The wedding was prepared by the best wedding planner in Rivera. Stella walked through the venue and noticed it was decorated with real flowers. The door gifts were even made of expensive preserved flowers.Although not all the guests there were genuinely happy for the couple, the luxurious setup could not help but evoke envy among some of them."Albert is really generous. This wedding has got to cost at least seven figures, right?""Probably more than that. I heard that Hylda's wedding ring alone is nearly a million.""How could a mistress act so audaciously? Has she no shame?""Sigh. Money is the only thing people care about nowadays. Shame is nothing for people who don't care about their reputation.""Poor Rainee. She worked so hard her whole life. In the end, everything went to someone else.""Rainee had an affair too. There's really no right or wrong in this relationship.""Are you sure? Although Rainee could be assertive, she treated Albert with all her heart. When Albert
Stella also turned her head and saw a disheveled man being held back by the security guards not far away.That man shouted, "The bride is my sister. Let me in!"All the guests were shocked as they wondered to themselves. 'Isn't Hylda an orphan with only one younger brother? Who is this man claiming to be her brother?'Hylda frowned. "I don't know this person."After hearing that, the disheveled man immediately said, "Sis, I'm Ian. I've been looking for you for so long. You used to take me up the hills to pick wild berries when we were kids. I have a birthmark on my arm, and you always teased me, saying I got it from being naughty in Mom's belly. Sis, do you still remember?"Hylda paused, and her face suddenly turned extremely pale. The "Ian" who helped her get on the stage looked a little nervous too.However, Hylda recollected herself very quickly and said while gritting her teeth, "I have no idea where this beggar is from. I'm not your sister. My brother, Ian, has come back hom
Stella kept quiet.'I've got to change my iPad password!'After that, Stella got back to the main point, "Is that person you found the real Ian or just another fake one?"Keegan asked her back, "What do you think?""A fake one," Stella said.Stella figured that if finding someone who had been missing for over thirty years was so easy, then the parents of those abducted children would not have searched for their children for so many years without making any progress.Even the police could not do anything about it. Stella thought that although Keegan had a lot of connections, he still would not be capable of doing that."Can we trust that person?""We can trust money," Keegan replied slowly.Stella gave him a thumbs-up. "Bravo, Mr. Kane."Stella thought for a moment before asking again, "Did you train him well? He's not going to sell you out, right?"Keegan answered, "Aldor talked to the people from their hometown and conducted a detailed investigation about Ian's physical fea
Stella pursed her lips and placed the glass of mango juice on the table.Spencer swirled the glass of red wine in his hand and suddenly said, "On the night of our high school's farewell banquet, I asked someone to pass you a message to meet at our usual spot. Why didn't you come?"'Usual spot...'Keegan's grip on the wine glass tightened as he shot Stella a cold glance.Stella kept quiet. She knew that it was a tricky question."There's no why. I just didn't want to go. I've told you everything I needed to tell you, and there was no point for us to pester each other anymore."Spencer lowered his gaze. "I waited for you the whole day that day."Before Stella could say anything, Keegan interrupted coldly, "You should've known what would happen that night. Who are you trying to blame now?"'How dare he act pitiful here. I knew her ex-boyfriend isn't someone decent!'Spencer was speechless."Mr. Kane, this is just between me and Stella," Spencer said, implying that Keegan should
Stella and Keegan were both shocked!Spencer's mood immediately brightened after seeing the surprised look on Stella's face. Then, he said flirtatiously before leaving the venue, "I'll wait for you."He was only here to show face on behalf of his family. Now that the ceremony was over, there was no reason for him to stay there anymore.However, the words that he left before walking completely triggered Keegan.Keegan clenched his teeth and said as soon as Spencer left, "What did you promise him?""There's no promise at all. Don't listen to that guy's nonsense!"Stella cursed at Spencer inwardly and figured that he must be holding a grudge against her because she dumped him back then. That was why he fabricated the promise to provoke Keegan after getting embarrassed by him.Spencer had always been a person like this since high school.There was a very pretty lady in school who liked him and confessed to him. However, he said something and made her cry instead. The next day, the
'Xenia? Why is she here?' Stella checked her phone to see if she got any messages from Xenia, but there were none. So, she went to a more secluded area and tried to call her. However, Xenia was not the one who picked up the phone.No one spoke on the other end even though the call was connected. Stella quickly realized that something was wrong and changed to a different tone. "Is this Ms. Xenia Garcia?""Uh-huh," a slightly inaudible voice replied."I'm a consultant from XX Loan. Are you in need of any financial loans?The other party was not easily fooled. "Do you have any loan recommendations?"'Fuck!' Stella cursed inwardly. Keegan handed his phone to her with the information he found on Google. Then, Stella continued, "Yes, we currently have an ongoing promotion..."Stella read what was written on the screen and improvised. "We are a legitimate personal loan service company that doesn't charge any hidden fees. After the loan is approved, the funds will be directly transferred
