The door slammed shut with a loud bang.Stella couldn’t surmise what Roger was feeling from his expressions. She followed him quietly into the living room and sat on the sofa.Roger had been hanging his head low all the while. Then suddenly, he raised up his head and turned to his sister.“Do you like Professor Hall, Sis?” he asked.“What did you just say?!” Stella responded in shock.Roger said nothing. He sat next to his sister and leaned on her shoulder. He was about six feet tall, and when he leaned on his sister like that, he looked like a big bear leaning against a little rabbit for support.“What kind of man do you like, Sis?” he asked again.Stella realized then that Roger had been overthinking.“Don’t worry, Roger,” she assured him. “There’s absolutely nothing going on between your professor and me.”“It didn’t look like Professor Hall thought the same way, though…”“Don’t you remember what he said?” Stella asked with a smile. “He merely thought that I looked pretty,
After getting the client’s contact, Stella immediately made a call. It was answered by a middle-aged man. He sounded very polite as he made an appointment to meet with Stella.“Would you like me to meet with your child before the lesson starts?” Stella asked.Usually, she would have a trial class with her prospective pupil before setting up the proper curriculum for them. It was quite an elaborate process, but parents who could afford to send their kids to classes at a training center like the one she worked at were generally wealthy. This was especially true for those who requested private tutoring, signifying they had their own ballroom at home.“No,” the man replied after a long pause. It sounded as if he was busy. “There’s no need for that. I’ll interview you first. If you pass, we’ll discuss more.”“Okay,” Stella responded politely. “And what time would you like to meet? What kind of information should I prepare…”“My secretary will send you an email,” the man interrupted. “Y
Stella froze the second she heard that familiar voice. Not only that, but a familiar scent filled her nose. It was the same refreshing scent that had once accompanied her every night when she was with Weston.She lowered her head, making sure not to look at the man in front of her. After being pushed away, she quickly leaned onto the wall behind her to steady herself. With her head down, she continued to walk ahead, trying to leave the place.Unfortunately, the secretary did not give her that chance. She clawed at her wrist and dragged her back towards Weston.“Apologize to Mr. Ford!” she demanded. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Ford! She’s new here, so she’s still a bit clueless. Come on! What are you waiting for? Apologize!”Weston did not even look at her. He merely tugged on his collar with annoyance. With his white shirt flowing down his torso and tied casually at the waistline, he emitted a kind of noble aura that was out of place in Lowe Garden. Everyone’s eyes seemed glued onto him eve
It seemed that Stella couldn’t get away that easily now. She would have to adapt as best as she could.Weston was one of the last to get inside the private lounge. Whether or not he intended to be the latest to arrive, no one there would dare to keep him waiting anyway, so everyone hurried inside before he did.The man who had been so viciously nasty to her completely changed when facing Weston. He was now grinning obsequiously as he held out a cigar and deferentially handed it to Weston.“Would you like one, Mr. Ford?” he asked.Weston glanced at him briefly and took the cigar, holding it between his fingers. He then sat down in the middle of the sofa, resting his long arms on the backrest. His muscular forearms hung in the air, the cigar that was just handed to him swayed slightly as he held it between his fingers.The man smiled when he saw that his offering was accepted. “Allow me to light it,” he said before pulling out a lighter and kneeling in front of Weston.But before
Stella took a deep breath and said nothing. With her head lowered, she pressed on the metal lighter. A flame materialized. Weston slowly moved the cigar towards the flame. His eyes were fixed on Stella as he leaned over.White smoke rose from the cigar's tip as it caught the flame. The tobacco sizzled slightly as it burned. The flame illuminated Weston’s face, rendering his features even more striking.At such a close distance, Stella could clearly discern the stark edges of his strong jawline. She wanted to look away but was firmly held in place by Weston. Weston maintained his intense gaze on Stella’s face. He didn’t look away as he smoked the cigar. He took a deep huff and released a cloud of thick rolling smoke onto her face.Stella coughed immediately. Her eyes reddened, and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand, but it was shoved away by Weston.He tried to look at her. He tried to look at her whole face without missing the sm
Stella sneered, “You think too highly of him.” “I beg you, please! If you leave now, I’ll die a terrible death…” Stella remained unmoved and flung her hand away. “That has nothing to do with me.” This was the woman who had mercilessly tossed her under the bus previously. Why should she respond to her pleas? She was about to leave when a male voice said, distinctively displeased. “Why aren’t you accompanying Mr. Ford? Where are you going!” Stella ignored him and hastened her footsteps. The man’s face changed as he stood up with the intention of chasing after her. However, something suddenly came to mind and he threw a glance at Weston. Weston’s tall figure was shrouded in the darkness. His luxurious dress pants wrapped around his long legs, and the subtle light from a lit cigarette flickered at his fingers. He looked so out of place here, yet at the same time, he appeared to be lord over this place. Everyone was under his reign. Seeing Weston stay silent, the man cha
She spoke very softly, but it drew the attention of everyone in the room. The secretary looked over and saw hope amidst her desperation, “Thank you, thank you…” Stella ignored her. She was still struggling within herself. She didn’t want to poke her nose into the business of others, but a thought came to mind when she stepped foot out of the room. Weston was doing this on purpose. He was deliberately putting up a front before her. A man like him had no need to get his hands dirty or even verbalize his intentions. A simple look was enough and everyone would fight to do his bidding. These people were familiar with the inner workings of the marketplace and knew their way around people. They wouldn’t go to such extremes to make things ugly. Their sudden impudence was surely associated with Weston himself. Even if she didn’t make a move now, there would be more trouble waiting for her down the road. The mere thought of having to deal with more made her tired. The men s
“Whatever for? The session started so long ago, what’s the point of her going right now? To look for trouble?” The person on the other end didn’t even dare to breathe. The secretary hung up, her head throbbing. She eventually decided to contact her own boss. Before she opened her mouth to speak, the man on the other side beat her to it, “Why isn’t the tutor here yet?” The secretary apologized hurriedly, “I’m very sorry, Mr. Smith, the assistant mixed up the ladies and mistook the tutor for Lily. She’s still at Lowe Garden…” “What!” The man leaped to his feet from the couch. Before he could put out the cigarette in his mouth, he yelled, “How did you two screw something so trivial up?” “Mr. Smith, please don’t worry. That tutor…” “Who cares about that tutor! Just tell me: Did you offend anyone? Especially Mr. Ford?” Upon her denial, Mr. Smith heaved a sigh of relief. “Whatever. Just find another tutor for me.” Dance tutors were a dime a dozen. If, however, he was to off
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