21

Once more walking down the hall, She paused when she rounded the corner and saw two men standing in front of her.

Clarence’s icy gaze was fixed on her as he sat in his wheelchair with Joseph standing next to him. She would have turned around and left right away if she had continued to act with her previous attitude. However, Stella’s opinion of Clarence abruptly changed after she learned that both his brother and grandfather disapproved of him.

Nevertheless, she was still aware that he had coerced her into having an abortion. She continued to turn and want to go, though.

Clarence cried, "Stop!"

She just stood there, looking at him with her head twisted. "What is it?"

"Despite being my assistant, you have been absent from work for the past two days without providing an explanation. Do you still want to work for yourself?”

Stella recalled what Greg had told her as Clarence talked. She responded in a casual manner, remembering that her goal was to watch him rather than function as his assistant. "I assumed you didn't require help? If so, it seems like I only bother you while I'm around."

"Do you think the Conrad Group is a place for you to come and go as you wish?"

Her eyebrows shot upward. "So, are you saying you want me there?"

Standing at his side, Joseph’s eyes were startled when he noticed her demeanor toward Clarence . "Mr. Conrad has considered you; what is wrong with you? He permitted you to keep the bastard inside of you, but you—"

"Shut up!" Clarence bellowed, and Joseph retreated with defeat.

"What did you say?" She gave Joseph a disbelieving look. She was afraid to take his remarks seriously. "How is this possible? You carried it out.”

She fixed her gaze on Clarence . He insisted on pressuring her into having an abortion the day before she passed out.

Joseph was asked to bring the doctor to them by him. She then blacked out, and when she eventually awoke, she was at her house.

"Avoid overanalyzing it,” Clarence remarked, "I just don't want to bother with a woman like you.”

Clarence motioned for Joseph to follow.

Perplexed, she watched the two of them walk away. "How is this possible?" She believed her child was gone. But now that Joseph had brought it up, she realized that her stomach had not changed when she woke up. After giving it some more thinking, she took out her phone and gave Riley a call.

*****

Riley drove her to the hospital so she could get checked out when she got there. She remained confused even after the doctor had congratulated her on her pregnancy.

"How is this possible?" She believed that Clarence would never be open to this child, but...

"I guess that the Clarence you're always talking about isn't as heartless as you said."

She remained silent in reply. Rather, she was lost in thought as she gazed at the floor.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm not sure. I suppose I'll simply have to let things go naturally and see.”

She had no life goals in mind. Her life revolved around Shawn the day they were married. Afterwards, following her divorce, her step mother remarried her to Clarence . And for the time being, she only had staying with the Conrad family on her agenda.

"But... that stranger, who is that?" Riley had a lot of questions. "Although you claimed he slept with you, didn't he worry that you may become pregnant? Stella, have you ever considered trying to track down this guy? Are you trying to find the stranger?”

Stella’s eyes grew distant. "Why would I do that? I have absolutely no recollection of him. I have no idea how he looks at all. That night it was pouring rain. The absence of lamps and the clouds made it impossible for me to see anything. Clarence’s family would throw me out if I went and looked for another man now that I'm married."

"How about this? I'll make plans for assistance for you. Let's try to obtain some information."

“Thank you, Riley ."

"I need to thank you; why are you thanking me? When I was being bullied at school, you were the one who always looked out for me. You even endured a few blows on my behalf." Riley recalled all the years she had spent in school while she spoke. She had not yet met the Reds in those years. She was simply a small, oppressed girl, and Stella was the one who stood up for her. The two of them had became close friends since then.

**

When Stella returned home, she went straight to her room. When she entered, she discovered Clarence sitting in the room, scaring her for a second. After closing the door, she took some time to reflect before approaching him.

Clarence was seated in a wheelchair, one hand holding a finance magazine and the other resting on a table where he was using his laptop. He had a film playing on his laptop, and she saw that he was wearing an earphone when she got closer. He appeared to be participating in a video conference.

As she stood in the back and listened to him speak, the words she was prepared to say became stuck.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, continue."

"Okay, do it quickly."

"Yeah." Clarence was never a verbose person. His phrases were often brief. He hasn't looked up at all during this. He was staring at the magazine.

"Send me all proposals to my email."

The conference continued for a little over 30 minutes before coming to an end. She waited for him the entire time by standing in the room's corner.

She stepped toward him as soon as the connection finished, but he yelled in a cold voice, "Don't come near me."

She halted in her tracks. He opened his email client and began to go through his messages.

Alright, so he's at work. She turned and was going to walk away, not wanting to interrupt. "Stop."

She looked across at him, perplexed.

"Hold on," murmured Clarence.

Her gaze grew wide. Not only would he not let her near him, but he would not let her go either. Did he really want her to wait where she was? What ailed him?

She was aware that she was the cause of his ire. She pulled on his collar the other night and called him a monster. She had mentioned that even animals possessed emotions beyond his. That made her feel bad.

She simply stood there, not moving. She was unaware of how long the shed had been there as time went by. She was aware of his intense concentration and seriousness when working. She had the unexpected realization that a man who was so concentrated on his task was actually quite handsome.

She began to experience numbness in her legs over time. Clarence did not, however, signal for her to move. Was he retaliating against her? Was it only because she had spoken hurtful words to him that he now want for her to suffer?

She couldn't resist bending over and massaging her legs as her thoughts drifted. He finally lifted his head to look at her. Immediately, she straightened her back and looked at him like a child who had made a mistake.

"It's not even been an hour and you are already tired?" He grinned icily as he lifted his wrist to check his watch.

She parted her lips, but her mouth remained silent.

"What do you need from me?"

She remained silent throughout. He humped, shut his laptop, and turned to walk away when she raised her voice at last. "I am sorry."

He looked at her, squinting his eyes. "A couple days ago, roughly.”

“I'm sorry to you about that.” With complete earnestness, she even bowed a little. Upon rising once again, she noticed he was gazing at her with his icy gaze. "I thought..."

"What did you think?" His tone was so sardonic. "I hope you don't think I'm attracted to you. That's why I didn't keep your bastard. You ought to give up thinking that.”

"I..." she wanted to give him a detailed explanation and offer her sincere apologies, but she never imagined he would say something so hurtful. Her complexion become pallid.

"This is the contract." He tossed a file at her, which fell to the floor beside her, as she made to go for it.

After a brief moment of shock, she leaned over to retrieve it. It was a post-nap, as she discovered when she opened it.

"Sign!" He gave an order without showing any affection.

Glancing up at him, all she could see was the coldness in his gaze, so she quickly skimmed the paperwork.

“You're all trouble, whether it's your sister or you, so I'll give you six months. Take this contract, the payment, and depart from the Conrad family without ever returning in six months." He placed a check on the table after concluding his speech.

Looking at the check, she felt as though someone had just thrown a bucket of icy water on her. When she'd walked into the room earlier that day, her primary goal had been to apologize to him. She never imagined that he would have the cheque ready to go.

"I think this money should be enough to satisfy your vanity."