Chapter 8

After the abrupt phone hang-up, Keegan frowned as Bella called out, "Keegan?"

Indifferent, Keegan put away his phone and asked coldly, "What exactly do you want?"

Bella handed him a beautifully packaged box and whispered shyly, "I baked some pastries since I had free time at home. I wanted to give you some."

"Just for this?"

Bella's breath hitched. Gripping the box, she mumbled, "No... I also wanted to ask you about work."

Keegan responded flatly, "Stop meddling with what's going on online and hand over your social media account to your manager. In a few days, someone from Neon Nebula will discuss the contract with you. After that, cooperate with them for the promotion."

Bella was delighted.

Bella had offered to voice act in Honor of the Deities several times, but Vermont dismissed her each time. This made Bella angry for a while.

However, her desire to join the game wasn't because she enjoyed voice acting; she simply didn't want things to go well for Dusk Galaxy.

A while ago, when Secret Sweetheart had become a hit, she faced harsh online criticism about her acting skills. Netizens claimed dubbing masked her abilities and compared her performance to a puppet show when muted.

In contrast, Dusk Galaxy received immense praise.

At that time, she thought, 'I worked hard on that drama, and yet Dusk Galaxy gets all the credit? I can't let this go.'

To prove her original voiceover skills, Bella posted a video of herself voicing the script during filming on her burner account. She even paid to trend the hashtag [Bella Young Original Voice].

However, the response was unexpected. They ridiculed her once again. The so-called audiences and film critics criticized her acting while showering Dusk Galaxy with praise.

Bella felt frustrated, but then she heard talking about the voiceover for a game called Honor of the Deities. They were considering casting Dusk Galaxy for the role. Bella saw this as an opportunity to sabotage Dusk Galaxy's career opportunities, so she decided to take the role for herself.

Even though Bella was excited, she asked with a hesitant expression, "Did Mr. Snyder agree? He doesn't seem to like me that much. If Mr. Snyder isn't keen on it, then it's fine. Don't make things awkward between you two because of me."

Keegan stared at Bella, making her nervous.

But Keegan simply reminded her, "Your manager's here."

Bella snapped back to reality, noticing her manager waving outside the window.

She frowned. She had initially wanted Keegan to send her home. However, Keegan's assistant, Aldor Hart, had already opened the door and was signaling for her to leave.

Feeling she couldn't shamelessly ask to stay, Bella bid Keegan farewell and stepped out of the car, giving Aldor a glare.

"Where to, Mr. Kane?" Aldor asked.

Keegan pinched the bridge of his nose and replied tiredly, "Home."

He had not been sleeping well for the past few days, ever since Stella moved out.

He felt annoyed once more at the thought of her.

Twisting open a bottle of water, Keegan took a sip and frowned. "Plain water?"

Aldor explained, "The tea bags Madam gave us are used up, and the new ones haven't arrived yet. I'll call Madam later."

Keegan paused for a moment before responding, "There's no need for that."

'If Aldor calls her, I'm sure she'll say things that'll piss me off again!' he thought.

He took another sip of water, wondering why plain water had suddenly become unpalatable after all these years.

'Did it always taste this bad?' pondered Keegan.

They reached Royalpark Villa. As Keegan stepped out of the car, Aldor retrieved a beautiful gift box and handing it to Keegan.

"Mr. Kane, the bag you pre-ordered two months ago has arrived."

'Wow, that bag costs a lot of money, like carrying a whole house. Working here has made me think about things differently,' Aldor thought to himself, and then he said, "When Madam sees it, she'll totally love it."

Keegan unfurrowed his brows slightly before he flatly said, "How could she not like something she wanted?"

Aldor raised his eyebrows but did not speak. He had never heard Stella say she wanted the bag. However, she had only mentioned the bag looked nice while reading a magazine with Keegan in the car. That night, Keegan asked Aldor to buy the bag from abroad since it wasn't available locally. It took two months for it to arrive.

"Leave it in the car," Keegan instructed, buttoning up his shirt. "Come pick me up tomorrow morning at nine."

The next morning at nine o'clock, Stella received a call from Keegan right after getting dressed.

"Come downstairs."

Perplexed, Stella questioned, "You know where I live?"

Stella frowned and said, "You know where I live?"

'Every time we fight, she stays at a hotel or at her poor bestie's place. Since I cancelled her room card, where else would she be other than Felicity's place?' he thought.

As expected, Stella walked out of the apartment and spotted Keegan's Mercedes-Benz parked by the road.

She hesitated. Just as she was about to approach the passenger seat, Aldor stepped out of the car and opened the rear door.

Keegan sat at the other end of the backseat, engrossed in his phone.

Stella didn't want to sit with Keegan. She turned around, intending to ask Aldor to open the door to the front passenger seat. However, before she could speak, Aldor hurriedly said, "Get in the car, Madam. We can't stop here."

Left with no choice, Stella reluctantly got into the car.

The car started shortly after. Stella and Keegan remained silent, creating an awkward atmosphere within the vehicle.

Aldor had worked with Keegan for many years, making him adept at reading the room. 'Driving here to pick up Madam was weird. That, coupled with the atmosphere in the car, makes things even weirder. They probably had a fight,' he thought.

Through rearview mirror, Aldor glanced at Keegan and then to Stella, hoping to ease the tension. He began a conversation, "Madam, do you remember the potpourri sachet you gave me last summer? I passed it on to my mother, and she adores it. She even places it next to her pillow every night, claiming it has improved her sleep quality. During my recent visit home, she asked me for a new one, mentioning that the scent of the old one has faded, and it doesn't work as effectively. Where did you purchase the potpourri sachet? I would like to buy a new one for my mother."

Hearing his words, Stella smiled warmly. "It's my own potpourri recipe. I found a craftsperson online who produced it for me, so you probably won't find it in stores."

Aldor was taken aback. "Your own recipe? You know how to create scents?"

Keegan halted what he was doing, curious about Stella's response.

Stella shook her head. "I don't. I'm just intrigued by it and enjoy experimenting. The potpourri your mother has uses common ingredients. I'll send you the ingredient list on WhatsApp later. You can find them at a potpourri shop."

"I hope it's not too much trouble."

"Don't worry," Stella assured, opening the WhatsApp application.

Keegan looked at Stella. She had flawless skin and thin fingers. Today, her usually tidy nails were painted light pink, and her makeup had a slightly different style. Even though she still looked mostly the same, she seemed to have a captivating charm.

His eyes then moved to her chest. Her dress was tight and had a wide neckline, showing off Stella's curves.

Frowning, Keegan asked, "Don't you have other clothes? Why are you dressed like that?"

Internally, Stella rolled her eyes.

'I agreed to come with him, and now he's complaining?' she thought.

Stella replied nonchalantly, "I just bought it. Don't you think it's pretty?"

Keegan snorted coldly, making a remark that tempted Stella to throw her phone at him.

"As usual, your taste hasn't improved."