Ch. 271..280

Chapter 271: Stink of Money and Scent of Dishes

The Carter's.

After clearing up all the flowers, Emmett's father sat on the sofa and asked in a sinking voice, "What on earth is going on?"

Emmett's mother patted him on the shoulder with a frown, "Don't be so serious. Talk nice."

Emmett stood there. After a long while, he said, "Dad, Mom, I lied to you."

Lied? Emmett, make it clear.

Stella isn't my girlfriend, but I like her, so I asked her to do me a favor to come to visit you.

However, he had to admit that he had a special intention behind what he did.

Originally, he thought that as long as Stella agreed to visit his parents, he meant different in her heart anyway.

After that, he could use this as an excuse to make her continue being his girlfriend.

He had never expected that his plan was ruined by Clarence.

Emmett's father snapped, "Look what you've done!"

After a while, Emmett's mother said, "Is it her boyfriend who sent the flowers here?"

Emmett shook his head, "It's her ex-husband. They've divorced. He kept pestering Stella. She hasn't agreed yet."

Emmett's father looked a bit annoyed, "Why didn't you tell us earlier that she divorced?"

I didn't think it's necessary.

"Unnecessary? You've taken her home already. Shouldn't you tell your mother and me about her basic information? Now her ex-husband came here. Do you know what this is? You actively let him slip in your

face!"

Emmett's mother meddled in, "Enough. Enough. Just stop it. Stella is a good girl. I like her. Since her ex-husband changed his mind to chase after her again, it means this girl is indeed a good one. If she could marry into our Carter family, it's our fortune. But you can only let nature take its course on things like love."

As she spoke, she looked over at her son, "Emmett, you'd better know who on earth that girl likes. If she likes her ex-husband, don't get in between. If she likes you, that would be wonderful." Emmett pressed his thin lips and didn't speak.

His mother said, "I'm going to clean the kitchen. Stop quarreling. It's still New Year. Don't get into a fight."

After she left, Emmett's father stood up, "Come with me to the study."

In the study, Emmett's father said, "Have you heard what your mother said just now?"

Emmett nodded.

His father continued, "I believe you know more clearly than others who that girl likes. Otherwise, she would have come here today as your girlfriend instead of faking your girlfriend." Emmett frowned. He understood what his father meant, "Dad, you don't know what's going on..."

You are right. I don't know, but I don't want to know either, said his father, "Since she doesn't like you at all, you shouldn't waste much time on her."

But I like her a lot.

So what? Do you think you are still a teenager? You have more important things to do than falling in love.

Upon hearing it, Emmett fell into the silence.

His father added, "All right. That's what I want to talk to you about. Think it over yourself."

After Emmett arrived in his bedroom, he heard the cell phone vibrate.

It was a message from Stella. She informed him that she had arrived home.

Subconsciously, Emmett wanted to call her back. Staring at her phone number, he hesitated.

Stella liked Clarence, which was seen clearly by his parents.

Until now, Emmett realized that he was the only one who was hooked by his own lies. He just expected that one day she would tell him a different answer.

The next morning.

As soon as Stella woke up, she heard her phone vibrate on the nightstand.

She fumbled for it and took a look - she had received a lot of greeting messages and lucky money for the New Year.

Rubbing her sore temples, she started to reply to the senders one by one.

After she had done that, she dragged her heavy steps out of the bedroom. Sherry was setting up the table, on which there were warm porridge and all kinds of dishes.

Seeing her come out, Sherry said, "Stella, there you go. Hurry up to tidy yourself and come for breakfast."

Stella lay prone on the sofa, trying her best to keep her eyes open, "Are the restaurants still open for takeouts during the holiday?"

Sherry answered, "It's not takeout. Chan brought them here."

Channing walked out of the kitchen, "I happened to meet the person to deliver breakfast to you in the elevator, so I take them upstairs." Stella was speechless.

She wondered if they were speaking tongue twister.

Staring at the whole tale of dishes in a daze, Stella gradually understood what was going on. She turned around and walked into the bathroom.

After tidying herself up, she felt refreshed. She drank a glass of hydromel, and the soreness on her temples gradually faded.

Sitting at the table, Sherry rubbed her hand, "This early morning of New Year holiday is full of stink of money and scent of dishes. Please send my appreciation to Mr. Conrad. I'll start eating now." Stella scratched her eyebrows. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

Channing filled a bowl of porridge for her, "Let's eat, Stella."

After breakfast, Sherry said, "Stella, Chan, do you have any plan this afternoon? If not, shall we go see a movie?"

Stella nodded in agreement, "Sure. It's all up to you. I need to take a nap."

After a moment of silence, Channing answered, "I've already got an appointment."

Sherry looked at him in confusion, "It's still the holiday of the New Year. Why do you have an appointment? Are you really in love with someone?"

Upon hearing it, Stella also paused her steps, turned around, and looked at him.

He answered, "Nah. I've got an appointment with my classmates."

Male or female?

He paused and continued, "Both."

Sherry's eyes were lit up instantly, "Are your male classmates handsome?"

Stella knew what she wanted to say next. In a hurry, she covered Sherry's mouth and said to Channing, "All right, Chan, you can get prepared for your appointment. Come back for dinner." "Okay."

After Stella and Channing left, Sherry sat at the dining table. Looking at the whole table of dishes that had been slightly touched, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. Soon, the call was connected.

Sherry coughed and said solemnly, "Hello, is that Mr. Lance? This is Sherry."

Hello, Ms. Perry. How are you? Anything I can help?

Oh, I just want to ask if your Mr. Conrad has any work plan today.

On the other end of the line, Nathan was a bit confused. It was still the New Year's holiday. If Mr. Conrad were still working, he must be way too abominable.

Nathan answered calmly, "No, he doesn't."

Sherry smiled confidently, "Great. Stella and I will go see a movie this afternoon. I'll buy an extra ticket and send you the ticket information. Please inform Mr. Conrad."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Chapter 272: So Wonderful to Be Rich

After taking a nap, Stella felt dizzier.

She patted her on the forehead, put on clothes, and got off the bed.

In the living room, Sherry was ready to leave, "Stella, do you want to eat something first? Or shall we go out for lunch directly?"

Stella answered, "I want to eat something spicy. After we've seen the movie, let's go for hotpot, shall we?"

Sure! I happen to long for the hotpot as well.

Wait for me, Sherry. I'll be ready after washing my face.

When they arrived at the cinema, it was way too crowded there.

After getting the ticket from the machine, Stella saw Sherry holding three bottles of coke, "Why did you buy three bottles? Didn't Chan say that he wouldn't come?"

Sherry grinned, "I'm a bit thirsty. One bottle might not be enough."

If you drink too much coke, you might not be able to eat the hotpot later.

No worries. There are still a few hours before having lunch. Besides, I'll be OK after going to the bathroom. Sherry checked the time, "Let's go in. The movie is about to start." Stella nodded in agreement, "Okay."

After arriving in the screening room, before Stella sat down, Sherry dragged her to stand up, "Well... Stella, the person in front of me is way too tall. I can't see the screen now. Can you sit here please? I'll sit inside."

After Stella sat down, she looked around, only to find the whole screening room was fully occupied except the empty seat on her right-hand side. It was indeed crowded.

Shortly after, the lights in the room were dimmed. Commercials and previous other movies started to be played on the screen.

Soon, the movie started.

After taking a sip of coke, Stella put the bottle on the armrest. When she withdrew her hand, she accidentally touched something.

Someone was sitting on the empty seat next to her.

Stella subconsciously looked up and then stiffed.

