Larry walked in, closed the door behind him, and called out softly, "Hello, Ms. Hall."Stella was taken aback. Then, she asked, "Larry? Is there something you need?"Larry nodded. "Yes. Ms. Hall, today is my son's birthday, and I'd like to give him something. Could you please approve my leave? I only need two hours."Stella smiled. "Of course, but our company has a dedicated person who handles leave requests for drivers. You can look for Mr. Payton on the second floor, but I'll approve it for you this time. Next time, just go directly to him."She paused, then looked at his empty hands and asked, "Where is your leave request form?"Larry looked somewhat embarrassed as he said softly, "I was afraid that you wouldn't approve it, so I haven't filled it out yet.""You're not taking leave without reason, and there's not much for you to do now anyway. A kid only has one childhood, so spend as much time as you can with him."As she spoke, Stella printed out a leave request form from he
Stella wore stockings, and some of the hot water splashed onto them, causing a sudden burning sensation followed by a pickling pain.She then quickly pulled the stockings away from her skin.Larry was shocked. He immediately bent down to pick up the broken pieces and apologized to Stella.Stella waved her hand. "It's fine. Be careful not to cut your hand."Upon hearing the noise from the next room, Xavier rushed over, saw what happened, and checked on Stella. "Ms. Hall, are you okay?" he asked.Stella nodded. "I'm fine. Please ask the janitor to clean this up."After making sure that Stella was okay, he went out to call for the janitor.Larry held the thermos cup lid in his hand, looking a bit pale as if he had been startled.Stella rubbed the area where the hot water had splashed onto her and said to Larry, after seeing him still standing there, "Go to the back office tomorrow and get a new thermos cup. These glass ones shatter easily and are not safe to use."Then, she remem
Stella shook her head.She had asked Trevor about this before.Jaylene's full name used to be Jaylene Arnold. When Darcie first married Wenham, she did not have Saun as her last name. Later, during a parent-teacher meeting, Darcie fell ill and could not attend. So, Wenham went on her behalf.Wenham had never attended Jaylene's parent-teacher meetings before. Her teachers did not know him, so they had to find out their relationship first. That was when the teachers found out that the father and daughter had different last names.They only realized that Darcie had remarried then. Being in elementary school, the most talkative and insensitive age, Jaylene's identity as a stepdaughter quickly spread across the school.She got upset and refused to go to school. She cried and asked Wenham why Trevor had the same last name as him while hers was different. Everyone was saying that she was not Wenham's daughter.Wenham had always been a soft-hearted person. If Darcie had said it, he might
Vermont was technically chasing them out of the house.Unfortunately, Felicity did not catch on as she said, "Stella didn't even eat much. What's there to digest? What she ate could barely feed the two little ones in her belly, right Stella?"Stella blinked her eyes. "Not at all. I'm actually very full."She then turned to Keegan. "What about you, are you done?"Keegan said, "I'm stuffed."So, they said goodbye and left. Once they got into the car, Stella began complaining."Vermont is such a fake gentleman! I told him to have a baby with Felicity first so his mother-in-law would accept him, but he accused me of betraying Felicity."I thought he was a good man back then, thinking Felicity had finally found the one for herself. It turns out that everything is just a lie!"Keegan was not aware of the condition Florence came up with and was puzzled upon hearing what Stella said. After understanding the situation, he remained silent for some time.Then, he said, "He's fulfilled th
Felicity frowned. 'Is Stinky Cucumber messing with me again?'She came out of Vermont's bedroom and called out his name. However, there was no response, and he was nowhere to be seen in the house.She went to the study, pushed the door open, and heard the sound of something falling.She gazed downward and saw the study floor covered with dominoes. Her opening the door knocked down the first one, causing a chain effect that toppled the rest. When every domino fell, it revealed a huge portrait of herself on the floor.Felicity had never considered herself attractive, but her portrait on the floor had a bright smile, looking radiant and charming, with indescribably beautiful features.'Is this how I look to him?' she wondered.She blushed and thought of getting her phone out to take a picture of it. But before she could turn around, the lights in the study went out. Then, the area where her portrait was located was lit with fluorescent letters, forming two words that said "Marry Me.
Vermont took a box from the table and opened it in front of Felicity. "I bought you fifty-two of them. You can change one every day and won't be wearing the same one for a month."If you get tired of the design, we'll melt it and redesign it at a jewelry store for just a few bucks of craftsmanship fees."Felicity's face turned red in anger. "Do you think I'm a lion's mane jellyfish with a lot of tentacles? Why would I need fifty-two rings?"'This is outrageous! What's going on in his head? What exactly do I see in this stupid thing?' Felicity cursed inwardly.Vermont hugged her closely. "Aren't you touched at all? You have fifty-two rings. All of your friends will be jealous of you once you post them online."Felicity struggled and said, "I'll be laughed at! Who gets proposed to with dozens of rings? Are you crazy? Which one am I going to wear at the wedding? Should I change one every minute? What were you even thinking?"Vermont immediately came up with a silly idea. "You can st
Felicity kept quiet.When they were taking off their clothes, she felt shy and asked Vermont to turn off the lights.Felicity was nervous, and so was Vermont.She was nervous because she did not know what would happen next, and Vermont was afraid of not performing well.Whenever Felicity got nervous, she would talk a lot. So, when Vermont was trying to make her feel more relaxed, she began chatting with him."Did you forget everything that had happened in the hotel room during your birthday?"Vermont gently caressed her body as he replied in a hoarse voice, "Pretty much."Felicity felt her body heating up and twisted her waist uncomfortably. She stammered, "Th–there was a lot of blood that night."Vermont remained quiet as he continued touching her.As his hand got closer to her thigh, Felicity almost shouted. However, she bit her lip to hold herself back. After taking a deep breath, she said, "I read online that the first time might not necessarily cause bleeding unless it's
Keegan frowned. "Didn't you say that he's very attentive? How could someone attentive splash hot water on you?"Keegan's complaining tone caught Stella off guard. She then smiled, hugged his arm, and leaned on his shoulder. "It's not that serious. Why are you so angry? You're always very forgiving when your subordinates make a mistake.""How is this not serious? Is that blister not bad enough? I knew that hiring someone younger would be better. He's so clumsy!" Keegan said with a stern face."Although Larry might be a little older, he reacted quickly and stepped in to help me when the other candidate wanted to hurt me during the interview. Besides, he's been driving for a long time and stays by his family's side despite their conditions."He seems like a very responsible person. We can't always favor young people, can we? After all, didn't your company start hiring older applicants too?"Keegan snorted. "Stop making so many excuses. You're just overly sympathetic and don't like ow
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