Unfortunately, Stella’s effort was futile. Weston’s touches only made her tenser. She did not dare to relax at all.In the past, she had to take medication before she could be intimate with him.Her condition improved a little a while ago, and as long as Weston was patient enough and made her comfortable during foreplay, things would go smoothly after that.Too many things had happened today, though. It was unsurprising that Stella wasn’t in the mood.“Relax.” Weston coaxed her patiently. He was confident that he knew her body better than she knew it. He familiarly ran his hand to places where she would feel something until she curled her toes and flinched.“Don’t clench your teeth,” he uttered.Weston raised her hands and parted her pursed lips with his finger. He teased her teeth with his fingers and reached to play with her shy tongue.Stella was forced to part her mouth. A little heat escaped from her lips. Weston’s eyes darkened at that look of hers. He leaned forward and k
“Why?”Weston put the tablet down and gave her a sullen look. “What do you think?”Stella thought of something and froze for a moment. Then, she stopped talking and sat down obediently.Weston laughed silently and picked up his tablet to continue his work.He received a call before getting out of the car. It was the man he had sent to find Roger.The man spoke with urgency. “Mr. Ford, we found him, but…”“Say it.”“He’s on the Delta. He’s on a captain’s ship. I’m afraid it’ll be hard to deal with them.”Weston rubbed his brow. “Find a way to negotiate with them and take him back.”“Yes, sir.”After the call ended, Stella casually asked, “What’s wrong?”Weston did not hide the truth from her. “My men found Roger.”Stella pursed her lips. Obviously, the news excited her, but she refrained from showing her emotions.She took a deep breath. “I’m glad we found him…”Weston observed her expression in the rearview mirror and asked her, “Don’t you have anything else to say?”S
Weston and Stella went to the hospital.Weston accompanied her and did not shy away from getting a gynecology appointment.Stella said, “I’ll go in alone.”“We’ll go in together,” Weston said and knocked on the door.Soon, Zeta’s voice came from the room.“Come in.”Stella had no choice but to follow behind him. She went into the office and greeted Zeta. “Dr. Taylor...”“Yes.” Zeta was busy typing to record the case earlier. When she heard the familiar voice, she looked up and saw Stella. She smiled, “Oh, it’s you.”Zeta was busy earlier and did not have time to see the appointment information. When she saw Weston beside Stella, her expression toned down a little. “Are you feeling unwell?”Stella sat down in front of Zeta and glanced at her for a few moments, hesitant to speak.Weston stood next to Stella. With one hand in his suit pocket and the other on the back of the chair, his actions silently displayed his possessiveness over her.Zeta knew after taking one look at t
Zeta thought things might be different because of this.Earlier, she thought that Stella might have given birth to a child when she disappeared to live as Ella for a year. However, it seemed like Stella was not blessed with luck.Stella appeared as if she was over it. She reassured her with a smile, “It’s fine. It’s been a long time.” Zeta rarely felt so awkward and had to change the subject. “By the way, I haven't congratulated you. Happy wedding.”When she learned that Ella was the same person as Stella, she thought about going to congratulate her on her wedding. However, she gave up knowing that Xavier would be at the wedding too. She planned to give her the wedding gift whenever she met her later.Stella smiled. “Thanks.” Zeta opened her work dashboard and got to work. “Let’s get down to business. Why did you come today? Is something wrong?”When Zeta got serious, she subconsciously exuded an air of calmness.Stella said, “It’s the same problem as before. After I stopped
Weston’s mocking snort only made Stella more uncomfortable. Zeta wasn’t wrong when she said she knew her body best. Why did he have to mock her?Weston looked at her casually, and Stella whispered in his ear, “Can you wait for me outside?”“Do you think I can?” Weston answered expressionlessly.She had just tried to run away from the marriage yesterday. So it was only natural for Weston to take her with him wherever he went. He would not let her out of his sight ever again.Stella pressed her lips. She understood him and promised, “Don’t worry. I won’t run away again.”She met Weston’s gaze and said solemnly, “I won’t do something stupid like yesterday again… I’m no fool. Running away will do me no good.”She sounded credible when she weighed the pros and cons, but Weston only looked at her indifferently and said nothing.Stella was a little apprehensive, fearing that he would disagree. If he stayed beside her all the time, it would make her feel uncomfortable. After all, even
Weston was only in his thirties, but he was fighting for a slice of pie from the old foxes in their fifties and sixties. This made him a formidable competitor and a very influential figure.Stella smiled a little but showed no joy in her eyes. “I didn’t know he had such a reputation…”“Alright. Let’s not talk about him.”Seeing her lack of interest, Zeta switched back to the main topic. “He said you were better for a while… Why did it suddenly get worse?”Stella furrowed her brow. “I don’t really know either. Last night, I just felt like I couldn’t accept him at all.”Stella was much more relaxed without Weston around. As it was only her and Zeta, she didn’t feel as inhibited as she did. Stella put her hands on her forehead, and suddenly, a massive wave of fatigue descended upon her.“In the past year, I’ve been acting in front of him. My acting turned out to be believable because of the medication. Even on the occasional times when we’d do it without medication, I endured it u
‘Was it really impulse that caused Stella to run away from her wedding with Weston?’ Zeta wondered and pursed her lips. Stella’s words did little to convince her.“You’re not an impulsive person. If you’re not sure, you wouldn’t have decided to do that.”Zeta could see through her. Stella dropped her head. “It’s indeed not as simple as I claimed.”Stella probably would not have come this far if it weren’t for Warren’s promise. Warren, however, had never shown himself until now.She wondered if Warren had changed his mind or if he had lost the game between him and Weston. Either way, her fate was decided. There was no chance of things changing.“If you’re not comfortable talking about it, then don’t.” Zeta stopped forcing her. “I understand your situation. If you have time today, get yourself a detailed examination. If there’s nothing physical, it may be a psychological problem. I can recommend you a good psychiatrist...”“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Taylor.”It was about time. Stella
“Oleander is extremely poisonous. A human or animal that consumes its flower, root, leaf, or seed might die from poisoning.”Stella widened her eyes in surprise. “That bad?”She thought that the oleander’s poison would cause an allergy or something at most, but little did she expect that it was actually so toxic.Zeta nodded. “It’s no joke. The entire oleander plant is poisonous. If you accidentally break the branches and touch the sap, for instance, it will paralyze your skin. Burning the branches, on the other hand, produces toxic gases…”“It sounds very dangerous,” Stella said.“The prettier they are, the more dangerous they become.” Zeta smiled and advised, “You’re a novice, so don’t pick this one. There are other plants to look at.”“Why don’t you recommend one?”“Sure.” Zeta looked around and chose one. “This is Serissa japonica, also known as snowrose. What do you think?”She recommended the flower and explained, “When snowrose blooms, its white flowers are as dense as 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