Stella did not expect Hylda to search for clues in Xenia's phone. Fortunately for them, Hylda could not find anything since Xenia did not save Stella's number and had deleted their conversations.Stella wondered why she would invite Xenia over to the wedding. 'Is she going to expose Albert for having a mistress? But, she's about to become Mrs. Jewell. It would be quite a slap in the face if she did that on her wedding day. Or... is she going to expose the child?'At that time, Xenia realized that her phone was missing. 'I must've left it in the cab,' she thought. She then started getting anxious about not being able to contact Stella. She was looking for her in the crowd when she suddenly heard Albert say, "Xenia? Why are you here?" His tone was full of surprise. He quickly glanced around to see if anyone noticed them and frowned. "Didn't I tell you to stay at home and take care of yourself? Why did you come here?"Xenia finally saw Stella at that moment and felt relieved when she s
Once Albert had left, Xenia no longer acted as submissive as she did before. She coldly looked up and said, "Is that so? Then, why did you have someone invite me here? What are you afraid of?"Suddenly, Hylda's face darkened. "You're still young. Why are you engaging in such disgraceful affairs?""Didn't you do the same when you were younger, Mrs. Jewell? No matter how hard I try, I can never reach Mr. Jewell's social status. So, why would I stop when there's a shortcut for me to get to the top?" Xenia smirked.Hylda was livid upon hearing that. "Do you think Albert will marry you? Dream on! He just wants the child that's growing inside you. He wouldn't even spare a glance at you once the child is born."Xenia lowered her gaze and smiled. When Hylda saw that expression, she felt a mixture of fear and disgust. It reminded her too much of Rainee, which evoked memories of her dark past and unspeakable actions."Looks like the child is my biggest bargaining chip," Xenia glanced at Hyl
Keegan moved from initial resistance to reluctantly listening, and eventually to questioning."Why do these novels portray men as so stupid and brainless, yelling at the female lead as if they have intermittent explosive disorder?""Is the male lead sick? Forcing the female lead to donate a kidney, is he out of his mind?""How many years would they get for calling the police in their world?""Why is he so dumb? The supporting actress claims the female lead pushed her into the water and he believes it? Is checking surveillance footage illegal?""Stella, are you making fun of me?""I can't learn this. It all feels so neurotic. What does the female lead see in him?"Stella retorted, "Who cares if it's neurotic? Just mimic that stupidity, that's how these innocent women like men who protect them like that."Keegan was very reluctant, but his brain was more compliant than his body. Without needing to study deliberately, everything he heard stuck in his mind.So when Keegan mentione
Keegan's expression darkened with anger. "You're being completely unreasonable!"Stella crossed her arms, wearing an expression that seemed challenging. "You let her take it. Let's see if I dare."Jaylene hadn't actually wanted those junk items in the first place; she was deliberately trying to stir up discord between them. Now that her goal was achieved, she put on a sympathetic look."Keegan, I don't want it anymore. Don't be angry. Your health is more important. Didn't the doctor say to keep your emotions stable?"Turning her head, she reproached Stella. "Stella, are you here to help Keegan recover his memory or just to provoke him?""Shut up, you brat! Do you even have a say here?"Acting under the guise of a drama, playing the role of someone lacking in manners, was incredibly satisfying.She’d wanted to curse this brat for a long time!Jaylene's lips twitched, but she held back, tearfully saying, "Stella, if you don't like me, I'll leave. There's no need to humiliate me l
Jaylene understood the situation perfectly. Even though she didn't particularly like these cold, mechanical devices, she put on a pretense of surprise, saying, "Really, Keegan?"Keegan nodded. "Choose one you like.""Keegan!" Before Stella could finish her sentence, she couldn't hold back her sharp voice, "With your pile of junk that I can't even touch normally, she takes a look and now you want to give it to her? What's the meaning of this?!"Keegan frowned, apparently not comprehending her current anger at all. "Jaylene gave me a gift, and I'm giving her one in return. What's the problem?""What problem?" Stella's eyes started to redden. "I can't touch them, so why should she be able to? Have you forgotten, or do you have inappropriate feelings for her?"Keegan's expression darkened. "This makes no sense!"Jaylene secretly delighted in this, hypocritically trying to calm things down, "Forget it, Keegan. Since Stella minds so much, I don't want it anymore. You've strained your r