Clarence met her gaze. He said indifferently, "Why are you looking at me? Watch the movie.'

Stella didn't utter a beep.

She withdrew her gaze awkwardly and looked over at Sherry.

No wonder she always felt that Sherry behaved so strangely today.

It seemed that she had planned something.

As if she had sensed Stella's gaze, Sherry didn't dare to look into her eyes. She could only pick up her bottle and pretended to take a sip, trying to skip. Stella inhaled slightly and looked back at the screen in front.

She decided to let Sherry go.

Anyway, the wretched man didn't overdo anything. Stella decided to take him as a stranger and continue to see the movie.

Two hours passed pretty soon. After the movie ended, the audience started to leave the room.

Sherry covered her tummy, "Stella, I need to go to the restroom now. I'll wait for you outside..."

With the excuse, she wanted to escape but Stella pulled her to stop.

Stella faintly smiled and said, "I also want to use the restroom. Let's go together."

Clarence still remained seated, crossing his slender fingers together, "If you go out now, you need to wait in a line for at least ten minutes."

Stella said, "We can go to the shopping mall instead. Mr. Conrad, if you..." She wanted to send him away.

Before she had finished her words, Clarence stood up, "Follow me."

Out of the restroom, Sherry said while washing hands, "I didn't expect Conrad Group also runs movie theaters. I'm curious if there's any business that Conrad Group didn't cover." Stella said, "Conrad Group always has business in the entertainment business, so it's not surprising that it has movie theaters. However, I'm quite surprised about one thing." Sherry echoed, "What is it?"

Stella pulled a piece of tissue to wipe her hands. She turned to look at Sherry, "Why is Clarence Conrad here?"

Haha... Sherry might not expect that suddenly Stella would ask her such a question, she let out a hollow laugh. Then she clapped and said, "I got it! It must be fate. How wonderful your fate is! In such a huge city that there are so many movie theaters with numerous screening rooms, he sat next to you among so many seats. This is God's plan!"

Stella stared at her in silence, wondering what kind of stories she could make.

Sherry rubbed her nose, feeling a sense of guilt, "All right. I just feel it's not polite if I do nothing after having such an abundant breakfast bought by him. Hence... I decided to invite him to see the movie. One should return as good as one receives, right?"

Sherry could always make excuses, which almost made Stella believe.

However, what Sherry had one was exactly the same when she tried to bring her together with Emmett, so Stella could understand what she wanted.

She was just surprised that suddenly Sherry started to bring her together with Clarence.

It was so unexpected, unbelievable, and unacceptable for Stella.

Sherry felt quite awkward under her gaze. She coughed a bit, "By the way, we should thank Mr. Conrad. If he hadn't brought us here, we would be still waiting in the line."

As she spoke, she said, "It's so wonderful to be rich!"

Stella raised her hand to rub between her eyebrows, "Let's go."

In the corridor, the manager of the cinema heard that Clarence was there, so he rushed over to greet Clarence.

As they spoke, Clarence saw Stella come out of the ladies' from the corner of his eyes. He said indifferently to the manager, "I'm busy with something else. I've gotta go now." The manager said, "Okay, Mr. Conrad. Have a great one."

Clarence walked to Stella, "Where are we going now?"

Sherry answered, "We plan to have..."

Stella immediately interrupted her, "We're going nowhere. It's almost time to go home. Mr. Conrad, bye."

As she spoke, she dragged Sherry and trotted away.

Squinting with a threatening look, he said inwardly, 'Stella, you can run away from me. No matter how fast you are running, you can never escape from me.'

After leaving the movie theater, it was lunchtime.

There were a lot of people waiting in lines in front of all the different hotpot restaurants.

Fortunately, Sherry reserved a table ahead, so they entered directly.

Sherry looked at the menu and asked, "Have you called Chan?"

Stella said, "I sent him a message before leaving home. He said he would have lunch with his classmates. Just ignore him."

Sherry heaved a sigh, "Chan is truly grown up. He has secrets that he can't tell us."

Upon hearing it, Stella pressed her lips and didn't answer.

In fact, if Chan wasn't doing anything else, Stella wouldn't mind his business.

However, right now, Chan wasn't willing to tell her anything at all. If she kept asking him, he might feel bothered.

Hence, Stella decided to let it be for the time being.

Right then, a waiter came over and asked, "Excuse me, table for two, right?"

No, three.

They heard a man's indifferent voice from behind.

She didn't expect that the wretched man followed them here.

Clarence sat down next to her. He calmed took over the menus handed over by the waiter.

Chapter 273: I’m Not so Petty as You

Stella picked up her glass and took a sip of water. She said crossly, "Mr. Conrad, you are so rude."

Clarence asked without even raising his head, "When did you move?"

She was defeated again.

The wretched man's tongue was always sharp.

After Clarence ordered the dishes, he handed the menu back to the waiter. He turned around and looked at Stella, "Have you sobered up from the hangover?"

Stella believed that he was humiliating her when asking so, "I just had a glass of liquor and felt dizzy. I didn't get hammered."

Clarence said, "You are not good at drinking at all. In the future, when I'm not around, don't drink with others."

Stella's lips parted. When she was about to retort, suddenly, she realized that Sherry was still sitting next to them. The latter's gaze swept between them two, and obviously, she enjoyed watching the scene a lot.

Seeing Stella was silent, Sherry immediately withdrew her gaze, "Just ignore me. You don't need to care how I feel. I'm here to have lunch only. I can't see or hear anything else." Stella was amazed.

Soon, the dishes were served, so the embarrassment was eased for the time being.

Stella and Sherry ordered the medium-spicy soup, aiming to get sweated.

They enjoyed the meal very much, while Clarence was only drinking water while sitting next to them. He barely ate.

Stella cast him a glance and asked purposely, "Mr. Conrad, why don't you eat?"

Clarence answered flatly, "Go ahead eating. Ignore me."

Stella withdrew her gaze and ignored him.

Shortly after, a waiter came over with a trolley and served a few light dishes.

Sherry and Stella were shocked in silence.

This was the first time that they saw cooked dishes be served in a hotpot restaurant.

Money made the mare go.

Clarence looked up at them. He said to Stella, "Feel free to eat if you want. I'm not so petty as you."

Stella curled her lips. She wouldn't eat his dishes.

She just felt that the wretched man was something - how could he ordered the home cooking dishes in a hotpot restaurant.

She wondered if he was in the right state of his mind.

Stella took a few bites again. She couldn't utter any sound as the food was way too spicy. Her water was emptied. When she was about to stand up and get herself another glass of water, Clarence pushed a glass of milk in front of her, "It can ease the burn."

Stella was burnt so hard that she didn't keep being polite to him. Directly, she picked up the glass, raised her head, and gulped down half of the milk.

Opposite them, Sherry was drinking water in silence. She felt that it was not hotpot food that fulfilled her tummy during lunch but their PDA movements.

Not to mention others, Clarence the wretched man was quite considerate in some perspectives.

No wonder Stella could fall in love with another man.

After finishing the hotpot, Stella felt quite cozy and relaxed. She hadn't been so easy for a long time.

Surely enough, to even the emotions, the best way was to eat an extremely spicy hotpot.

After lunch, while walking out of the restaurant, Sherry secretly checked her cell phone. Then she said, "Stella, a friend of mine asked me for help. I'm taking off now..." Then she waved at Clarence, "Mr. Conrad, please send Stella home. Thanks."

Before the last syllable fell off from the tip of her tongue, she had vanished in their sight.

