Chapter 23

Stella frowned slightly, unable to recall any memories from high school where Ethan was particularly close to any girl. With his bad temper, it was only Jason who accompanied him all day long. Yet Stella didn't think there was anything between him and Jason, and their relationship was absolutely normal. Since Ethan couldn't forget his first love, why would he burden himself with the shackles of marriage and agree to fake marriage with her? After a moment of astonishment, she tentatively asked, "So your first love..." "Is also married," Ethan replied indifferently, then promptly retrieved the bracelet from Stella's palm and placed it back where it belonged. Seeing this, Stella, recalling his downcast expression in the living room just now, sighed, "Then you... take care." "Take care?" Ethan didn't seem to care either way, his blue eyes fixed on her. "Do you think I still have a chance?" Stella pursed her lips, still wanting to advise him not to be too stubborn and attempt to interfere in someone else's marital relationship. "Well..." She had just started to speak, but the man's expression seemed gloomy, and the words at the tip of his tongue took a sudden turn, "I heard that the divorce rate is very high nowadays, so don't be too disheartened." Ethan had just been smoking in the living room with a desolate mood, and she couldn't bear to add more blows at this time. She thought it was better to persuade him with reason slowly. "But my first love, I'm afraid, won't be getting divorced." Ethan looked at her with a heavy gaze, emotions hidden in his eyes, which immediately reminded Stella of his recent melancholy expression. "Nothing's impossible," she said. "Sternson and Taylor were once considered the model couple in the entertainment industry, but they ended up divorcing, didn't they? After a few years, they both married their respective first loves. But during their marriage, you shouldn't interfere. If one day she does get divorced and you're still single, anything is possible." Ethan seemed to take her words to heart, chuckling lightly. "That's simple enough. If she does get divorced one day... of course, I'll still be single." But then he added, "However, I still believe that the possibility of her getting divorced doesn't exist." Stella felt Ethan was expressing his admiration for his first love's marriage. She pursed her lips, only able to pick out his strengths to encourage him, saying, "At least you have other advantages that few men possess. Don't lose hope." "Oh? What advantages?" "You're handsome. Women actually appreciate good-looking men. As the saying goes, 'It's easier to move from frugality to luxury than from luxury to frugality.' Seeing you every day, at certain moments... inevitably leads to some comparisons. Who can surpass you?" Stella explained. Ignoring his arrogant and difficult personality, Ethan indeed had an extraordinary face. Even though his bad temper was well-known, he still received many anonymous love letters on Valentine's Day. Some girls were too shy to give them directly, so they often asked her to deliver them. He was relatively okay with the first few letters, but later on, he coldly rejected them. After Stella finished speaking, she silently apologized to his first love. She definitely didn't mean to imply that she was shallow. But if she said Ethan had no chance at all, it might stimulate him further and lead to more disappointment, which wouldn't be good. Considering his recent introspection, Stella's expression became even more serious. "Believe in yourself. You're very talented." Ethan's eyebrows lifted slightly at her words, a faint smile tugging at his lips, his tone slightly more earnest. "Yeah, I know." At that moment, his demeanor exuded calm confidence. Facing the man's natural expression, she couldn't help but start to doubt if that so-called first love was something Ethan made up to deceive her. After all, whose love story could be completely untraceable? What kind of love was this? The next day, Ethan's allergy was completely healed, and the two of them glossed over the incident from yesterday and went to work at the company as usual. Today was supposed to be the day to sign the contract with Horizon Group, but what surprised Stella slightly was that Simon didn't wait for her to come in the afternoon and personally delivered the contract instead. Ethan's name was already signed on it. Strictly speaking, this contract could have been signed at home. But Stella hoped to keep business and personal matters separate and more formal, so she planned to go to Horizon Group with Aurora herself in the afternoon. Since everything was already arranged, why did Ethan go out of his way to have the contract sent directly? This was a question Jason also wanted to know. "Stella said she's coming in the afternoon. Why did you have Simon send the contract over again?" Ever since Ethan got married, Jason hadn't seen Stella at all. He thought he would finally get to see her, but Ethan had pulled off such a move. "It's hot out, he wears sunscreen. And I gave him money, and he seemed very happy about it," Ethan glanced at him and explained lightly, Jason was speechless. Ethan posted pictures of his meals morning and evening on his Moments every day. He liked them every day, but he never received any thanks. Isaac knocked on the door and walked in, bringing along the takeout lunch that Jason had ordered. Jason took it and unpacked the dishes one by one, placing them on the table. Then he went to greet Isaac, saying, "I ordered for three people, let's eat together." In the past, he used to come to Ethan's place for lunch every day. Recently, Ethan had been eating the sandwiches he brought over every morning without complaint, and it had eased his annoyance somewhat after he started posting on his Moments. It had been a long time since Jason had eaten with him. Isaac glanced at the boss and nodded before taking a seat. But he didn't come over just to mooch a meal; he had something else to discuss. "The private detective agency we hired before seems to have taken on another client's case to investigate Jack and Mrs. Powers. Jack has even lost his job at the club now," Isaac reported. "Aaron definitely did it," Jason furrowed his brow, his expression clouded with disapproval at Aaron's scheme to be a homewrecker. