A big portion of the crowd was now curious about Stella.“So is Ella Steele really Stella Sealey?”“Of course she is! Didn’t she say so herself just now?”“So it’s not really an engagement party, but more like an announcement of their remarriage, right?”Now that Chris had taken Guinevere away, it was only natural that everyone started to turn their attention to Stella.“Was everything you claimed the truth, Miss Steele?”“How should we address you now—Miss Steele or Miss Sealey?”“I’m sorry,” replied Stella. With Chris and Guinevere gone, she had no desire to face any confrontations. “I’m not in the mood to answer any of your questions right now.”She then turned to leave after that, but the reporters still wouldn’t give up.“Miss Sealey!” shouted one. “Please answer our questions! If everything we learned was true, then shouldn’t you hate Weston Ford? Why would you want to marry him now?”“Why did you use the identity of Ella Steele to marry Weston Ford?”“Have you changed
Blood drained completely from the reporter’s face as soon as he heard Weston’s question. He was fully aware of how powerful Weston was. It would be stupid to provoke him. He shouldn’t have been so caught up in the moment and forgotten himself just now.“I’m truly sorry, Mr. Ford…”Weston restrained his anger and tossed the camera back to the reporter.“Beat it,” he snarled, and said nothing more to him.He turned around and noticed that Stella didn’t look very well. He frowned, took her hand, and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t feel well, we can leave now.”Stella nodded.“You take care of the rest,” Weston instructed Ben.Ben nodded, then Weston swiftly took Stella away from the hall.…The engagement party had caused such a stir that news of it occupied the front page of all major newspapers in Ahn City. The whole incident was a hot topic on everyone’s lips.Once the party was over, Weston booked a room at a hotel for Stella to stay in and brought her there. On their wa
Whether it was his father, Chris, or his uncle, Xavier, none of them could compare to his unrivaled brilliance.Yet Warren could never have foreseen that this grandson of his, who had always been a source of his pride, would one day secretly get married to a woman completely unknown to him behind his back!In fact, he’d gotten married, divorced, and now re-engaged to the same woman, all without informing the family!“I’m not sure if you remember that I’m your grandfather still. Perhaps I’m just an old decrepit man who doesn’t mean anything to you now!”Weston made no reply.“What’s wrong?” Warren barked, glancing at the door to the suite. “Am I not important enough for her to come out and meet me?”Warren could’ve kept calm and suppressed his angry, but when he learned that Ella and Stella were the same woman, the rage just surged back up, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.“Both of you have been pulling the wool over our eyes all along! What do you take us for? Simple-minde
Stella was woken up the next morning by a loud noise. To her surprise, she actually had a good night’s sleep last night despite all that had happened. The voices outside the door grew louder and louder. Stella frowned and forced her eyes open. Then she felt a warm and gentle embrace enveloping her from behind.“Did the noise wake you up?”Stella turned around and looked at the man with groggy eyes, asking, “What… What time is it?”“It’s still early,” Weston replied, leaning down and planting a kiss on her face. “Why don’t we sleep a little longer?”He then tucked her back into the thick layers of blankets.“You must’ve been really tired yesterday,” he added.“Not really,” she yawned and turned around to lean on his chest. “I think Guinevere was a lot more tired.”She brought up the name as if that person no longer had any power to bother her. “Yesterday was a mishap…” Weston ran his fingers through her messy hair. “But I promise you that she will never appear in our lives
Stella got up and put on her clothes. She turned to the man standing beside her and asked softly, “Can I go out and talk to her for a little while?”Diana was her aunt, after all. When Stella was still living in her old home, it was Diana who had truly cared for her. After the death of her parents, Diana had been the only source of warmth and support she had apart from Roger. Even if she loathed to see Michael, she still wished to give Diana an explanation about everything that had transpired. It even occurred to her yesterday, when her true identity was revealed, that Diana would come to see her.“Are you sure?” Weston asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Michael is here with her too, you know.”“I know,” she replied. “But I still want to see my aunt.”He said while pinching her earlobe playfully, “You still haven’t told me why you don’t get along with your uncle, yet you seem to love your aunt very much.”“Didn’t you say you’ve looked into it before?”Stella sat
“Of course not, Aunt Diana!”Stella frowned with concern and added, “Please don’t overthink it and get the wrong idea! You’ve done nothing wrong!”“Then why didn’t you reveal your real identity to me when I saw you at that shopping mall?”“Well…” Stella smiled bitterly. “You’ve heard of what happened at the engagement party yesterday, haven’t you? That was the reason why…”“I can understand that.” Diana pursed her lips. “Still, you could’ve just told me that you were Stella. I never would've revealed it to anybody else! Didn't you know how happy I was when I saw you? I was heartbroken when you insisted that you were Ella Steele, not Stella Sealey…”“I’m sorry, Aunt Diana.”Stella had no idea what else to do apart from apologizing. She couldn’t possibly tell Diana that she had to keep her identity a secret because she knew something Michael was doing everything in his power to hide from the rest of the world that he’d been cheating on Diana behind her back, and that the woman he h
It was almost impossible not to get lost in those alluring eyes.“With me by her side,” he asserted, “I will never let anyone harm her.”… Eventually, Michael had managed to persuade Diana to go home, albeit reluctantly.As soon as they got into the car, Michael immediately asked her, “What did Stella tell you when you guys were alone together?” Diana had noticed earlier that Michael had been acting really weird lately. At first, she chalked it up to him being overwhelmed with joy since finding out that their niece was alive after all. But now, it was beginning to look like something fishy was going on…“Nothing in particular,” she told him. “We were just catching up.” She paused before adding with a frown, “What’s up with you, anyway? Why do I have a feeling that you’re unhappy for some reason?”As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized how improbable her conjecture was. She might have been very close to Stella, but it was Michael who was related to her by bl
“Haven’t you?” Stella picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. “How can I be sure of that when your own wife is still oblivious to the fact that you cheated on her many years ago?”“That was the only time it happened!” he insisted as calmly as he could through gritted teeth. He was seething with anger, but he knew it would be best to control his emotions. “I’d completely cut my contact with that woman ever since then…”“Are you sure that was the only time? Judging by your conversation with her back then, it sounded more like a repeated offense to me.”“I was just starting up my company back then,” he argued. “I had to meet so many people and entertain lots of clients, so it was impossible for me not to forget myself sometimes. But eventually, I managed to firmly establish the company, and ever since then, I’ve never fooled around at all!”“Oh,” Stella responded, her voice studded with biting scorn. “So you managed to establish your company then, huh? I wonder: How exactly did you d
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