Stella pushed his hand away and said, "You still remember that you're my dad? If you could believe in the words of strangers, why couldn't you believe in the words of your own daughter? If I had said I had sent the item, I would have already sent it. If you suffered humiliation from Dahlia, what makes you think you can throw them back at me?"Albert did not believe her statement at all. "If she did receive the item, why would she have told me she didn't get it? Previously, we told you to mention the project at Cavalry City to Keegan, and you keep putting it off. Did you think that by having Keegan as your patron, the Jewell family would be pointless to you? Did you assume the wind would sweep away the yearly payment of millions of dollars for your mother's hospital bills? In the end, who were these things I told you to do for? If the Jewell family can't stand on its own two feet, do you think the Kane family would still respect you?!"Albert spoke with so much grandiose as if the thi
His voice was getting smaller as he continued, and in the end, he shut up.'Alright, who knew I would come up with such a crappy idea?' Vermont thought. As he was thinking, Stella returned.Vermont knew how to read the room and immediately said, "Mrs. Kane, I have some business at my company and will be leaving first. You take good care of Keegan. If anything happens, you can call me anytime."Keegan gave him a sidelong glance and then said, "How unfitting of you to leave empty. You can take the fruit basket with you.""I'm not the patient. Why should I eat the fruits —" Vermont cut himself off. He suddenly realized that Keegan was not letting him bring the fruits with him. This fellow was just using another way to subtly hint that Vermont had come empty-handed."I won't be taking the fruit basket. Mrs. Kane, you should keep this card. There are 500 thousand dollars in it. It's the payment that I promised you. The extra will be counted as compensation for Keegan's lost labor and r
"You should grab the check quickly before I regret it," Stella said.Keegan stared at her for a moment and said, "Answer me this one question, and the check is yours."Stella looked at him. "What?""What did Albert discuss with you?"Stella's movements froze, and she pursed her lips. "Your mother didn't receive the white truffles. You could have just refused to help me if you were busy." He did not need to lie to her and say he had sent them.Keegan was stunned, and his expression became ugly. "You assumed I didn't send them on purpose?""Whether it was on purpose or you forgot, it's best you don't promise someone things so easily," Stella replied.Keegan's eyebrows were scrunched, and he wanted to say something before Aldor knocked on the door to enter."Mr. Kane, Mrs. Kane, the paperwork has been processed." Noticing that neither of them was answering, Aldor asked quietly, "Are you still going to discharge?"Throughout the journey, both of them were silent. Aldor, on the oth
At any rate, the housemaid had worked for the Kane family for many years. Hence, the words Keegan spoke were quite insensitive. Stella originally wanted to tell him to forget about it since she had taken the slap already. There was no meaning in pursuing this further.Before she could speak, she heard the housemaid stutter out, "It was... It was the missus... The missus threw away the item and did not let me...""Who are you talking to?" Before the housemaid could finish, Dahlia's voice came from the phone. Then, Dahlia took the phone."It's Mr. Kane. He's asking about the white truffles incident..."There was no sound on the other side. After a few seconds, Dahlia took over the phone. "It's just two boxes of white truffles. Do you need to call back home to interrogate people?"Keegan pursed his lips. "I just want to figure out this thing."Dahlia was infuriated. "What will you do after you figure it out? Call the cops to arrest us? She doesn't have any other talent, but her tale
Unable to persuade further, Keegan refrained from speaking more.Keegan could smell alcohol as Stella approached. Surprised, he asked, "Did you drink?""No," said Stella, her face flushing red with alcohol. After denying it, she realized that the smell of beer couldn't be hidden, and lying would only worsen it. She corrected herself, "Not a lot. Just a little."It was indeed just as little as half a bottle of red wine. With Stella's alcohol tolerance, half a bottle is not enough to make her drunk.Keegan stared at her for a few seconds, threw a towel at her, and said indifferently, "Wash yourself."This was the first in Stella's life that she had to bathe someone.Though they did mess around in the shower before, it was when she was trying to flirt with him by using the excuse of rubbing his back.Not even able to finish rubbing his back, she ended up giving up. In the end, he had to wash her up and carry her back home.In the past, Keegan rarely refused her advances. No matter
A familiar voice came from the other end of the line when the call patched through.To his surprise, it was Marshall.Keegan clenched his jaw and pursed his lips, not saying anything.Having received no reply from that end, Marshall hesitated for a while before he called out, "Keegan?"Keegan then gave a short "Yes" as a reply.Marshall said, "Why can't your phone be reached?""No battery left." Keegan paused. "Are you looking for Stella?"Marshall smiled. "I'm looking for you. I could not reach your phone, so I tried calling Stella instead."'Stella...'Keegan pondered over the name as he pressed his lips."Is there anything you need?"Marshall's cleared his voice. "I've been busy these few days. When Aurora brought up the topic of your injury when I chatted with her this morning, I went to Vermont for further details. How are you feeling? Are you better now?"Keegan pinched his eyebrows and said, "I'm fine.""Vermont said the person had been caught. Do you need my help?"
Stella was still thinking about how to peacefully gloss over what transpired last night with Keegan. 'Yesterday was an accident. It can't be helped since even adults can sometimes be rash.'He didn't even ask in the end. It even feels like he can't be bothered by it.'Her mood immediately turned a little sour.'I'd better not throw a tantrum. Blowing up here would make it seem like I'm self-conscious about last night.'Seeing it from another angle, let's treat it as getting a free night service since Keegan seemed willing to serve me.'Following this train of thought, her heart felt a little at ease."I wrote it half-heartedly," said Stella, naturally not telling Keegan. Fifty million was the lawyer fees she wished Marshall charged her over the divorce case.Obviously, she would not bring Marshall on board to fight her case since he was Keegan's friend, not expecting him to side with her even if he was onboarded.That half-hearted contact name was not a lie at all.Keegan did
"What news?" Stella pressed the corner of her eyes from the strain of reading the script on her phone."All of Zeckary's work had been taken off the shelves. I assumed she was suspended.""Who is it?""It was the original actress that was supposed to roleplay this role. She's a pretty famous female artist with many awards under her belt."Since Stella signed the contract, Felicity joined the backstage crew's WhatsApp group. That was how she came across news like Zeckary being signed up for the role before Stella did."Why was she suspended?""Rumor has it that her stand was questionable regarding a sensitive topic she published. She had eluded to being exposed a few times in the past since those were groundless accusations with no evidence. She was ruined this time because someone dug out her published remark from ten years ago. I'm guessing Daniel knew this right from the start. That's why she was dropped."'No wonder...'Such an important role should not be empty, yet they we
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