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it for you. Despite Aaron's injuries improving, he's still in the hospital. Nonetheless, you still need to be cautious about his plan." Ethan frowned for a moment, then casually responded, "Okay." Considering Aaron's indecisive nature and Stella's recent attitude, he didn't think she would be swayed back by Aaron. But that didn't stop him from disliking Aaron. Seeing his calm demeanor, Jason thought he and Stella's relationship had taken a leap forward, which eased his mind a bit. After finishing the meal, he handed a cigarette to Ethan and Isaac respectively. But Ethan pushed his hand away. "Quit." Jason was stunned. "When did you quit smoking?" Isaac also looked surprised. How did he not know that the boss had quit smoking? Ethan calmly set down his fork, smirked at Jason, "Yesterday. Any problems?" Then he shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Married life, being controlled everywhere, what can I do?" Jason saw that he was showing off and thought to himself, "Well, aren't you quite something." ... Stella didn't need to go to Horizon Group to sign contracts in the afternoon, so she had time. She hopped into Aurora's car and went to the construction site in the North City for a field survey on the spur of the moment. The two followed the engineer around the site according to the planned design and returned just before quitting time. Aurora's red Volkswagen parked steadily in Carlson Group's underground parking lot, and the two got out of the car. Just as they reached the elevator in the parking lot, a somewhat familiar face suddenly rushed out from the side, blocking them at the elevator entrance. Grace had already been standing in the stuffy parking lot for over an hour, her fair face now covered in a thin layer of sweat, the sweat soaking her back, and her bangs sticking to her forehead. The guard refused to let her in to see Stella, so she had intended to wait until after work, but then she suddenly saw Stella getting out of the Volkswagen just now. Without hesitation, she intercepted them and said, "Stella, I'd like to talk to you." If there had been any other way, she definitely wouldn't have chosen to come and ask Stella for help. But the Connelly family had run out of options; her father couldn't see Ethan, so he forced her to come and find Stella. Stella looked up at the somewhat disheveled Grace, surprised at first, then her expression turned indifferent. "If you're here to talk about the Connelly family's affairs, you'd better leave. Your father meddled in Ethan's father's case, so he should have known the consequence," she said, coldly. When Ethan dropped her off at work this morning, he had warned her that someone might come to plead with her during this period. If someone else was insistent, she was to contact Isaac to handle it. Actually, Stella had noticed a while ago that Ethan was secretly working against the Connelly family. Grace's father, Ted Connelly, was now scrambling for help, and it was a bit late for that. The Connelly family had benefited from Dylan's case, and although Stella didn't know the specifics, Ted must have been involved. How could she agree to his requests? Seeing her reaction, Grace thought Stella was still holding a grudge against her past actions. "Do you mind that I used to help Avery? I'm really sorry. I was also deceived by her. Besides a few words of flattery for her, I never really did anything against you," she apologized, her tone sincere. Grace's relationship with Avery wasn't actually that great. She only buddied up to Avery because of Aaron's past attitude towards her. But not long ago, Aaron's statement had ruthlessly distanced himself from Avery. That's when Grace realized that Avery was using her as a pawn, letting her take the fall with Stella while protecting herself. Grace knew her father had an illegitimate child, and he wasn't particularly good to her. Ted only had her try to please Ethan because he was afraid Ethan would go after the Connelly family one day. But she also wanted to climb higher, so she didn't mind Ted's arrangements. However, every time she had the chance to speak up, she couldn't say more than a few words. But no matter what, the Connelly family had raised her and given her over twenty years of privilege. Now, with the sword hanging over her father's head, she couldn't just stand by and watch the Connelly family fall apart. "You are Ethan's wife after all. My father just wants to see Ethan once. Whether or not it happens, it doesn't matter as long as you mention it. As for the terms, my father said he has something that could make Dean lose everything," Grace said in a pleading tone. Ted and Dean had some acquaintance, and in such urgent times, Grace wouldn't just talk nonsense to deceive her. Stella's eyes flickered slightly, but after a moment, she still shook her head and refused. "I can't help you. And it has nothing to do with Avery, let alone any grudge against you." In the past, Grace liked to praise Avery while secretly belittling her, but she really hadn't done anything, so Stella didn't bother holding a grudge against her. "Well, then..." Seeing Stella's cold expression, Grace hesitated. In her impression, Stella had a good temper and rarely held grudges, so she agreed to Ted's request to give it a try. But judging by Stella's expression and tone, she did not seem to have a good temper. "Ethan is my husband now. How could I promise you for the sake of the benefits you mentioned and help someone involved in his father's case?" Stella said. Even if she couldn't get the so-called leverage from Ted, she could find other ways to deal with Dean. Though she and Ethan were contractually married, they were also partners. She naturally wouldn't help the Connelly family with this. As soon as she finished speaking, a familiar male voice came from behind, teasing and playful. "Stella, your husband is here to pick you up."