Chapter 33

The evidence and materials regarding Dean's embezzlement of project funds to overseas accounts had long been secretly collected. Although the litigation process was slow, since his actions involved criminal offenses, aside from initiating legal proceedings, Stella also reported the case to the public security bureau the next day. With a considerable amount involved in the case, the news of Dean's detention sent shockwaves through Carlson Group internally. As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Seeing that Dean was unlikely to recover, even those who had initially adopted a wait-and-see attitude began to hesitate and curry favor with Stella. While Dean had covered his tracks well in handling the shady dealings of the businesses he managed, not all members of the Fletcher family were as clean. Without Dean as their backbone, the rest of the family, even if they desired to resist, lacked the means to turn the tide. Although the Fletcher family had attempted to manipulate Avery, she remained clear-headed this time. No matter how earnestly the Fletcher family members advised her, she distanced herself from that group. Lionel and others were suspended from their positions one after another, and Stella temporarily assumed the position of general manager, promoting several experienced old employees within Carlson Group. These employees had started working at Carlson Group during the tenure of her father, Griffin. Luke took on the case of Stella suing Dean, and for quite some time, Stella shuttled between the company, law firm, and courthouse, leaving her with no time to have dinner with Ethan. By the time she finally had some free time again and regained leisurely weekends, it was already more than half a month later. ... On Saturday morning, Stella finished her workout. Just coming out of the gym, as she descended the stairs, Stella saw Ethan entering the dining room with two bowls of congee. Catching her eye, the man lifted his chin slightly, lazily gesturing to her, "Come eat." Though it was called eating, Stella knew very well that Ethan had probably only managed to make plain congee. She had been too busy before to know how Ethan had suddenly developed an interest in cooking. He did try hard, but unfortunately, his talent was lacking; his cooking skills were worse than his political achievements back then. Mostly, it lacked the careful attention to timing and patience. After being busy for almost half a month, the most successful thing he had made was plain congee. Stella walked into the dining room and sat down, picking up the sugar jar beside her and adding some to the congee. Before she could take a few sips, the person across suddenly got up, went to the coffee table in the living room, and fetched a document, handing it to her. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What's this?" "A stock transfer agreement." The man leaned lazily against the chair back, lifting his eyelids to look at her. Stella glanced at the document. Indeed, it was the 5% share of Carlson Group that her grandfather had left for him. The inheritance left by her grandfather had only recently been transferred. Closing the document, she shook her head and pushed the stock transfer agreement back to him. "These shares were given to you by Thomas. You should keep them." Stella knew Ethan was wealthy and wouldn't care about this 5% share of Carlson Group. But her grandfather had liked him before he passed away, and considering how busy Ethan was, he often took the time to visit her grandfather. It was only right that he had these shares. Seeing her refusal, Ethan raised an eyebrow casually and chuckled, "Huh, you accepted the 35% of shares from Aaron, but you're worried about these trivial gains?" The man's tone was oddly cryptic. Stella's hand holding the spoon suddenly stiffened, then she looked up at him. Meeting Ethan's seemingly clear and mocking eyes, she felt a slight tremor in her heart and instinctively clenched her fingertips. Previously, he was quite open in front of Dean, wasn't he? Why now, suddenly concerned about this matter again? Although Stella didn't know why Ethan brought this up out of the blue, she still explained to him, "There's a reason for that. In the early stages of founding New Era, I gave Aaron some money, which could be considered a kind of investment. And..." "And what?" His tone was casual, with a slight uplift at the end. Stella paused slightly, then continued, "And these 30% are B shares, only eligible for dividends. You also said this is our... marital property." At the time of their marriage registration, they were a bit hasty and didn't sign a prenuptial agreement regarding property issues. Strictly speaking, in terms of post-marital dividend income, Ethan did indeed have the right to enjoy half of it. He might not care about this money now, but if he needed it, Stella would give it to him. After all, he had previously said they were... family. The man's inexplicable emotions just now seemed to come and go quickly. After Stella finished speaking, Ethan raised his eyebrows lightly and casually nodded, "Okay, as long as you know." Although her refusal made him a bit uncomfortable, she at least showed some awareness of her married status. For now, he decided not to dwell on it with her. Ethan chuckled lightly, then casually changed the subject, "Oh, by the way, what about the agreement extension we talked about before?" It had been over a month since they discussed extending the agreement, but because their marriage period was still long, they hadn't brought it up again. Hearing Ethan mention it, Stella pursed her lips and lowered her gaze, "Well, how long do you want to extend it?" Ethan's throat cleared smoothly, and he spoke calmly, "If we both still find being together enjoyable, there's no reason not to... to keep going like this." There was a subtle tremor in her voice, not easily detectable. "Yeah," Stella murmured softly. Her voice was gentle, like a feather brushing past the ear. Ethan hesitated for a moment, his gaze becoming deeper as he looked at her, assessing, "Stella, what did you just say?" Thinking he hadn't heard clearly, Stella set down her spoon and nodded with a light laugh, "I said, sure." In Ethan's bright and clear eyes, there was a gleam of pure charm. Stella's unexpected smile caught him off guard, stirring his heart. So, maintaining his composure, he lowered his head slowly, intending to take a sip of the porridge to conceal his emotions— But the next moment, the porridge in front of him had already been gently moved away by a pair of delicate, rosy