Stella’s body trembled as her face turned pale, but she didn’t say a word. Mr. Smith had driven here to fetch Ruby. After settling Ruby in the car, Stella stood at the door and stayed outside. Mr. Smith looked at her. “Ms. Steele, aren’t you getting in?” Stella shook her head. “I still have something to attend to. Mr. Smith, please send Ruby home first.” Ruby stuck her head out of the window. “Mr. Steele, let my dad fetch you home!” Stella, smiling, replied, “I still have something else to do. Go home safe.” Although Mr. Smith’s private life wasn’t exactly clean, as Stella remembered all the arrangements he made in the private room, he knew his way around people. He said to Stella, “It’s not safe for a woman to be around so late at night. If you have nothing important, please let me send you home.” His words sounded reasonable and kind, and it was hard to associate this man with someone who objectified women. Stella shook her head with a smile. There were just too many
“Yes, of course, we are different! If there was a choice, which ordinary woman would be willing to be a mistress like I am, to be ruined to such an extent by you!” Stella growled in agitation. His eyes turned dark as he tightened his grip. “I ruined you? Stella Sealey, just go out and hear from the grapevine, and you’ll find out just how many women are willing to jump into my bed, all with a snap of my fingers. Me? Ruin you?” In a world where interests and gains preceded all, words like virtue and morals were non-existent in showbiz.This was especially so in the industry, where people of power all dabbled in extra-marital affairs. “If you need money, all you need to do is to open your mouth, say a few nice words and I’ll give you all the money you want.” Sometimes, Weston really wanted to open up this woman’s brain to see what actually made it tick. “How much can filming earn you? So what if you manage to earn all the money from the box office? As long as you drop a few pitif
The living room with yellow lights was the only dimly lit spot in the mansion. Rain had started falling outside, making the night seem colder. The pitter-patter of the rain resounded loudly in the ears. Stella weakly shoved the man pinning her down. The jarring physical disparity between the male and female bodies overwhelmed her. Her eyes trembled, marred with pain and heavy resistance. As if completely oblivious to it, Weston held the back of her head and forced himself upon her. He was a very aggressive man who desired control—Stella had already experienced his yearn for domination just now. She didn’t understand—if Weston’s sense of possessiveness was so strong over his own woman, why did he allow Guinevere to be cast in the first place? From what she knew, the movie Guinevere had acted in after clinching the Best Female Actor award was littered with intimate scenes that bordered on obscene. This was probably because she was a mistress, one stripped of any say and
Weston could tell that she felt uneasy when she walked out of the washroom. Keeping silent, he closed his book and placed it on the table next to him. “Let’s rest for today. What would you like to do?” Stella turned her head around and glanced at the clock. “I want to go to work.” The sight of his brows furrowing made Stella explain. “Teachers at the training center don’t get the weekends off. Many children spend their entire weekends on supplementary classes.” Others might be able to enjoy a free weekend with nothing to do, but to them, it was the golden working period. He simply stood up without a word and walked past her. “I’ll send you,” he said lightly when he reached the door. Stella had her back towards him. Her head lowered as conflicting emotions arose in her heart. But she had no choice other than to follow behind him. When they left the house, she couldn’t help but try to negotiate. “Haven’t we agreed that the driver would send me to work?” Weston steered t
Joyce was slightly taken aback by Stella’s presence. Her face was flushed, and her eyes darted everywhere. It was unclear as to what she was just doing. Stella looked at her strangely. “You don’t have any classes scheduled today, have you?” She glanced at the class schedule, clearly recalling that Joyce didn’t have classes arranged for today. When it came to the teachers, Joyce wasn’t the most professional one of the bunch. She taught traditional folk dance, but constantly cut corners during her classes. Sometimes, she would end classes when it wasn’t time, and her students learned at a very slow pace. As such, class coordinators seldom prioritized her classes and frequently made her do more of the planning work. Joyce’s face changed as she defended, “Can’t I come over to take a look even without any classes scheduled? With so many outstanding colleagues at work, can’t I come over and learn from you guys?” Stella knew it’d be impossible to talk reason with someone like Joyc
A glint flashed past Stella’s eyes. “Doesn’t that make you two childhood sweethearts? It’s been so many years and you two still share such a great relationship. I’m so envious.” “There’s nothing to admire. Just look at my dark eye circles!” Yvonne chucked. Stella had good reason to think that Yvonne was showing off, and she shook her head. Yvonne, on the other hand, had her interest piqued. She followed behind Stella and asked, “Ella, have you ever been in a relationship before?” She was interested in Stella’s love life. No matter what it was, she would never spend her whole life with Weston. A man like Weston Ford would be sick and tired of one woman after a while. She was rather worried that Stella’s involvement with Weston might traumatize her in the area of love and cause her to lose all hope in romance. Previously, whenever she wanted to introduce a man to Stella, it would always be rejected. Wouldn’t she be even more distrustful of men after this? “Me?” Not th
Stella had just recovered from her cough when, upon Yvonne’s offer, began choking on her breath again. Yvonne’s thoughts moved at an extremely quick pace, and she was unable to keep up. She saw the reaction on Stella’s face and knew that she was unable to accept it. She smiled and said, “Alright, alright. I was just joking!” Stella’s face flushed bright red. She instinctively wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. She simply stood where she was, looking lost. Yvonne found her posture adorable and couldn’t help but reach out to pinch her cheeks. “Why are you so easy to bully?” She sighed. “It’s precisely because you’re easy to bully that that man Weston can have his way with you…” All along, she had been trying to find ways to help Stella, but her ideas had always been trampled by her family members when she shared her thoughts with them. Weston was simply too powerful, and there was hardly any way she could interfere. Lucas and the rest had many ongoing coll
Stella shook her head. “I’m alright. It’s just that the music is too loud in here.” Yvonne smiled. “It’s precisely because you can’t hear what everyone else is saying that makes it so much fun.” Seeing how Stella appeared so uncomfortable, Yvonne did not bring her to the dance floor. Instead, she pulled her through a corridor into another hall. It was much quieter inside. Gentle piano music sounded from the stage right at the front, which immediately drew Stella’s attention. She asked, “What is this place?” “It’s also part of The Doghouse.” Stella furrowed her brows. “Why is it named like that?” “One’s own doghouse is always more comfortable than any other house. That’s the meaning behind this name!” Yvonne explained. “Actually, I don’t really know what the owner of this nightclub was thinking by giving this place such a terrible-sounding name. However, The Doghouse is one of the country’s most famous entertainment venues. How could you have never heard of it?” Stella s
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