Stella's temples popped. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

She looked back and met Clarence's gaze. The man slightly tilted his head with a faint smile on his face, "Let's go."

Sitting on the passenger seat, Stella fastened the seat belt. She asked casually, "Where is Nathan?"

He's on vacation.

Stella muttered, "I thought he doesn't have any holiday all year long."

Clarence pressed one hand on the steering wheel and turned to look at her, "Am I that unreasonable in your eyes?"

Mr. Conrad, you shouldn't ask me this question. Don't you know how others criticized you?

I don't care about them.

Stella quieted down. She was afraid there might be another trap waiting for her if she continued this conversation. Fortunately, Clarence didn't try to continue troubling her. He just smiled and started the engine. The car roared away. Soon, Stella found they were not heading back to her apartment.

The car was pulled over in front of a shopping mall.

Clarence said, "Get off."

Stella looked around and unfastened the seat belt.

She followed him and asked, "Mr. Conrad, what are we doing here?"

Clarence said, "Didn't you say that you want to meet Horace Jason? I'm taking you here to meet him."

She wondered if he was nuts.

A few minutes later, they stopped at the kid's corner.

Clarence stopped walking and raised his chin to Stella, "Over there."

Stella followed his gaze. She saw a group of children aged five or six. Then her gaze fell on a stroller outside the kid's corner.

The stroller looked exactly the same as that she had seen in Ms. Anderson's house.

Staring at it, Stella was a bit take aback. She knew it must be the little fellow lying there.

Clarence looked over at her, "Don't you want to go there?"

After a while, Stella came back to her senses with a bitter smile, "The baby's parents are there. Why should I go there?"

I can ask them to leave for the time being.

Seeing that the wretched man was about to take the action, Stella immediately pulled his arm to stop him, "Wait. What are you doing? Not necessary." Clarence raised his eyebrows, "Don't you want to see the baby?"

Stella lowered her head, "No, thanks."

It didn't make any sense if she walked over to see the little fellow.

Besides, if Clarence and she walked over like this, probably the baby's parents would mistake them as the human traffickers.

Clarence continued, "We're almost there. Don't you feel it's a pity if we just leave?"

Stella was still struggling inwardly, but he kept urging her. She was a bit irritated, "Can you just stop it?"

Right then, a young woman held the baby out of the stroller.

The little fellow lay prone on her shoulder, humming.

From afar, he seemed to recognize Stella. Instantly, he waved all fours, his smile becoming more obvious.

The young woman noticed it and looked back, following the baby's gaze.

Stella felt quite embarrassed. When she was about to turn away, the young woman walked over with the baby in her arms. She said, "Hi, Mr. Conrad, this must be Ms. Radomil."

Upon hearing it, Stella was surprised. Raising her head, she asked the young woman, "Do you know me?"

The latter said with a smile, "Mr. Conrad mentioned you before."

Stella looked over at Clarence, quite confused.

Mr. Conrad has come to see Noah twice and often told us about you, Ms. Radomil. He said you like Noah a lot. The young woman continued, "By the way, when Noah was in my Mom's house, thank you for taking care of him, Ms. Radomil."

Stella smiled faintly, "You are welcome. I didn't help much."

The young woman held the baby to her, "Ms. Radomil, would you like to hold him?"

Looking at the baby in front of her, Stella unconsciously smiled more brightly. She reached out and took over the baby.000

Chapter 274: Should You Forgive Me

The young woman looked over at Clarence, who looked aside. Immediately, she said, "Ms. Radomil, I happen to have something urgent. Could you help me look after the baby for a moment, please? I'll be right back."

Stella nodded in agreement, "Sure."

The young woman pushed the stroller over, "His things are all there. Thank you so much, Ms. Radomil."

Stella smiled, "It's alright. Please don't mention it."

After the young woman left, Clarence said, "There's a bench over there."

Stella followed his gaze, only to find a lounge next to the kid's corner.

She held the baby and walked over. After sitting down, she looked for a toy for the little fellow while asking, "Mr. Conrad, when did you go to their house?"

Clarence answered calmly, "While you were dating Emmett Carter."

Why couldn't the wretched man speak properly?

He started to talking ironically again.

Ignoring him, Stella started playing with the little fellow while holding a toy.

The baby seemed to gain some weight since she met him last time. His little face was round, looking more ruby, quite healthy.

Soon, the baby started to grub about in Stella's arms. He should be hungry now.

Stella found a thermos cup from the stroller. However, since she was still holding the baby, she passed the thermos cup to Clarence, "Mr. Conrad, please open the lid for me." Clarence took it over and find the formula milk powder from the stroller. He directly made the formula milk.

Watching his skillful and natural movements, Stella was in a daze.

She had to admit that Clarence probably could be a good father.

Clarence shook the feeding bottle and met her gaze. He raised his eyebrows, "Do you want to drink it as well?"

Stella inhaled deeply. She wasn't in the mood to speak a single word to him. Directly, she took the feeding bottle from his hand and let the baby hold it while sucking.

Right then, an old woman sat down opposite them with her grandson. Watching the scene, she said with a smile, "You are truly a loving couple. I see you took your baby out for fun. Nowadays seldom youngsters would take care of their children just like you."

Another old woman who was with her goddaughter echoed, "Exactly. Young couples also let their parents take care of their children now."

This baby looks so pretty. Sure enough, the parents' genes are way too important.

Stella felt a bit embarrassed under their compliments. She explained, "This is not my baby. His mother left for something urgent. I'm helping her take care of the baby."

The first old woman felt surprised. She said, "Isn't this your baby? His nose and eyes look like yours. I thought..."

Clarence chimed in flatly, "All good-looking people look alike."

The woman chuckled, "It makes sense."

The other old woman, who was taking care of her granddaughter, said, "Girl, hurry and give a baby to your own baby. You can't waste your good genes."

He's not...

I'll try hard, Clarence said.

Stella turned around and glared at him. The wretched man was talking nonsense again.

Clarence curled up his lips, his black eyes full of amusement.

Not far from them, Logan watched the scene. He squinted, lost in thought.

Right then, he felt a tug on his hand and heard a girl's voice, "Dad, my brother wants to go home now."

Logan squatted down. Staring over at Stella and Clarence, he whispered, "I'll ask the nanny to pick you guys up. I have something to do now."

Logan turned around and cast her a glance, and the girl dared not to speak again.

After around half an hour, the young woman returned.

She said while panting, "Ms. Radomil, Mr. Conrad, I'm sorry it took me so long. Sorry for keeping you wait."

Stella said with a smile, "It's alright. I'm not busy anyway."

After chitchatting for a moment, the young woman left with the baby.

Stella stood motionlessly while gazing at their receding figures and couldn't return to her senses for a long time.

Clarence stood next to her. With one hand in the trousers pocket, he cast her a glance and said, "Why are you so sad? If you want to see him again, I'll take you over." Stella heaved a sigh in silence, "No, thanks."

Stella looked at him, "No matter what, he's others' son. It's alright for me to see him once or twice. Why would I go to see him often?"

Clarence said, "You've always overthought. That's why you suffer a lot in your life."

Yes, I do overthink. Anyway, you would never know how disgusting a man is if he keeps interrupting another person's peaceful life.

Stella picked up her purse and left without looking back.

Clarence strode to follow her. He said calmly, "Stella, I didn't break the peace of your life. Your life wasn't peaceful originally. Without me, it would be worse."

Stella didn't speak. What he said was true, so she couldn't retort at all.

If she hadn't met him in Twilight Club, probably she had been in hell long ago.