hands. "The porridge has cooled," Stella furrowed her brow, stood up, and said, "Your stomach isn't feeling well. I'll go get you another bowl." ... On Monday morning, shortly after Stella arrived at the company, she received an unexpected phone call. Perhaps fearing she might hang up, the caller quickly and directly stated the purpose of the call, then asked her to meet at a nearby café. Amidst the bustling office buildings, the Hong Kong-style café offered a quiet oasis. Inside, the atmosphere was elegant, with leisurely and soothing music playing in the background. At ten o'clock, Stella arrived at the café as agreed. After scanning the area for a few seconds, she walked straight to a window seat and sat down, placing her handbag on the table. Looking at the woman sitting across from her wearing sunglasses, Stella got straight to the point, "Are you planning to sell your shares?" Avery, dressed modestly at this moment, had been waiting in the café for a while. She glanced at Stella and nodded, then took out a document from her bag, saying, "This is the share transfer agreement. I've already signed it." Stella took the document with a downward glance, flipping through a few pages briefly. Indeed, as Avery had said, the names of the transferors were all signed, and the stamps were affixed. The price offered was reasonable enough. However— "What's the reason?" Stella asked. Not long ago, Avery had retrieved the 10% held on her behalf from Dean, adding to the 5% she had just inherited, making it a total of 15%. Stella still had the 10% gifted to her by Thomas when she came of age. Once Stella got Avery's shares, she would own more than 50% of the shares. But she didn't quite understand why Avery would do this. "The reason? You might not know, but Aaron's condition for helping me was to transfer the shares to you," Avery chuckled self-deprecatingly. "He even insisted I don't negotiate too much with you, preferring to compensate me privately. But Stella, I don't think this price is unreasonable." With New Era's profits soaring in the past two years, since Aaron had given Stella 30%, she certainly wasn't short of money. Stella frowned at the words, nodding lightly. "The money will be transferred to your account." Since Avery was willing to transfer the shares, regardless of the reason, Stella wouldn't refuse. She would deal with Aaron's account separately. In fact, there were still some unresolved interests between them, so it was better to settle everything at once. Avery noticed her seeming inclination to leave, paused, and finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask the most, "By now, we both know Aaron truly loves you. Since it's clear he hasn't been unfaithful, why did you break up with him?" After she finished speaking, Stella lifted her gaze quietly. Why did she break up with Aaron? In reality, she had different answers to this question at different stages. Now, it seemed the most fundamental issue was that she and Aaron were never truly compatible from the beginning. When she started to develop feelings for Aaron because of his kindness and tolerance when they were younger, she should have understood that his benevolence extended to many. Later, when she had decided to break off the engagement and withdraw, she never considered accepting Aaron's pursuit, but was moved when she received the jade Buddha. However, she always held back in this relationship. If things ended amicably, no one would blame anyone. Stella didn't answer Avery's question but instead said, "I heard that Jonathan wanted you and Aaron to get engaged." She received this information from Kate's frustrated message on SnapChat. At these words, Avery bit her lip. "Yes, but he adamantly refused." Stella didn't care whether Aaron refused or not. The reason she asked was simply because of her grandfather. With this in mind, she sighed, shook her head, and bid farewell to Avery. "Avery, after today, we have nothing to do with each other." Officially, her grandfather had given her a large portion of the shares. But before leaving, he still wanted to ensure Avery had a good way out. He loved both of them. Thomas gave those 5 shares to Avery partly in the hope that Stella and Avery would reconcile someday. The old man's wish was good, and Stella didn't blame him for holding onto that hope even on his deathbed. But Ethan had said not to worry so much. Sometimes, she also wanted to simply make herself a little happier. Without Thomas as the intermediary, she and Avery were strangers from now on, with no deeper connection. She wouldn't bother with Avery's affairs either. Even if she was alone, she would start a new life. The Horizon Group Building, CEO's office. Jason finally made it to mealtime after enduring, only to find Ethan leisurely unpacking the newly bought microwave on the top floor. He furrowed his brow as he approached Ethan. "I heard Aaron gave Stella 30% of the shares. Is that true?" Jason knew about this because Luke took on Stella's case against Dean. He went to observe the trial that day and only then realized Stella was also filthy rich. Upon hearing his words, Ethan continued reading the microwave's manual, not bothering to look up, and responded nonchalantly, "Yeah." Jason couldn't help but sigh. "Why are you reacting like this?" "Well, what reaction should I have then?" Ethan understood what Jason meant. He chuckled lightly and looked up casually. "Do you know what joint marital property means? Is it worth our trouble to pick a fight with someone who's working for us?" Jason didn't know how to retort. He thought, ""Fine, when it comes to shamelessness, you know how to define it." Seeing Ethan was not worried at all, Jason stopped dwelling on the topic and shifted his gaze to the microwave, asking, "Why did you add a microwave?" Ethan didn't reply, silently placing the sandwich he had brought in the morning into the microwave to heat it up. Jason felt suspicious but didn't inquire further. He unpacked his takeout, then went to the water cooler to pour two cups of water, handing one to Ethan. "What's wrong?" Jason frowned at the man in front of him, who was touching the water glass. Ethan pursed his lips. "It's cold." "Yeah, so what if it's cold?" Jason felt puzzled. It was scorching hot outside, and neither of them was sick. Did he need to drink hot water? The microwave beeped, and Ethan set down the water glass, brushing off his clothes as he stood up. With a faint glance at Jason, he spoke with a drawl, "She said my stomach isn't good, I can't drink anything 'cold'." Jason thought, "Just getting married and you're acting so cool!"