There was a tradition in the town where a family would hold a big banquet with friends and relatives once their child was accepted into college. The guests would also give the kid their best regards for their future.That was why when Stella was accepted into Trinity University, Rainee hosted a banquet with eighty-eight tables at their old home. She did not charge their relatives and friends a single cent. It did not matter if any of them made snarky remarks toward her and Stella because they were jealous. She still boasted her daughter's achievements to everyone she saw.Lydia, on the other hand, started telling everyone that her son was having a celebration the second his high school admission letter arrived in the mail. She even asked the guests to donate what they could to have a feast. However, when the time came, they found out that Lydia had only set up a few tattered tables on the front porch. She then asked everyone to enter the house to eat.When they entered her house, th
"T-That was not what I meant..." Lydia stammered."What did you mean then, Aunt Lydia? My wife married me at a young age. She woke up every morning to prepare breakfast and clean the house. She worked hard to care for me and the house day and night so that I could focus on my work. Tell me, why is she a joke?" Keegan widened his eyes and said.Stella stayed quiet. She could not believe her ears. She was blushing from Keegan's lies. Stella only woke up when it was noon, and the meals she prepared were inedible. The only thing she was diligent at was shopping and buying stuff with his credit card. From Keegan's point of view, she was ungrateful to have wanted a divorce.Lydia's face was flushed, and she did not utter a word for a long time. On the other hand, Elaine gloated as she watched Lydia get schooled. 'Hah! You deserve that, bitch,' she thought.In the end, Albert said, "I don't understand why someone as old as you would act like a three-year-old."Lydia finally calmed down a
Arthur's insult was mainly aimed at Albert. Stella then felt that he wasn't a confused old man. Albert smiled apologetically and said, "Keegan treats her very well. Stella is blessed to have married him. How is she in a lion's den?" The old man snorted and did not speak again.Keegan's appearance was rare at the Jewell residence. Albert wanted him to at least stay for a meal. Initially, Keegan and Stella planned to pick Arthur up and leave, but Albert insisted on them staying. After having lunch with the Jewells, they rested there for a bit before driving the old man back to their place. It was already 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. when they got in the car.Stella asked her great-grandfather if he wanted to lie down for a while, but the man wanted to sit up. He said he could not see from the window if he lay down. Stella thought that it was funny, but she obeyed his wishes.Arthur had lived in his hometown all his life. But now, he was in Rivera, the farthest place he had ever traveled. Aldor i
After Aldor had reported his work that day, something came to his mind. "By the way, during our meeting today, Mr. Ray called and said that this year the chamber of commerce will be held on a cruise ship. He even sent an invitation. Mr. Ray said I have to update him about whether you would show up. Are you going, Mr. Kane?""No," Keegan replied without lifting his head.Aldor nodded. "Okay, I'll call Mr. Ray right now."The chamber of commerce underwent a massive change a long time ago. They cared more about how big the event was going to be rather than the content. They even had a cruise ship this time around.'Hold on. A cruise ship?' Keegan paused and called for Aldor, who was about to leave his office. "Wait. Leave the invitation here."Aldor was surprised. "Are you going to the event, sir?""Didn't she always say that she wanted to take a cruise? I'm going to take her on the cruise so that she would at least experience it once," Keegan said lightly.Aldor raised his eyebrow
The three had to persuade Arthur not to buy the swimming shorts. Keegan glanced at Stella, who could not stop yawning, and frowned. "Did you really have to shoot the drama all night yesterday?"Last night, Stella told him she was going to the set to film Jurisdiction. Keegan thought she would return after a while, but she did not return until it was 5:00 a.m.Stella yawned again and again on their way to the cruise ship. "Do you hear yourself? We can't film night scenes in the day, can we?"Before Keegan could speak, Stella put on her earplugs and said, "I'll take a quick nap. Wake me up when we arrive." She then closed her eyes after she said that. Keegan did not say a word and frowned in dissatisfaction. He had pushed back so much of his work just to accompany her, yet she only wanted to sleep.When Stella woke up, they had already arrived at their destination. The cruise ship that they were about to board suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. It was as tall as a six or seven-s
'Seriously?' Stella thought.Out of awkwardness, Marshall scratched his forehead with his finger and said, "I tried my best to negotiate with them, but they said they don't have any food because it's not mealtime yet. They did say they could give us the ingredients if we wanted to cook for ourselves, though."'No way. I'm here to have fun on the cruise, and I still have to cook my own meals?'"I'll just wait for mealtime."Unhelpfully, her stomach grumbled right after she spoke.Stella smoothed out her clothes, as she was slightly embarrassed. Then, she said, "Let's just leave.""Wait," Marshall said as he took off his suit. "Can you help me hold this for a while?"Stella was confused, but she took his suit from him.Marshall folded up the sleeves of his white shirt. He then added water to the pan that the chef had given him and swiftly lit the stove.Stella was astonished. "You want to cook something yourself?"Marshall nodded. "Is spaghetti fine?"Stella wanted to nod too,
Keegan got her a birthday gift; +10000 points.Keegan's first love was not her; -100 points.Keegan called out another woman's name when he had a fever; -10000 points.Keegan did not like her; -100000 points.In the end, after all of the adding and subtracting, disappointment was the only thing left in the equation.Marshall did not look at Stella. He gently stirred the noodles in the pan and said, "You were only twenty-something at the time. Why did you want to get married so early?"Stella was reluctant to talk about the complicated matters that took place in her family. She jokingly replied, "I've never gotten married before, so I wanted to see what being married is like."Marshall smiled. "What is it like, then?"Stella sneered and said, "Not as fun as being single."Stella did not want to go further on this topic. Hence, she steered the conversation away and asked, "Mr. Moore, do you have a girlfriend?"Marshall replied calmly, "Given how my body is, if I get a girlfrien
Marshall followed Stella's gaze to see Bella cheerfully chatting with someone else.It was windy on the deck. Yet, despite being quite chilly, Bella's outfit was rather revealing.She wore a long light gray sleeveless mesh dress. The dress complimented her well, as the bright lights on the deck illuminated her dress with a soft shine. She had an eye-catching glow.Bella had put effort into her makeup. Her long hair was in a loose updo with strands of her bangs strewn in front of her forehead, which made her seem quite graceful. With the addition of Bella's professionally curated facial expressions as an actor, even Stella, who disliked Bella, had to admit that Bella looked pretty that night."Maybe she was hired by the organizers to take part in the play," Marshall guessed.There was a huge theater on the cruise that held three plays daily. It was possible that Bella was one of the performers."Are the organizers rich enough to hire her?"The theaters on cruises would normally h