Clarence pulled her wrist, "The elevator is over there."

I want to go shopping. Can't I?

Clarence smiled, but he didn't release her, "Of course."

Stella struggled a bit but failed to pull out her hand from his grip.

While she secretly struggled, Clarence suddenly said, "Stella, this is the second gift for you."

Stella didn't return to her senses yet. Subconsciously, she asked, "What the second gift?"

For our second anniversary.

Stella's lips parted. For a moment, she couldn't find the right words.

Clarence said slowly, "When I give you the gift of our third anniversary, should you forgive me then?"

It was her first time hearing someone said that she "should" forgive him.

Seeing that she was silent, Clarence said, "You may forgive me before that as well."

Stella pressed her lips, raised her head, and looked up at him, "Mr. Conrad, are you sure that I'll forgive you for sure?"

Not really. I'm quite nervous. You just can't tell.

Probably it's because you are too cheeky, Mr. Conrad.

Clarence asked, "So, what's your answer?"

Stella instantly felt that his gaze was burning, which made her unable to look into his eyes.

Subconsciously, she looked away. After a long while, she said, "I... I don't know..."

Clarence stared at her and said, stressing each syllable, "What don't you know?"

Stella felt that she would almost blurt out her answer, but her left reason kept stopping her.

She had to admit that deep down in her heart, she had already submitted.

However, it took her a lot of courage to come out of her bad marriage when they divorced.

She had never expected that after going through so many things, they went back to the starting point.

It was because of that, she couldn't convince herself to restart with Clarence.

Stella said solemnly, "Mr. Conrad, I don't know what you want exactly."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Chapter 275: You’re Always Evading

Clarence said, "What do you want to know? I can tell you."

Mr. Conrad, if you truly wanted to tell me the truth, you wouldn't have waited until now. On the contrary, even if I asked you, you would always have ways to deceive me. I can't differ whether your answer is true or false.

Clarence chuckled, "It's not so complicated as you've thought."

Stella said, "It's not that my thought is complicated, Mr. Conrad. Anything relevant to you wouldn't be simple. Or, probably, I should say that you are a complicated person, Mr. Conrad. No matter when we got married or now, I've never known you."

That's because you've never looked at me seriously. Clarence stared at her. His eyes were quite calm without any expression at all, "Stella, you always evade. When we got married, you evaded from yourself, and after divorce, you evaded from your love to me."

Stella's lips parted. She wondered why the wretched man had so many false reasoning.

Clarence added, "Think it over. What do you want to ask me? As long as you ask, I'll answer you for sure."

When Stella got home, Sherry was lying prone on the sofa, browsing her cell phone. Seeing her come back, Sherry asked, "Where did you go for dating? How could the wretched man let you come home so easily?"

Stella sat down next to her, exhaling deeply.

Seeing her like this, Sherry knew something must have happened. She asked tentatively, "Did he do anything worse than that a beast could do?"

Upon hearing it, Stella slightly smiled, "What are you talking about?"

Why do you look so, then?

Stella didn't know how to answer.

Sherry said, "The wretched man must have said something. Stella, honestly, just be open-minded towards something. When you are in love, the more you think, the more seriously you might get hurt. Now that wretched... Mr. Conrad likes you and you like him as well. You don't need to obtain permission from anyone else. If you've stopped loving him, or you've fallen in love with someone else, just break up with him and dump him."

If you are reluctant, you can cheat on him with other men. Remember, the motto of our lives is to be a temptress who has a pool of men. As Sherry spoke, she patted Stella on the shoulder heavily, "Don't be afraid of anything. Just do it!"

She had to admit that Sherry was more open-minded than her in love.

Right then, the doorbell rang. Sherry checked through the peeping hole and said, "Stella, I'm going to bed now. Let's talk tomorrow."

Then she trotted into her bedroom, bypassing Stella quickly.

The latter walked to the door and looked through the peeping hole, only to find Daniel standing outside. She raised her hand to scratch her eyebrows.

It turned out Sherry wasn't so open-minded as she had thought.

Sure enough, when one was analyzing others' love, he or she could make sense. When it was relevant to his or her own love, the same thing happened. Stella opened the door. Daniel said, "Hi, Ms. Radomil... You are still awake so late."

I just came back home from the outside. What's the matter?

Daniel passed the champagne in his hands to her, "Yesterday, I came to your house for dinner, and I forgot to bring a gift. This is the gift."

Stella said, "You are too polite. It's just a meal."

It's a proper courtesy. Please accept it, Ms. Radomil.

Stella knew that Daniel was always stubborn for some weird reasons, so she didn't refuse. She took it over and said, "Thank you, Daniel."

I should say thank you to you.

After finishing his words, Daniel didn't leave.

Seeing that, Stella thought that he must want to say something else. Instead of urging him, she slightly tilted her head, waiting for him to continue.

After a moment, Daniel asked, "Please don't mind me being nosy. Ms. Radomil, do you plan to reconcile with Mr. Conrad?"

Stella was a bit taken aback, seemingly she didn't expect that Daniel would ask so.

With a smile, Daniel said, "Ms. Radomil, please don't misunderstand. Just now, I saw Mr. Conrad send you back so I'm just asking. If you don't want to answer it, please ignore my question." Stella smiled, "No, I can answer it, but I just don't know the answer yet."

Ms. Radomil, are you concerned about Emmett? said Daniel, "Although Emmett is my friend, your own love has nothing to do with others. The most important is your own thoughts." His words surprised Stella indeed.

After several seconds, Stella nodded slightly, "I got it. Thank you."

Daniel smiled. 'Ms. Radomil, happy New Year."

Everything was coming on the way.

Happy New Year, Daniel.

After closing the door, Stella put the champagne into the kitchen. Then she turned around to go to the bathroom.

When she came out after the shower, it was already midnight.

While drying her hair, Stella sat at the desk.

When she saw the box in the corner, she thought for a moment and reached out to take it over.

In the box, there was the gift from Clarence for their first anniversary as well as the photos taken in Yue Lao Temple of Aqock.

Stella took out the frame and stared at it in silence.

Even only the wretched man's appearance could make her fall in love with him.

In an instant, Stella suddenly knew that she wanted to ask Clarence.

Right then, much to others' surprise, something happened to the Steward family.

There was a death case in a project of Steward Group. Before they could suppress it, it was exposed to the public.

Immediately, problems of this project were found out one after another just as if someone had made a painstaking investigation.

Things kept happening to them. The problem about the capital behind the Steward family was also disclosed.

In only two days, the whole Steward family was in the teeth of the storm.

The Steward family could not fight back at all just like a whoosh.

Right at this moment, Selina also had a declaration - she said someone manipulated her to set up Stella. The content of her declaration implied Phoebe was the manipulator.

When reading the hot search topic, Stella was still a bit take aback. She prepared to deal with all those matters after the New Year's holiday, but much to her surprise, before she took any action, the Steward family had fallen into such a situation, and even Phoebe was involved.

Sherry said next to her, "You know what? It's not the karma will never come. It's just that it's not the time yet. Phoebe Steward does deserve it!"

Stella put down her cell phone, "This matter is way too obvious. I'm sure someone is behind this."

Did you mean Clarence Conrad has done this?

Stella shook her head, looking over at the door.

If not mistaken, she guessed that Daniel had something to do with things that happened to the Steward family in the past few days.

She knew Daniel and Emmett aimed at the Steward family, but much to her surprise, they had a far bigger plan than she had imagined.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Chapter 276: Loss Would Outweigh the Gain

At the same time, the Steward's.

