Stella glanced at the time and said, "It's late now. Thanks for driving me to a movie today. Let's call it a night and head back to our respective homes."Stella turned around and left after speaking. Keegan grabbed her wrist abruptly and pulled her back into his arms."Are you done?" Keegan's eyes were ardent. "You should have given me a chance to say a few words after you finished, right?"Stella looked at him. "What do you want to say?""You don't have to try to make me give up. Do you think I don't know that you did that to me on purpose? You keep testing my tolerance for you. Don't you believe in my determination to be with you?"Stella licked her lower lip without saying anything. Her undeniable crush on him and mixed feeling were easily found out by Keegan.Keegan held her hand and whispered, "I know you have a lot of uncertainties about me in your heart. I also know that the issue of childbirth has been weighing on your mind. I won't force you to make a choice so soon. If
The matter of infertility was something that largely affected Stella. She must have gathered a lot of courage to take the first step into discussing having children. Keegan felt a lot of intense emotions at that time. He turned his head and gently rubbed against Stella and said in a soft tone, "Let's go make a wish on a sky lantern."Stella froze for a moment and said subconsciously, "Aren't you afraid of being caught?""Nah. We can write Vermont's name on the lantern," he replied.Stella was speechless. 'No wonder Vermont pranks him all the time. He isn't particularly nice to him either.'There was a lantern event on 10th Street near Lumi River that day. The whole road was covered with lanterns. If one stood at the intersection, the century-old alley would look lively with endless lights illuminating it.While they were there, Stella saw an antique mask in one of the booths. She picked it up, put it to her face, and asked Keegan if it looked good."It looks good on you," he said
Stella was also involved in this whole thing, so she could not exactly try to show her sympathy for Jaylene. If she did not look at Keegan from an ex-wife's perspective, Keegan was indeed a very attractive man. It was not surprising for girls to have a crush on him.However, Jaylene showing affection for her ex-husband so soon after their divorce was not ideal, especially since Stella had saved her before. Matters of the heart could not be controlled, but there was still a need for moral restraint.Stella did not want to define someone through something like that, and she certainly did not want to stay and embarrass that person. So, she took Keegan's hand and whispered, "Let's go somewhere else.""Okay," Keegan replied and pulled her away.Jaylene looked at the familiar Red Agate bracelet on Stella's wrist and clenched her fingers tight. She was both embarrassed and humiliated. Her face was ashen. She had dolled herself up for this date, but Keegan gave her over to Jackson. She dia
Stella got out of the car and followed Keegan. While they were in the elevator, Keegan suddenly asked, "Do you think it's still raining?""Probably not. The weather forecast didn't predict any rain. It'll most likely stop in a while," Stella replied."The rain lasted for two hours last time," said Keegan. Stella immediately recalled the two of them being drenched when she heard that. "Well, we're not outside this time."After she said that, the elevator door opened, and Keegan walked out. "It's not safe to drive in the rain," he said.Stella paused and realized why he could not stop talking about the weather. The guy was looking for an excuse to stay. Stella was amused, but with a serious look on her face, she said, "Drive slow.""We're here. You can go now," she added.Keegan let out a disappointed sigh of acknowledgment and said in a low voice, "I want to see you go in." He thought that Stella would pity him and invite him in for some tea. But, she slammed the door behind her a
Keegan kissed Stella's lips again and said, "Thank you for taking that one step. You're much braver than me taking those 99 steps toward you."Stella was surprised that their 18+ romance had turned into a high school romance. 'Fuck,' she thought to herself."Stella, I—" Before Keegan could finish his words, Stella suddenly grabbed his collar and started biting his lips. She was not as patient as him. She kissed him passionately and let go of him after that. She then stared at him and said, "You idiot!"Keegan was confused. Stella jumped off the shoe cabinet with a dark face and walked away. Keegan did not know why she was mad. 'She was fine with me kissing her earlier.'Just as he was thinking about it, the doorbell rang. Keegan came back to his senses and answered the door. It was the community security guard holding a bouquet of flowers. The security guard was shocked when he saw a man open the door. "Is Ms. Jewell home?" he asked.Keegan glanced at the bouquet and said lightly,
Stella was surprised. 'He's upset about this?' she thought. 'Seems a bit petty. Who cares if I prefer this bouquet? He's the one who bought it, after all.'Not wanting to start an argument while she was in a good mood, Stella tried to reassure him. "The flowers you got me before were practical. They were great for baths and making rose petal cookies," she said, trying to comfort him. But Keegan wasn't appeased. He remained unimpressed.Thinking about cookies made Stella remember that Felicity had baked some treats and wanted Keegan to try them.Felicity was a great baker. There was a time when Keegan used to send roses to their apartment almost daily. It was a shame to just throw them out since they weren't cheap, but Stella didn't have anywhere to put them.So, Felicity plucked the petals, washed them, and turned them into cookies and tarts. She even sealed each of her creations into individual packaging to preserve them longer. The two of them would then eat them as a snack when
Keegan could have just taken the food home, but he decided to throw it in the garbage in front of their house because he knew how happy Stella was every time she saw that his lunch box was empty.He never expected Stella to see him doing that. Because of his actions, she stopped cooking for him.Stella was shocked when she heard his explanation. "Don't lie to me. You told me that my cooking was bad.""I mean... It wasn't the best food I've ever had, but it wasn't bad. Sometimes, it's way better than the company cafeteria food. Sometimes, I just have to drink tons of water the whole afternoon. Overall, it's okay. Plus, I've never been to the doctor for food poisoning after eating your lunch."Stella was speechless. "No one asked for your opinion."Keegan smiled. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently rubbed her fingers. "I'm not someone who doesn't know that he's privileged. You worked so hard to cook for me. "I wouldn't have brought the food you made to work if I didn't
Albert went to ask Hylda if she was pregnant after hanging up the phone call with Stella. Hylda froze for a moment and asked, "Who did you hear that from?"Albert noticed that there was something weird about her reaction, so he did not tell her the truth. "Someone in the company said that he saw you at the gynecology department in the hospital the other day."Hylda had made an appointment to get an abortion that week. She did not expect that Albert would question her before it happened. 'If I tell him that I'm not pregnant, with his suspicions, he would surely ask someone to get to the bottom of it. Things wouldn't be pretty if he found out that I lied.'Thinking about that, Hylda said with a bit of hesitation, "I... am pregnant."Albert was surprised. It took them many years to conceive Hugo. Moreover, the doctor told him that his sperm motility was low a few years ago. Albert thought that they would not be able to have children anymore, and he certainly did not expect Hylda to be