Felicity's phone rang when she was scooping the mashed potato. She picked her phone up when she went to the dining table and looked at it. Then, she cursed."That scumbag Keegan has a new girlfriend already!"Stella paused without doing anything else.Felicity placed her phone in front of Stella. "Look at this scumbag. He's hugging another woman right after the divorce!"Even though Stella told herself to ignore it, she could not help but sweep her glance across it. Felicity was showing something that Vermont posted. It was a photo of a woman holding Keegan's arm. It looked like it was taken in a pub or a bar.Keegan's eyes looked red and squinty like he had too much to drink. However, the woman looked very sober, and she was frowning worriedly. The woman was not a stranger to her, but someone that she had met just not long ago, Jaylene Saun.Vermont posted that photo with the caption: [A perfect match.]Stella picked up a piece of grilled eggplant with her fork, "Let's eat. The
'How could it be negative?'He stared at the report for a while before he picked up his phone and called someone. Then, that person picked up."Yvette, is the result out yet?"A woman's voice could be heard on the phone. "I was just done with a meeting. I'll go and ask about it for you. It's probably ready by now."The lady paused and asked, "Trevor, do you have an illegitimate child?"Trevor frowned. "Cut it out. Go on and send it to me if it's ready.""Okay."After hanging up, Yvette sent him the test results about ten minutes later. Trevor looked at it and brought his brows even closer together. Both tests used the same sample, yet the two hospitals' results differed. He picked his phone up again. "Yvette, is the result accurate?""Of course, it is. We're specialized in doing this. We should look for another job if something goes wrong with this."Trevor personally gave her the sample to do the test. Nobody else other than the two of them knew about it. It just could not go
The officer said, "The system can't be wrong. It shows you have a mansion in Midvale Mountain and a four thousand square feet property in Clouditude International. Therefore, following the relevant legislation, you cannot purchase another house."Stella was confused.Midvale Mountain was a very popular residential area in Rivera with many mansions. Royalpark Villa, where she used to live with Keegan, was located at Midvale Mountain. Stella had no idea if that officer was referring to that.'What's happening? Also, Clouditude International? What's that about? I have no idea at all.'Stella said in a low voice, "Could you check when my name was registered under these two properties?"The officer did something on the computer and said, "It was March last year for the mansion in Midvale Mountain and September last year for the unit in Clouditude International."The look on the seller's face turned angry after hearing what the officer said."Why would you waste my time if you're not
Ever since Stella discovered the dates her name was registered for those two properties, she felt uneasy. They were not transferred to her by Keegan after their divorce. Instead, it was transferred to her before their marriage fell apart.The discovery left Stella with an indescribable feeling. Unlike expensive bags or beautiful clothes, a house provides security. She used to browse forums and often came across posts similar to topics like these:[I've been married for five years and have two kids, but my husband won't add my name to our property title. I'm starting to wonder if I should divorce him.][My fiancé paid for the down payment on our new house, but he wants me to cover the renovation costs and split the mortgage with him. When I asked him to add my name to the property title, he said I shouldn't be so materialistic. Should I still go ahead with the marriage?][I've been paying off the mortgage for our house for three years and just recently found out that the property ti
"Those houses are yours. The Housing Authority office close at five-thirty, so we should be able to make it. Hurry up and come over," said Stella.Keegan felt that Stella did not want to dwell on when he transferred the properties to her name; she was more concerned with cutting ties with him. He clenched his fists and said coldly, "I'm busy."Stella furrowed her brows and asked, "Then when are you free? I'm in a hurry to buy a house.""If you hurry, go— Mhm..." Before Keegan could finish speaking, Vermont, who had just run over, covered his mouth and said, "Hey Stella, it's Vermont. Keegan and I are outside. We're about to kick off a new project, and Keegan's been joining me for on-site surveys lately. Unfortunately, I don't think he'd have much free time."Keegan glared at Vermont, wanting to pry his hand off. Pressing the phone tight, Vermont whispered to Keegan, "If you still want Stella as your wife, you better watch what comes out of your mouth."Keegan's hand stopped, and h
Keegan frowned, "You sure know how to make words from a scumbag sound refreshing, huh?"The corners of Vermont's eyes twitched. "Since when am I a scumbag? I am just gaining more experience for my future wife. The only way to know how girls are and what they like is to be with different types of girls, okay? I'm telling you, you're inexperienced. I mean, so many girls were chasing you back then. You should at least date two of them. That way, you won't be so helpless when facing Stella."Keegan did not like this theory at all. "You talk about experience, but I don't see any girls you've dated here."Those words stabbed through Vermont's heart. Every time he was in a relationship, it never progressed further. Whether it was him or the girls he's been with, most of their love and care were materialistic.Stella was also one of them. She never went easy on spending Keegan's money, but she was kind to Keegan.Keegan used to flaunt that Stella made his lunch boxes, and Vermont always s
The students in Vermont's class all came from upper-class families, and each was richer than the other. For example, Vermont's parents ran a seafood business and supplied half of the hotels in Rivera.Some children at school whose families owned the hotels said he was a stinky fishmonger. They deliberately formed cliques to isolate him. But a few of them never joined in; one was Keegan, and the other was Marshall. The two were so close that it seemed like they wore the same pair of pants.At first, Vermont did not want to associate with the two guys after being bullied by those so-called aristocrats. 'What a bunch of assholes. You're all just nepotism babies,' Vermont thought.Once, a school bully from the next class maliciously shoved Keegan to the ground while they were on the basketball court. He broke his leg, and Marshall started to fight the kid on the spot.The bully was tall and robust. Marshall had not hit puberty then, so he looked relatively thin and frail. He did not se
The accident caused two deaths and one injury, yet the victims only received one million dollars as compensation. It was strange that they did not press charges. Now with the Jewell family driver on the line, the passengers' side of the story was no longer highly important. As long as Detective Karl could get something out of the driver, he may be able to follow the clues and find the truth. Stella was satisfied with Karl's progress and continued to transfer the second payment to him.When Stella was done with work in the afternoon, Cordelia called. "Stella, Baldwin made a heap of dried mangoes recently. I couldn't finish them, so I delivered some to you. Have you tasted them?"Stella remembered the WhatsApp message from Felicity in the morning, saying that she had received a large box of dried mangoes. 'Oh... Cordelia sent them,' she thought. Her eyes softened as she said in a low voice, "I'm still outside right now, but I'm sure they taste great since Baldwin made them.""That's t