Charles reading the news in the newspaper, his ever-gentlemanly face darkened.

One of his subordinates said, "Mr. Steward, after the accident happened, the family of that employee had been taken away before we arrived. They also have all the project information the late employee had while working for us. Once the data problems of the information are found, we'll suffer a loss of hundreds of billions."

Hence, all the problems that were exposed to the public were just the tip of the iceberg.

The information would shake the root of Steward Group.

Charles folded the newspaper, "Have you investigated who took the employee's family away?"

We haven't found any clue yet... But as I guessed, it should be the same person who has done series things recently.

Charles sneered, "Not only one force is involved in the series of things recently."

Mr. Steward, do you mean others also have participated in this incident?

Clarence Conrad isn't a kind man. He must have stirred this mere as well, said Charles, "Now, this incident has become quite influential, we must respond as soon as possible. Find a few persons in charge of this project, dismiss or investigate them.

As for the project information, the manipulators must have it now. Since they've chosen not to disclose it directly, it means they still have other purposes. We can leave it alone for the time being. After the subordinates were gone, Charles pulled open the drawer at the desk. Staring at the old pocket watch, he had a touch of anger flashing through his eyes.

It seemed that his hunch was correct - as Stella appeared, all disasters came together with her. Right then, there were a few knocks on the door of the study. Phoebe's voice was heard, "Dad?" Charles put down the watch and his expression returned to normal, "Phoebe, come in. What's up?"

Phoebe frowned, "What should I do after those things happened to our family and company."

Charles said indifferently, "No worries. You don't need to do anything. Just wait to attend the engagement ceremony at the end of this month."

Dad, Daniel said if you need help, he can ask Mr. Thomas for help again. After all, Mr. Thomas is highly respected in City N. As long as he wants to help you, there must be a lot of people who will offer helping hands. Dad...

No, thanks. Over the past twenty years, I've been through ups and downs. This is just a piece of cake.

Charles interrupted her, "Phoebe, I know what you are thinking about. However, the current moment is a critical one. If we are careless, it's quite easy for us to step into the traps set up by others. Understand?' Phoebe said, "I know. But, Dad, you should know that since things happened to our family, a lot of people avoided keeping in touch with us. I guess probably the Conrad family is also reconsidering about my engagement."

As soon as she finished speaking, Charles's phone started ringing. It was a call from Dempsey.

Charles swiped to answer. However, before they exchanged a few lines on the phone, his face was darkened.

From the very beginning, the Conrad family always wanted to take the advantage of the Steward family's power to snatch the power from Clarence. Right now, the Steward family could hardly protect themselves. Even if the family could go through such a difficulty successfully, it would take them a lot of time and effort to return as powerful as usual.

The wisest way right now was to cut ties with them fast. Clarence had been targeting the Perez family. If he took the chance to pull the Conrad family into the mere while dealing with the Steward family this time, the loss would outweigh the gain.

After Charles hung up the phone, Phoebe smiled, "Dad, am I right?"

Charles squinted and didn't answer.

There were only interests between the Steward and the Conrad families instead of any friendship. Hence, it was not surprising that the Conrad family chose to be worldly-wise and play safely at this moment. Phoebe added, "However, the Conrad family seems to be too afraid of Clarence. He is focusing on something else now."

Charles glanced at her, understanding what she referred to.

Clarence indeed had arranged a lot of bodyguards to protect Stella, which showed how much he cared about her.

A moment later, Charles said, "Phoebe, you can leave now. I'm still busy with some other things."

After his daughter left the study, Charles dialed a number, "Help me deal with something."

The Steward family was overwhelmed by things that happened recently. Besides, Selina made a declaration before Stella did to explain what happened to her studio, so this matter had come to an end. However, none of the netizens who made the most fierce comments online back then made an apology.

While eating a grope, Sherry said, "Nowadays, people are always like this - behind the computer screen, they can say anything without taking any responsibilities. No matter what the truth is, they only care if they could have fun when criticizing others."

Upon hearing it, Stella smiled, "Go to bed early. We need to go back to work tomorrow."

Sherry stretched, "Time really flies. I haven't got tired of having fun yet."

When it's getting warmer, let's have a trip.

Okay! Sherry was interested when hearing it. After a pause, she asked, "By the way, the wretched man hasn't come to you in the past few days, has he?"

Sherry changed the topic way too fast.

After a long while, Stella said, "Why would he always come to me? I'd rather him to stop."

Sherry approached her, "Really?"

Stella looked away awkwardly. Her lips parted but she couldn't utter a word.

Sherry didn't insist on exposing Stella's double faces this time. She said, "By the way, Emmett hasn't come to you either. It seems he has truly given up this time. But it's a good thing. You don't need to be bothered by your choice."

Stella said, "Let's go to sleep now."

Lying on the bed, Stella browsed the news about Steward Group recently, trying to find some useful information.

Even she had known that Daniel and Emmett were behind this event, she still couldn't understand what was going on. Or, in other words, she didn't know their purpose of doing so.

The Steward family got a heavy blow this time, but it was rich and powerful. Even if the scandal was quite influential, the root of it couldn't be shaken.

Stella thought probably Charles couldn't protect himself and his family now, so he didn't have the energy to deal with her right now.

Hence, it was a good chance for her to look into the truth of the past.

Stella pulled out the photo of the pocket watch, starting looking for relevant information online.

While she was focusing on searching, her phone rang. The caller ID was Clarence.

After a few seconds, Stella swiped to answer, "Mr. Conrad, it's so late now. What's the matter?"

Clarence said, "Can't I call you without any matter?"

Then, she heard the wretched man's unhappy voice, "You will never call me if I don't call you, will you? Stella, is your heart made of stone?"----------

Chapter 277: Only Once in a Lifetime

Upon hearing the complaint from the other end of the line, Stella suddenly felt as if she was a truly evil woman.

She muttered, "You will come to be when you want to see me. If you don't come here, it means you are busy, doesn't it? Why should I waste my effort to look for you?" After a pause, Clarence asked, "Have you read the recent news?"

Yes, I have.

I'm dealing with the matter of Steward family, a bit busy recently.

Stella said, "I see."

Clarence said, "If you miss me indeed, come to see me in Conrad Group."

Thanks for your invitation. I never thought of that.

On the other end of the line, Clarence snorted, "I've got to go." He hung up.

Stella put down the phone. She checked the time and found it was eleven o'clock. The wretched man was still in Conrad Group right now.

She lay on the bed, tossing about, unable to fall asleep.

After around half an hour, she suddenly lifted the quilt and sat up. Then she took a coat from the closet and walked out of her apartment.

The streets were empty at night, but the street lamps were shining.

Soon, her taxi was pulled over at the entrance of Conrad Group's building.

Stella got off. Standing at the entrance, she suddenly sobered up under the cold wind.

She had been somewhat reckless to come over here so suddenly.

She walked to the roadside, pulled out her cell phone to call a cab, but her finger didn't tab the confirm button.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Stella put her phone back into the pocket of her coat. She turned around and walked into the building.

Nathan said, "Mr. Conrad, we've lost them. But I'm sure William has them."

Clarence knocked on the desk with his slender fingers, squinting, lost in thought.

Now Mr. Steward is still looking for the person who has exposed all the series of things. He hasn't found out Daniel and William for the time being.

Clarence chuckled with a faint smile, "They've been well prepared become taking any action. Even if he wants to look into them, he can't find anything at all.”

Judging from the current situation, Clarence realized that William just made the cooperation with Conrad Group an excuse. His purpose was to come to City N with a proper reason.

