chin with her sharp na
His body stiffened but he didn’t turn around immediately.On the other side of the rooftop, Guinevere was being pressed against the railings by another kidnapper. Half of her body was over the roof. She looked at the man in the distance with reddened eyes. “I’m scared…”She was trembling and her hair disheveled. There was even a traumatized expression on her beautiful face.The usually proud celebrity was now hugging her stomach in fear, staring at her fiance with reddened eyes. “Don’t come here. They’ll hurt you!”Stella wasn’t at all fazed by her wails, and in fact even marveled at her acting skills despite this situation.If she hadn’t woken up and overheard Guinevere’s conversation with the kidnappers, Stella might have actually been deceived by Guinevere’s acting skills too.Stella didn’t understand why. She had never actively provoked them before. It was Weston who asked for the marriage, ruthlessly brought up divorce, and then wanted her to abort the baby…Yet, Guinevere
There was silence.Then, Stella suddenly laughed.She laughed maniacally but with tears in her bloodshot eyes. “She’s scared of heights, but I’ll die…”Weston frowned and turned away without looking at her anymore.It felt as if a huge rock was weighing down on his chest.He had never felt such heavy emotions before. He said hoarsely, “They just want money. You’ll be fine.”He was sure that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.“What if their intention is to kill me?”Stella’s eyes were empty as she looked at him. “Weston… I’m still pregnant. Do you know that the choice you’re making is one that will kill me?”The man paused before gritting his teeth to say, “No. I’ll definitely save you, just not now.”Having said that, he repeated, “Trust me, Stella. I won’t let you die.”Stella said nothing. She didn’t respond either. Her gaze gradually looked lifeless as she laughed dejectedly.At the edges of the roof, the kidnappers exchanged glances and nodded at each other. One of
Stella said nothing. She closed her mouth and looked straight at the kidnapper. Then, she looked up at the couple holding onto each other and smiled. “Weston, I told you that I would die, and that they never had the intention of letting me live. Why won’t you believe me?”Having said that, before anyone could react, Stella’s expression suddenly changed and she took a step back, swiftly attacking the kidnapper’s eyes.“Ah!” the kidnapper yelled. He had strengthened his hold on Stella so they were swaying together over at the edge.“What are you trying to do, you mad woman?!”Stella smirked, looking resolute. “Didn’t you want me to die? Since I’m going to die either way, let’s die together!”“What are you doing? Stop!”“Stop? Have you ever given me a chance to live? Rather than being taken away by you guys and tortured and humiliated to death, I’d rather take you down with me here!”The kidnapper had never thought she would be this insane to want to perish together. “Don’t be rash
The rooftop was eerily quiet.Weston stared at his empty hands, refusing to believe he had just watched Stella fall down…He didn’t even manage to grab the hem of her clothes.The world suddenly fell silent.Guinevere’s panic shouts rang beside his ears, but Weston didn’t hear them. His eyes looked void of emotion as if he couldn’t see or hear. His chest felt empty.Then, an overwhelming pain took over, hurting him so much that he found it difficult to breathe.This feeling felt so foreign that even he didn’t understand it. Why… were his eyes red like a madman’s?‘Stella…‘Stella…’For a moment there, Weston felt detached from this world. He could only hear a woman’s screams getting sharper and sharper, laced with a fear she couldn’t suppress…“Weston! Weston Ford, what are you doing?!”Guinevere’s eyes widened in shock as she hugged her stomach and shouted hysterically like a madwoman. “Quick! Hurry up and seize him! Hurry!”…The howling wind whistled beside her ears.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