Weston had unscrewed the bottle cap and poured out a capsule. Stella’s eyes went wide at his action.The usual Weston was already too much for her to handle. If he took this pill…She suddenly reached out and knocked the pill away from his hand. “Don’t!”She said, “Don’t eat this!”Weston’s expression changed at once. He threw the bottle to the ground and spilled the pills all over the floor. Then, he held her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. “Isn’t it just a vitamin? Why can’t I eat it?”A storm was brewing in his eyes. He was no longer his usual calm self.Stella looked into his eyes and saw her reflection in them. She was unable to speak. He pinned her and forced her to sit on the table as she said with a trembling voice, “You knew...”Weston tightened his grip until he left a red mark on her chin. He did not care and asked, “When did it start?”He did not know when she had started taking the drug right under his nose. Stella paled slightly. After a short silence
Stella did not give any explanation. She kept her head down and pressed her forehead against his shoulder. She was afraid to look at his face.A few moments later, she said, “It’s my issue… I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable because of my situation. That’s why I was on the pills.”“Well, that’s very considerate of you.” Weston laughed instead of showing his anger. However, he squeezed her chin, as if he wanted to crush her.“Sorry...” That was all Stella could say.“Why are you saying sorry to me?” Weston wanted her to look into his eyes, but all he saw was her avoidance. She was trying to run away from this. At that instant, he suddenly felt like all of this was simply pointless. What was the point of forcing her? She had to take the medication before she could accept his intimacy.“You should go,” Weston said suddenly, then let go of her.Stella was stunned. She looked up at once and was still puzzled by his words.“G-Go where?”Weston refused to look at her
Weston had bought her many things, including the bracelet, necklace, nightgown, and bags. She did not take them with her and packed quickly.In less than fifteen minutes, she was done packing and stood in front of Weston with her luggage.Weston poured himself a glass of champagne. When he saw her like this, he shifted his gaze away and said coldly, “Take all your stuff with you. Don’t leave them here. It’s an eyesore.”Stella looked down. “I packed all my belongings… The rest are the things you bought for me.”After saying that, she took out a card and placed it on the coffee table. She told him, “I’m returning this to you too. I’ve left whatever I’ve bought with the card in the room. If you have time, you can check the bills.”She said that, but she knew Weston was not a stingy man. She was just desperate to draw a line with him.Weston added two ice cubes into his glass. As the ice hit the glass, it made a crisp sound.Clink! That sound made Stella feel a little restless. At
Stella headed to her home with Roger next to Fern University. It was already very late when she arrived. After all, it took a couple of hours to travel by car from Ahn City to Fern City.When she got out of the cab, it was already half past nine.She dragged her luggage into the neighborhood and sensed that something was wrong. This was supposed to be a safe and quiet neighborhood in the university town.Many people were coming and going. The people living here were mostly teachers and students, so it was rare for the neighborhood to be so crowded.Stella did not think much about it. As she entered the front door of her building, a man in uniform gave her a look.The man was dressed in gray work clothes and spoke an unknown local dialect to her. He only made a gesture to her, but she did not understand him.There was a group of people chattering about something there. She waited for a moment and saw that the man did not say anything other than showing the gesture earlier. She sto
Stella took her luggage and did not make things difficult for the front desk employee. After she walked out of the hotel, she called Weston.Weston did not answer at first. She listened to the beeping sound on the phone and grew irritated.When the phone was hung up automatically, she looked at her dark cell phone screen and took a deep breath. Then, she called him again.This time, Weston took his time and finally answered it when the call was about to be disconnected.“Yes?” His indifferent tone made Stella furious.“Are you kidding me?” She stood in the cold wind on the street with her cell phone and luggage. “Did you do this? Did you leave me without a place to stay to make me come back and beg you?”Weston walked out onto the balcony with a glass of champagne in his hand. He looked out at the nightlights in the city and said, “It’s pretty late already.”He did not answer her question and said something else unrelated to her question. Even so, Stella understood his message.
“Is it fun to play me?” Stella was exhausted and sounded tired. “You were the one who promised to let me go...”“I did, and I didn’t force you to come back,” Weston replied calmly.Stella closed her eyes. She refused to play this word game with him. “Must you push me to the verge and force me to a dead end?”“Dead end?” Weston answered with a low chuckle devoid of any warmth. “Why would I? I don't have the heart to do that.”Stella’s heart trembled. “Why? I can’t be intimate with you unless I take the pills… So what’s the point of keeping me around?”This time, it was Weston who hung up without warning.Stella listened to the disconnect beep on the call in despair. She looked at the traffic at the intersection and felt exhausted. She gave it a thought and decided to go to a twenty-four-hour cafe.She sat there all night and did not dare to fall asleep.She was in a public area. There was a staff member at the front desk who occasionally glanced at her but said nothing.Stella
Ben understood Weston’s thought. He looked at Weston’s cold face from the rearview mirror and could not help but sigh. He did not understand why these two people had suddenly gotten into a fight.He was surprised to see Stella carrying her suitcase around while searching for a place to stay.At first, Ben had thought they had broken up, but when he saw Weston’s face, he knew they were just angry at each other. Ben tried to figure out what was in Weston’s mind.When he saw Stella coming out, he moved the car to the side. It was this action that caught Stella’s eyes.She glanced over instinctively and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a familiar car. Her gaze met with Weston’s through the car window. For a moment, they looked at each other. Neither of them looked away at first.Stella clenched her fists slowly. She recognized Weston’s car and knew he was waiting for her to get in. However, this was her last chance…She had made Weston angry enough that he was willing to let her
Warren gave Weston a piece of serious advice.“Women need to be coaxed. Go and make her happy before it’s too late. Buy her some gifts or jewelry. Otherwise, she’d stay angry at you.”As he said that, he suddenly yawned. “I’m old and easily tired. Let’s stop here today. You should quickly go and get her back.”“Okay, Grandpa. Have a good rest.” Weston got up and watched as Warren left.After that, at the study on the second floor.Xavier was inside the study and casually flipping through a book. When he saw Warren come in, he grunted, “Are you done with chess?” Warren glared at him. “Didn’t you hear everything? Why are you asking a question you know the answer to?”Although Warren had given him a serious reprimand and punishment not long ago, he still could not have anything against him. After all, he was only blessed with Xavier in his fifties. Xavier nodded. “Yeah, I heard it all.”He did not expect this. Ella was so precious to Weston, but he actually threw her out. His e
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