Mr. Dempsey has called off the engagement with the Steward family. I guess he didn't want to draw fire against himself and aimed to get rid of the relationship early.

Clarence curled up his lips into a sneer. After a few seconds, he asked, "How is it going with Joanna Perez?"

Mrs. Joanna should take action pretty soon. We're fully prepared.

Clarence hummed.

Nathan added, "By the way, Mr. Conrad, there's another thing."

The cigarette butt sent by Mrs. Conrad's brother has been sent to the test. According to the DNA test, it belonged to Jeffrey Radomil.

Clarence creased his brows slightly, "Jeffrey Radomil?"

Nathan nodded, "About the accident that happened back then, the prison said it was a fire caused by the prison break. However, everything seemed to be quite unclear. All the bodies were charred. There's no evidence to prove that Jeffrey Radomil was certainly dead."

Right then, there were a few knocks on the door of the office.

Nathan immediately stopped speaking and walked to open the door. As soon as he saw Stella, he was a bit surprised, "Hi, Ms. Radomil?"

Stella said seriously, "I want to bother your Mr. Conrad with something. Is he in?"

In a hurry, Nathan let her in, "Mr. Conrad, I'm leaving now. I'll look into the matter that I reported just now."

After the door of the office was closed, Stella took a few steps to walk in, "Hi, Mr. Conrad. Are you busy? I may need to bother you with something." Clarence leaned against the back of the office chair, raising his eyebrows, "I can be busy or not busy."

Clarence stood up and walked to the lounge. He sat on the sofa with his slender legs across, "You said you need to bother me with something, right?" Stella pressed her lips, "Mr. Conrad, I'm sure you must know what's going on with the Steward family now, so I want to ask you for some information." "What do you want to know?"

Upon hearing his question, Stella was a bit confused.

She used it as an excuse for the time being. Honestly, she didn't care about it at all.

After a pause, Stella answered, "You can tell me anything you like."

Clarence said, "The Conrad and the Steward families have called off the engagement."

According to how much she knew Clarence, Stella thought that he would tell her the current status of Steward Group. However, much to her surprise, he told her this matter.

It made her become a bit interested.

She asked, "Then, what about Phoebe Steward now..."

Charles won't agree her to marry Daniel. Even her engagement has been called off, the Steward family is still a piece of fat right now. A lot of businessmen want to take the chance to hold their share now. Hence, at this crucial moment, Charles Steward needs to carefully make the decision. After all, Phoebe Steward's future husband is relevant to the future of the Steward family.

Stella frowned. Clarence always referred the marriage as a cold trade without anything relevant to love.

However, that was the actual fact.

After a thought, she said, "But, if it's like what you said, the Steward family is a piece of fat to others, why did your... the Conrad family would cancel the engagement?"

Clarence answered, "It takes capability to bite the piece of fat, but he currently doesn't have the strength to control the Steward family. Also, he can't take the risk to help them, afraid that I would take the chance to uproot his power. He had no other choice."

Stella was silent for a moment and continued, "That means no matter who will marry Phoebe Steward now, he would get the absolute controlling interest of the Steward family, wouldn't he? If the man was capable, he would have the chance to merge Steward Group, right?"

You can understand it that way.

Then... Mr. Conrad, don't you feel moved a bit?

Different from the marriage for convenience last time, when Clarence was marrying Phoebe, Steward Group was still a strong and independent existence, which had the ability to be against Conrad Group. However, things had been changed now. The Steward family was suffering a big loss. Once Clarence married Phoebe, absolute dominance would be in Clarence's hands. Moreover, he would also own the huge resource from Steward Group, which was a chance only once in a lifetime.

Clarence said slowly, "Moved? I do feel moved."

Stella bent down her head and didn't speak.

Soon, she heard his voice continue, "However, even if her future husband could get the controlling interests of Steward Group, he has to deal with the huge mess as well. Probably he would pull himself into the mere if he's not careful enough."

Stella said, "Isn't it how the business goes? As long as you win the bet, you'll make a huge profit. Mr. Conrad, you should know it, right?"

Upon hearing it, Clarence squinted, "Why don't you do it?"

Stella was taken aback, "Do what?"

You are so good at talking, why don't you make an acquisition plan of Steward Group to me?

She explained patiently, "Mr. Conrad, I meant if you regret canceling the engagement with Phoebe. If it hadn't been called off, you could get Steward Group in a clear and ordered pattern."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Chapter 278: Quite Tough

Clarence stared at her and didn't utter a word.

Under his gaze, Stella felt a bit uneasy. She looked away and coughed, "Mr. Conrad, if you don't want to answer your question, please ignore it." After a while, Clarence said calmly, "Since you said so, I do regret it.”

Mr. Conrad, if you regret it, you can go back to Phoebe Steward. It's still not too late. As she spoke, Stella stood up, "It's quite late now. I'm taking off." After she took a few steps, her wrist was grabbed.

Clarence slightly increased his strength to grip her, and she fell into his arms.

Before Stella struggled, Clarence wrapped his arms around her waist, raising his brows, "Are you jealous?"

Stella said expressionlessly, "I'm too tough to be jealous."

Clarence curled up his lips and intentionally or unintentionally glanced at her bosom, "You are quite tough indeed."

Upon understanding his implication, Stella hurried raised her arms to cover her bosom, blushing. After a long while, she cursed, "You rascal!" "Why did you curse me? Didn't you say you are quite tough? I like it."

She doubted if the wretched man was mentally ill.

She said crossly, "Let go!"

Clarence, however, tightened his arms around her waist. He pressed his chin on her shoulder and whispered, "Don't move. I want to hold you."

Mr. Conrad, aren't you jealous? Why don't you hold Phoebe Steward?

All right. I was kidding with you. You don't need to be jealous. Calm down.

Stella couldn't utter any word for a moment.

Clarence said, "Wait for me for another half an hour. I'll drive you home."

Mr. Conrad, aren't you quite busy?

The work cannot be accomplished within just one day.

Stella was silent and then continued, "Why do I need to wait for you for another half an hour?"

Clarence said, "It's quite rare that you actively came to find me. If I let you go home like this, I would waste your kindness, wouldn't I?"

Stella didn't speak. She knew what was in the wretched man's mind. She shouldn't have asked him.

After a few minutes, Clarence asked, "Have you decided the question you want to ask me?" Stella's lips parted. The words reached the tip of her tongue, but she didn't know how to start. "Okay, keep on thinking."

Stella sat on his lap, and she could clearly hear the man's heartbeat.

After a few seconds, she raised her hand and gently put it on his chest.

Clarence slightly stiffed. When he prepared to speak, Stella said, "Shush."

He licked his thin lips calmly, staring at her without a blink.

Stella kept putting her palm on his chest. Under the cloth, she could feel his steady and powerful heartbeat.

After a long while, Stella withdrew her hand and whispered, "I've finished asking."

Clarence didn't understand, "Pardon?"

Stella answered, "Nothing."

She checked the time, "It's quite late now. I need to go to work tomorrow. Please give me a ride home."

Clarence's eyes were darkened. He didn't speak.

Stella looked up at him, "Are you giving me a ride or not? Or I'll call a cab."

Clarence withdrew his hands, "Sure."

Stella stood up from his lap, straightening herself up as if nothing had happened.

Clarence picked up his coat, "Let's go."

On the way back, Stella pressed the car window to open a small crack. She kept peering out of the window, slightly curling up her lips.

When the Rolls-Royce parked downstairs of Stella's apartment, she was about to unfasten the seat belt, but Clarence dragged her over. Stella met his black eyes, blinking.