The standoff lasted for over twenty minutes before Keegan grabbed a book and knocked the beetle off Jaylene's neck. The beetle fluttered twice and suddenly flew up, landing on Jaylene's face.Jaylene screamed, rolled her eyes, and fainted.As she collapsed, the bug flew off again."Jaylene?"Keegan called out to her.He looked up at Stella and said, "You go start the car, I'll carry her to the hospital."As he spoke, he signaled to Stella.She understood and coldly grunted, "So troublesome."Walking over to Jaylene, she squatted down beside her and slapped her face twice.Jaylene immediately opened her eyes and reached out to push her away. "What are you doing!"Stella was prepared and had already moved back before she could be pushed.She shook her tingling hand and innocently said, "Jaylene, you fainted because of the bug. I was just saving you. Don't believe me? Ask Keegan."Jaylene nearly ground her teeth. Did she think she hadn't heard? She was intentionally exposing h
Her fingertips trembled with a mix of horror and excitement. Just as the teapot was about to slip from her grasp, Keegan suddenly said, "Jaylene, don't move."Jaylene froze, instinctively thinking Keegan had regained his memory. She had barely twitched when Keegan loudly stopped her again, "Don't move, absolutely don't move."Jaylene wanted to say something, but then felt an itching sensation on her neck, as if something was crawling slowly. Goosebumps erupted all over her body.By now, Stella had turned around and saw Jaylene standing stiffly with the teapot in hand. Her eyes quickly assessed the situation and then she noticed the beetle crawling on Jaylene's neck.It was an unknown species, not overly tentacled but as long as a little finger, its mouthparts slightly twitching, genuinely alarming in appearance.Stella murmured, "It's so big."Jaylene couldn't see what was on her neck, unsure if it would bite or if it was venomous. She stood frozen in place, her voice trembling,
Seeing him, Stella even lowered her eyes and softly praised, "Mr. Kane, you acted very well."Keegan glared at her, his voice low and intense. "If you keep watching like this, Coco will cut ties with me tomorrow."Stella replied confidently, "No, she won't. After accepting the red envelope, she can tolerate you a little longer."Keegan asked sharply, "Did you teach her to ask for red envelopes like this?""Don't falsely accuse me; I didn't teach her.""You may not have taught her directly, but you set an example. Have you forgotten how you always make me buy things for you?"Stella was speechless. Whenever she wanted Keegan to buy her something, she would often say, "Gifts are only surprises when given voluntarily. If reminded, it shows they don’t like me that much."It had to be said, Coco had learned the essence of it.Stella also felt a bit awkward, thinking that in the future, she needed to avoid such flirtatious conversations between spouses in front of the children. They
Could she figure all this out?Keegan frowned, casting a disappointed look at Coco. "Are you not listening to me now?"Coco raised her gaze defiantly and stated, "Aunt Stella taught me that if I don't want something someone gives me, I can say no. I don't want this hairpin.""Didn't she teach you that even if you don't like something, you should still say thank you?"Coco fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly said to Jaylene, "Thank you, Aunt Jaylene, but I don't want it."Jaylene hesitated with her hand extended, unsure whether to retract it or leave it there, managing a strained smile. "Then what do you like? Next time, I will get you something you do like."Coco asked, "Do you want me to do something for you?"Jaylene was taken aback. "What?"Coco replied seriously, "Aunt Stella says offering help without reason is either deceitful or thieving. Since you don't like me, why else would you give me something? You want me to do something for you, right?"Jaylene forced a s
Leighton's incident did indeed revive their suspicions.Jaylene was gullible, but Darcie might see through this scheme. "Keegan, why didn't you go to work today?" Jaylene chose to ask directly at first.Keegan remained composed. "I've been busy with the press conference lately and haven't had much rest. Now that things have slowed down, I thought I'd take a break and relax."Jaylene spoke gently, "You should rest well. Since you came back, you've been busy, and you've been postponing Dr. Stone's follow-up appointments. Keegan, I'm really worried about your health. Since you're resting these days, I'll arrange for Dr. Stone to give you another check-up. Stella has been living here to assist your recovery for so long. We need the doctor to give a clear assessment of whether there's been any improvement. Otherwise, it's not good for Stella's reputation to stay here so long, unmarried and under one roof."Keegan nodded. "Okay, please arrange it. Thank you."His response was decisive,
Stella had just descended the stairs when she heard that remark, causing her eyelids to twitch as she thought to herself, “Damn it! He really knows how to come up with excuses!”Upon hearing this, Jaylene's eyes briefly flashed with disdain, but she ultimately accepted the shoe covers Keegan handed her. As Keegan led Jaylene into the house, her eyes continued to scrutinize every corner.There were a couple of pillows on the sofa, couple mugs on the table, wedding photos of Keegan and Stella on the walls, and even headbands and hair ties scattered on the table. The house exuded an unmistakable feminine touch.Jaylene's expression darkened, but when Keegan turned to ask if she preferred tea or coffee, she adopted a gentle, harmless demeanor. "Tea would be perfect."Keegan invited her to take a seat and called for Maria to prepare tea. Jaylene spoke softly, "Keegan, I heard from Stella that you brew Dragon Well tea better than anyone else. Is there a special technique?"Stella paused