Albert brimmed, not hiding his doting eyes. It was not a common sight Stella could see from Albert. The smiles those three had in the photograph were made hideous from the photo being worn and crumpled. She could somehow imagine the feeling Rainee had whenever she saw the photograph.Shiver went down Stella's spine as she saw the photograph, having a bad premonition in her heart as she recalled how Albert treated Sophia for so many years.As though it was to ascertain her guess, the last piece was a paternity test of Sophia and Albert. And, Sophia had a 99.996 percent chance of being Albert's biological daughter. Stella's blood turned cold from the realization of this truth, and of Albert's cruelty.'How can he be so heartless to take in his illegitimate daughter and used adoption as a guise to let her wife take care of her? I can't even begin to imagine how brokenhearted my mother was when she found out. She never even brought this up with me. Not even once,' Stella thought.She d
She did not see Keegan when she returned. Vermont was nowhere in sight. Bits and pieces of cream from the cake were plastered messily. The venue was as noisy as before, but a lot of guests were already drunk.Stella found Marshall sitting on a couch in a corner. His hair was smeared with whip cream and he was leaning on the table for support while rubbing his temples with his eyes closed. Marshall only opened his eyes after Stella got closer and called out to him. His expression became warm when he raised his head and saw Stella. "You're here."Stella nodded and asked, "Where's Keegan?""Keegan's drunk. I brought him to rest with another person's help. I'll bring you to him."Sorry for the trouble."Marshall was propped on the table trying to stand up but started wobbling. Stella noticed and quickly supported him. "Are you alright, Mr. Moore?"His complexion was pale and his lip was colorless. He waved and replied, "My head hurts. I might have drank too much."Stella remembered
When Rainee met with the incident, Stella was still in school, so Rainee's belongings were all managed by Albert personally.During those times, Stella had tried to transfer Rainee's shares under her name so that she would be responsible for Rainee's medical expenses. However, every time she mentioned this issue, Albert would throw a tantrum and say that she had started to think about dividing the family possessions.After Rainee was in the accident, Albert had complete control over the Jewell family. As long as he would not relent, Stella would simply not find it possible to get a hair from him. After she married Keegan, Albert had even more reason not to give her the rights to it. Saying something about a married daughter was like spilled water and that she had butt into too much of the Jewell family's business. Hence, the Kane family would not be willing to see this.Whether or not the Kane family was willing was unknown, but Albert was definitely unwilling. They had earned tens
In terms of slapping people, Stella was very experienced. After all, she used Sophia for training the whole night. Hence, as this slap connected, it directly hit Sophia to the point where Sophia could hear ringing sounds in her ears."He got drunk, and so you got drunk too?" Stella had a face filled with sternness. "Don't you have any sense of discretion?""You dare to hit me!" Sophia held her face. She raised her hand and wanted to slap back. Just as her hand had risen, Marshall held onto her wrists next to Stella. Taking this opportunity, Stella gave her another slap with her backhand."Why wouldn't I dare to hit you? As an older sister, is there a problem with me punishing my inappropriate sister? You obviously knew that he was drunk, and yet, you still didn't avoid him out of discretion?"After she said that, she gave Sophia another slap. The strength of that slap left a prominent mark of Stella's palm on Sophia's face. Sophia was not just stunned by the hits. She was also fumi
"Drive slowly," Marshall said gently. "No need to hurry. Safety comes first.""I'm sorry," Stella took a deep breath and reduced the car's speed."I should be the one apologizing," Marshall said. "I should've waited in the room."Stella shook her head. "If people want to cause trouble for you, they'll always find a way, no matter how careful you are."Stella could see how Sophia looked at Keegan. How could she not know? It all started when she found the things Rainee had left for her tonight, and Sophia had purposely tried to provoke her. That was when her anger boiled over, and she took action in front of Marshall.'Surely, Keegan knew he couldn't handle much alcohol, yet he still drank to excess without taking any precautions. If I had been just a little late, Sophia would've taken advantage of him!' Stella thought.Marshall suddenly chuckled and said, "I was worried you'd misunderstand Keegan earlier. I didn't expect you to have so much faith in him. I wasted my concern!"Mos
If Keegan had touched Sophia that way upstairs earlier, Stella might have considered changing her last name. It was because she knew about Keegan's condition that she was certain Sophia had orchestrated the whole thing. Even though she knew nothing had actually happened, her anger was hard to contain.Her frustration wasn't just aimed at Keegan, but also at the fact that he had left an opening for others to exploit. However, the most significant factor contributing to her anger was when she learned about Sophia's background.Stella didn't discuss this with Marshall; she simply remarked, "If married couples can't even trust each other a little, how can they live together? I've been married to him for many years. I won't let this incident blind me. I trust his integrity."'Could there be a wife as understanding as me? Catching my husband in such a situation with another woman, and yet, I'm defending him. That one billion from Keegan was money well spent!' Stella thought.Marshall res
Sophia was still exploiting orphanages, spreading rumors, lying, and pretending to make charitable donations. What was even more revolting was that Albert had shared this Facebook post in the family group chat, trying to make it go viral.'What happens when a person's false persona finally crumbles?' A thought started to take root deep within Stella's heart.Keegan had already put on his bathrobe and came out of the bathroom. Suddenly, he gently pressed her down and lifted her chin.Stella furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?"Keegan lowered his head and gave her a peck. He said with a low, hoarse voice, "I want to have sex with you."Stella was at a loss for words and thought, 'Why is Keegan so cheesy when he gets drunk?'She half-heartedly rubbed the back of his head, "Behave. You don't have the ability to do it."After she had said that, she wanted to push him off. Keegan did not budge and demanded again, "I want to have sex with you!"'What type of new drunken craze is this?'
vidently, Sophia was reluctant to tell the truth. Hylda might have scolded her if she knew that this was all because Sophia had tried to sneak into Keegan's bed. So, Sophia left that part out and claimed, "What else could it be? Tonight was Mr. Snyder's birthday, and we were all out celebrating. Keegan had too much to drink, so I was helping him. Stella was unhappy about it, and she came over and slapped me!"Hylda was furious. "Why didn't you fight back?""Someone dragged me. I couldn't move at all!" Sophia cried and said, "Mom, you have already obtained the marriage certificate with dad. Why do I still have to stand for this stupidity? How long will I have to endure it!"Hylda felt annoyed too. There was a formal wedding when someone else was getting married, but she had to obtain the marriage certificate stealthily. Until now, she still had to pretend to be Albert's secretary when they attended those banquets every time. Hylda suffered in silence for over 20 years. Finally, somet