His Adam's apple bobbed. He whispered to ask, "What did you ask me just now?"

Stella answered, "A secret."

He approached her closer, "You don't want to tell me, do you?"

Mr. Conrad, don't you also have a lot of secrets? We're even.

Clarence asked, "What secrets do I keep from you?"

Stella thought for a moment and decided to toss back the tough question to him, "Mr. Conrad, you know what you've hidden."

Clarence indeed had hidden something from him. For a moment, he couldn't find the right words to retort her.

Seeing that he kept silent, Stella knew she won against him this time, "Okay, I'm going upstairs. Mr. Conrad, be careful when driving home. Good night."

She turned around and was about to pull the door open, and she heard Clarence's voice from the aside, "Stella, wait."

She subconsciously looked back. Before she could finish her words, her lips were sealed.

Clarence studied her expression. Seeing that she didn't resist as usual, he raised his hands to press the back of her head, gradually deepening the kiss.

After walking out of the elevator, Stella walked at a delightful pace with both her hands in the pockets of her coat.

She entered the passcode, pulled the door open, and was walking in, only to find Sherry was looking at her thoughtfully while holding her own arms across her chest.

Under Sherry's gaze, Stella felt a bit guilty. She coughed and rubbed her nose unnaturally, "Well... It's so late now... Why are you still awake?"

I'm just wondering where you are from so late.

Stella hurriedly answered, "I was a bit hungry, so I went out to grab something. If I knew you hadn't slept yet, I would bring you some takeout."

Sherry raised her eyebrows and asked, "What did you eat?"

Hmm... spicy hotchpotch.

Oh, I see. It must be quite spicy as your lips are swollen.

She let out a hollow laugh and tried to cover her lies, "Yeah... We can go there together next time. The stall is in the lane downstairs. There were so many customers. I didn't find it before..." "Enough. You are going too far when making a story."

Stella immediately shut up. She clenched her hands, lowered her head as if she had done something wrong.

Sherry asked tentatively, "Are you going to move out soon?"

What are you talking about?

Sherry breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good then. Otherwise, if you progress too fast, I'm afraid I'll be left alone in this apartment again."

Stella's eyelids twitched. She said vaguely, "Well, it's quite late now. I feel sleepy. Let's go to bed. We can talk tomorrow."

After that, she rushed into her bedroom.

Looking at her receding figure, Sherry couldn't help but click her tongue. She also went back to her room slowly. She envied Stella a lot, wondering when she could also fall in love with someone. Stella was lying on the bed, feeling quite spirited. She couldn't fall asleep at all.

She slowly raised her hand and looked at her palm, on which the man's temperature seemed to have remained.

A grownup's normal heart rate was around sixty to seventy a minute. When they were with their crushes, the heart rate would accelerate automatically.

She had got the answer that she wanted to know.

Stella wrapped herself with the quilt, curling up her lips.

She hadn't fallen asleep for a whole night.

On the second day, when Sherry dragged herself to get up with the holiday syndrome, she found that Stella was busy in the kitchen. The latter was humming a song, looking extremely delighted.☐☐☐☐

Chapter 279: People’s Memories Are Short

Sherry leaned against the door and said weakly, "It's awesome to have some spiritual food. I also want it."

Stella turned around and smiled, "You are awake. Go tidy yourself up. Breakfast is ready."

Sherry yawned and hummed to answer. Then she walked towards the bathroom.

Stella filled plates and bowls with breakfast. Then she got one portion in the lunch box for Channing so that he could have it in the studio.

After breakfast, Sherry said, "Stella, I'm going downstairs to get the car ready."

Okay. Go ahead. I'll be right there.

Stella changed her clothes. When she was about to walk out, she saw herself in the mirror. Then she took a few steps back, pulled the lipstick from her purse, and put it on gently.

When she arrived downstairs and stood at the entrance of the community waiting for Sherry, a black Rolls-Royce was parked in front of her.

The car window was gradually pressed down. She saw the man's handsome and aloof face.

Clarence stared at her, tilting his head, "Get in."

Stella shook her head, "I'm waiting for Sherry."

You two are always together. Why do you need to wait for her?

Right then, the was a car behind the Rolls-Royce, and it honked.

Stella looked around but didn't find Sherry's car. Also, the wretched man didn't seem to have the intention to give up. She pulled the door of the passenger seat open and sat in. Then she pulled out her cell phone to call Sherry.

Clarence drove the car to the roadside and pulled it over. He cast a glance at the lunch box on her lap, reached out, and took it over.

Stella didn't pay attention while calling Sherry, so it was grabbed by him.

Clarence opened the lunch box while asking, "Is it for me?"

Wait...

Before Stella denied it, he had already opened the lunch box. He picked one piece up and bit it.

Stella said crossly, "It's for Chan."

Clarence didn't care at all. After finishing one piece, he said, "He's so grown up. He wouldn't starve to death if skipping breakfast."

The wretched man could always make excuses, couldn't he?

After finishing the food, Clarence put the lunch box into the bag, "You can make less tomorrow. I'm quite stuffed."

Inwardly, she couldn't help cursing him. He could have stopped eating if he couldn't finish it, couldn't he?

Clarence slightly curled up his lips. He started the engine again and said calmly, "Shall I pick you up in the evening?"

Stella asked, "Where will we go then?"

Where do you want to go?

Stella answered intentionally, "I will want to go home."

Clarence cast her a glance from the corner of his eyes. He said meaningfully, "I won't object to it."

Stella closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him any longer.

Soon, the black car was pulled over in front of her studio.

Stella unfastened the seat belt, "Have a good day."

The man's slender fingers knocked on the steering wheel. He stared at her in silence.

Stella paused, looking into his eyes in confusion, "Why are you staring at me?"

Clarence raised his eyebrows slightly, "You look gorgeous today."

Stella fell into the silence. Then she asked, "Am I not always gorgeous?"

No, you are not whenever you're with Emmett Carter.

Stella hurriedly pulled the door open to get off. She walked into the studio without looking back.

The amusement in Clarence's eyes became deeper. When her figure disappeared from his sight, he withdrew his gaze and drove away.

After Stella walked into the studio, she found that Sherry was sitting at the front desk, lost in thought.

She asked, "Sherry, when did you arrive? I called you earlier but the call couldn't be connected." Sherry answered, "I saw the Rolls-Royce as soon as I went downstairs. Why? Am I not considerate?" Stella raised her hand, rubbing her eyebrows, "I'm going to my office now. Call me if you need any help."

As she spoke, Stella walked towards her office. She pulled out her cell phone and ordered breakfast for Channing.

In the afternoon, Steward Group came out with some solutions for the problems of its project. They punished several senior executives. After that, using the power of capital, the group suppressed public opinions.

As for the grudge between Phoebe and Stella, they gave a brief explanation that it was relevant to their personal lives. They didn't make an apology or feel any sense of guilt.

Since the fact that Stella used to be Clarence's ex-wife was exposed, the public knew what had happened among them. Stella was the ex-wife, and Phoebe used to be the former fiancee. Nobody would believe that they could get along with each other.

After the news came out, Sherry said, "The Steward family is so capable. After such a big incident happened, they only punished a few senior executives. It seems that before long, when the incident is over, everything will be all right again."

Next to her, Channing said indifferently, "People's memories are short. They will always be attracted by fresh things."

Her intuition told her that this incident wasn't so simple and it hadn't been over yet.

If Daniel's plan was only to get Steward Group to be impacted by the public opinion, they shouldn't have planned such a huge arrangement.

Right then, Emmett showed up at the gate.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Stella, may I have a private talk with you, please?"

Stella nodded and walked out of the studio with him.

It was office hour, so there were limited passersby on the street.

Emmett and Stella walked shoulder-by-shoulder along the street. After a long while, Emmett said, "Stella, I must apologize for what happened that night. I knew you like Clarence Conrad, but I still had a fluke idea to ask you to go home with me."

Stella asked, "Have you explained to your parents?"

Emmett nodded, "Yes. I've told them everything bluntly."

Did they blame you?

No, they didn't. Emmett looked in distance, "They asked me to think it through."

As he spoke, Emmett stopped walking and turned to look at her, "I've thought it over, Stella. Let's keep being friends from now on. I wish you happy."

Stella parted her lips. With a smile, she said, "Thank you, Emmett."

Mr. Conrad is kind of arrogant, but I have to admit that he's a super capable man. Otherwise, he wouldn't have forced the Conrad family into such a circumstance now. He'll surely take good care of you if you marry him, said Emmett, "Well, I've got to go now. See you, Stella."

When Emmett took a few steps, Stella suddenly stopped him.

He turned around, "What's the matter?"

Stella originally wanted to ask him about the Steward family. However, when the words reached the tip of her tongue, she just shook her head, "Nothing. Thank you for being so kind to me in the past few weeks."

Emmett answered, "You are welcome, Stella. I'm quite happy to be with you in the past few weeks."

After Emmett was gone far, Stella turned around and was about to go back to her studio, but she saw a figure not far away. It seemed that the person was deliberately hiding from her.

Stella couldn't help but frown. She slowly put her hand into her coat pocket, pinching her cell phone tightly.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Chapter 280: She Doesn’t Know You

On the way back to her studio, Stella walked quite carefully. Her intuition told her that someone was falling her all the way.

Fortunately, it was the daytime, and the person wasn't so bold. Hence, she was only followed instead of getting any other harm.

After something happened to her studio and Channing, Stella became more alert than she used to be.

As soon as she arrived at the studio, she informed Channing, Sherry, and the two employees, asking them to be careful recently and better not to go out alone.

Upon hearing it, Sherry couldn't help but cursed, "It must be Phoebe Steward again! That bitch is so hypocritical and disgusting! After such an incident, she still wants to harm you. Phew!"

Stella said, "No matter who's behind it, he or she must have an evil intention. We all must be careful."

After finishing her words, Stella turned around, only to find that Channing was frowning slightly and looking quite angry.

She asked, "Chan, what are you thinking about?"

Channing was bought back to his senses by her question, "Nothing. Stella, you should tell me if you want to go out from now on. I'll accompany you."

Stella smiled, "All right. It's not that exaggerating. As long as we pay some attention, your school is open soon, and you should be careful as well. I don't hope the thing last time would happen again." Channing didn't speak. His thin lips parted a bit, but he didn't utter any word.

In the evening, when Stella was about to close the studio door, Sherry poked her with her own elbow, "Stella, please leave the rest to me. The capitalist is here to pick you up." Stella was speechless.

She looked back, only to find the familiar Rolls-Royce was parked at the door of the studio.

Stella coughed, "Just ignore him."

Sherry said, "You don't need to be so polite to me. Hurry up and go. You have the guts to make him wait, but I don't."

Stella was pushed and dragged by Sherry out of the studio.

When she pulled the door of the car open, Clarence was on the phone. He turned to cast her a glance, hinting at her to wait for him.

Stella wasn't in a hurry. She pulled out her cell phone, starting to play a game.

After a dozen minutes, Clarence hung up the phone. He asked, "What do you want to have for dinner?"

Everything's fine. I'm not so picky as you.

Clarence raised his eyebrows, driving towards a restaurant.

After half an hour, the car was pulled over in front of a private cuisine.

A waiter led them to the VIP box on the second floor. They heard noises from the box next door. Stella paused her steps and looked over subconsciously.

The next second, a woman with a pale face ran out of the box. She couldn't have the time to find the garbage can before vomiting at the corner. Men's laughter was heard in the box.

A man said, "Are you good at drinking or not? If not, don't waste our time."

Another man laughed and pretended to scold him, "What are you talking about? What a waste if you only ask such a pretty woman to drink!"

As they spoke, others let out some teasing laughter with implications.

It sounded quite disgusting.

After vomiting, the woman leaned against the door weakly. Even she knew the men in the whole box looked down upon her and even had some nasty intentions on her, she had to hold back her anger, "Misters, I've drunk the liquor. For the thing that you've promised me, could you..."

Why so rush? It's still too early. Come on in. Let's go on drinking.

When Stella was watching the scene, her wrist was grabbed. She was dragged into the box. Clarence said, "What's so fun about the scene? They are just a few booze bags, but they don't know they are also nothing to others."

Stella looked at him, "Who are they..."

They are working for Steward Group. Clarence lowered his head to check the time on his wristwatch, "If you are not hungry, let's change a restaurant."

Let's eat here.

During dinner, Stella always looked absent-minded.

Clarence asked, "Don't you like the dishes?"

Nah. They are quite yummy.

He looked a bit unhappy, "Then, don't you like having dinner with me?"

Stella said crossly, "Mr. Conrad, can you keep quiet while eating?"

If she hadn't wanted to have dinner with him, she could go home directly. Why would she have come here with her? She was not nuts, was she?

After a thought, she put down the tableware in her hands, "I need to use the bathroom."

Clarence said, "Leave your bag here."

I'm not escaping.

Stella didn't intend to take her bag to the restaurant, either. She was just getting some tissues from it.

While she passed by the box next door, she purposely paused for a few seconds, only to hear that there was still laughter in there. The dinner should still be going on.

As soon as she entered the ladies' room, she happened to kick something.

Stella looked down and saw a hammered woman. She was Madison.

It turned out that her husband was one of Steward Group's senior executives to be punished this time.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown up here.

Steward Group had such a huge problem, but its senior executives were still having fun here. They even took the chance to get their kicks from humiliating others. How ridiculous! Stella squatted down, patting her gently, "Madison, wake up."

Madison had been hammered. She only tilted her head without any other response.

Stella looked around. She could only help her up. She decided to ask the restaurant employees to take care of her, letting them contact her family to pick her up. Unexpectedly, when Stella helped Madison out of the ladies' room, she encountered two senior executives from Steward Group, who came over to look for Madison.

Seen them, they exchanged a glance with each other. One of them said, "Hey, beautiful. This woman is our friend. You can leave her to me."

Before Stella answered, Madison seemed to be conscious. She took a few steps back behind Stella and mumbled vaguely, "No... Don't..."

Stella looked over at them and said indifferently, "I don't think she knows you."

She's drunk so she doesn't know anyone. It's normal. Beautiful, if you can't rest assured, you can go with us to ride her home together. Our car is parked downstairs. What do you say? "Do you know where she lives?"

One of them said, "Of course. Not far from here. It'll take less than ten minutes. Let's go there together."

Stella sneered. She could understand what was in their minds without a thought.

She said, "Unfortunately, she's my college student. She lives in the eastern town. It'll take at least half an hour to get her home. I don't know where the place that will take less than ten minutes is."

Upon hearing it, both men looked annoyed. They knew she refused them. Hence, they said rudely, "Since you are not willing to leave her to us, you can serve us together with her. As long as we're happy, probably we can agree to your condition."

Stella laughed, "Agree? Who do you think you are? Even Charles Steward dared not to make the promise. How can you make it so certainly?"☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