Chapter 40

Upon hearing Ethan's words, Stella was momentarily stunned. She regained her composure, thought for a moment, and then pulled him to the study. Closing the door of the study, she met the man's direct gaze. She took a deep breath and said softly, "Can you please not get angry about what I'm going to tell you?" She couldn't gauge Ethan's attitude towards Alex. But when she went to see Alex in the afternoon, the Fang family's nanny treated Alex like a burden and left after packing his things. Stella couldn't bring herself to leave a six-year-old child alone in the apartment. Seeing her expression, Ethan pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow slightly. "What, still feeling guilty? Could it be that the child really has something to do with you?" As far as he knew, there weren't any relatives in the Carlson family with such a child. And on her mother's side, there was only an uncle who was a diplomat, who wasn't even in the country. "No," Stella shook her head, sighed, "He has nothing to do with me, but he... has something to do with you." "Something to do with me?" Ethan chuckled at her words, adopting a casual tone, and said directly, "I will never, ever have any illegitimate child. Then you can send him back." Meeting his earnest gaze, Stella recalled Jessica's repeated insinuations and her eyebrows twitched slightly. "Oh? Why are you so sure?" "Do I need a reason for that?" The man raised his eyebrows, caught her somewhat strange gaze, and then furrowed his brow lightly. "What's with that look?" Putting aside the slight doubt in her heart, Stella breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "You're overthinking it. That child's name is Alex, he's... your father's son." Jessica was only a few months pregnant when Dylan had his accident and divorced. Ethan knew of Alex's existence but had never met him. "Your Aunt wanted to adopt him, so she asked me to bring Alex over and handle the formalities before sending him abroad," Stella explained. "I originally planned to take him to the apartment, but the Fang family's nanny was unreasonable, and I couldn't find a replacement nanny. So, I had no choice but to bring him back home." After explaining everything, she tugged at the man's sleeve and whispered, "Alex will stay for two days. I know I should have discussed it with you. Please don't be mad, okay?" Ethan caught a glimpse of her glistening fingertips on his sleeve, gently clasped them, and then slowly averted his gaze. "Do you think I'm so easily angered?" "No, you have a 'good' temper," Stella said, chuckling at the slight raise of his chin. "So, can he stay at home for a few days?" Ethan paused, glanced at her, and nodded slightly. It was just for two days anyway, and he didn't need to be so petty about it. But Stella had acted as if she was facing a major crisis. With the matter settled, she felt relieved. They opened the door and went downstairs. In the kitchen, there was dinner prepared by Stella in advance. As they sat down for the meal, Alex carefully glanced at Ethan, quietly climbed onto a slightly high chair, and sat down on Stella's left side. Stella served him some meat, and Alex ate with relish, not requiring anyone else's attention. The atmosphere at the dinner table was relatively quiet. After a while, Ethan glanced at what Alex discreetly spat out and furrowed his brows. He said coldly, "Who taught you to be picky about food?" Alex shrank his body slightly, lowered his head, and stuttered, "I... can't eat ginger." Stella glanced sideways and indeed saw that Alex had spat out the ginger from the tomato beef stew. Ethan wasn't particularly picky about food, but he didn't like eating ginger either. But when cooking, she always used a bit of ginger to remove the gamey taste, so she would cut the ginger into larger pieces, making it easy for him to notice. Alex didn't know, so he mistook that big chunk of ginger for a potato in the tomato beef stew. When he put it in his mouth, he spat it out again. Ethan caught Stella's disapproving look, snorted lightly, but didn't say anything more. After finishing the meal, Ethan cleared the plates as usual and then took Stella's bowl. Seeing this, Alex also cautiously handed over his own bowl. Ethan just glanced at the bowl but didn't take it. After a while, he raised his eyebrows slightly and casually said, "Kid, meals aren't free. Go to the kitchen and wash the dishes." Alex pouted and hugged his bowl, taking small steps as he followed Ethan into the kitchen. Stella hesitated for a moment and followed the two into the kitchen. After all, Alex was just a six-year-old child, and the sink in the kitchen was a bit high, making it difficult for him to wash the dishes. Moreover, Ethan was standing beside him, silently staring at him, his gaze intimidating. Stella sighed and said, "Alright, don't scare him." The man didn't say anything but withdrew his gaze from Alex. Alex carefully washed the dishes, his eyes cautious. He glanced at Ethan and handed the dishes to him. Ethan casually lifted his eyelids, glanced at Alex, causing him to retract his hand because of fear. Ethan chuckled, "What a coward. I wonder who you take after." He put away the dishes and placed them in the cupboard. After finishing washing the dishes, Alex lowered his head and saw the water stains on his sleeves. He rubbed his fingers and looked at Stella, saying, "I want to take a shower." Ethan leaned against the door a few steps away, his arms crossed, and said lightly, "You're old enough, can't you bathe yourself?" Alex bit his lip and shook his head slightly. The man pursed his lips and frowned, "Do you know the difference between boys and girls? Do you dare to let her bathe you?" Under Stella's resigned gaze, he then picked up Alex, whose eyes were filled with tears, and carried him into the bedroom. The door to the master bedroom seemed to be left open. After a while, Stella heard Alex crying upstairs, along with the man's frustrated voice. "You little brat, if you cry again, I'll throw you out right now." Alex whimpered softly, "But my eyes are too spicy." Suddenly, Stella was worried if Ethan could handle it, but she couldn't just barge in. She had to wait outside the door. When the two emerged, Alex was wrapped in a towel by Ethan, his face grim, and thrown into the 'children's room' on the other side of the master bedroom. Seeing his disheveled appearance, Stella couldn't help but laugh. Ethan raised an eyebrow and brushed his index finger, tinged with shower gel, against her cheek. "What are you laughing at? Who do you think caused this?" Stella was momentarily stunned, her cheek instinctively brushing against his damp finger. Stella was momentarily stunned, feeling the cool touch of his damp cheek under her instinctive fingertips. Somehow, there was suddenly a feeling that the two of them were already in a relationship. Looking at the man's shirt sleeve soaked with water and the few strands of hair dripping with water on his forehead, Stella took the towel from his hand and whispered, "Let me help you wipe it." Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly, a curve forming at his lips, and nodded nonchalantly, "Okay." ... The next day happened to be the weekend. Stella received a SnapChat message from Tina, saying that she had already sent the wedding photos they took last time to her email. The single prints were also ready, and she asked when it would be convenient for her so that she could send them over with her assistant. Thinking that she had nothing to do during the day and considering that the villa area was not easy to find, Stella simply asked the driver to take her to Tina's studio to pick up the wedding photos. Alex was still asleep. She briefly greeted Ethan and then left. The Bentley stopped at an office building in the business district. Stella got out of the car and walked into the building, pressing the button for the elevator to the tenth floor. When Tina's assistant saw her, she led Stella to the lounge next to the studio. "Please wait here. I'll go get the photos for you." The glass behind the lounge was transparent. Stella took a sip of water and glanced up to see Tina operating the camera to photograph a model. There were quite a few staff members around, indicating that it was a collaborative shoot for a magazine. The stylishly dressed model looked familiar. She was a well-known TV host in the entertainment industry, named Gina Fortland. Due to her sweet appearance, she had garnered a large fan base since her debut, and she had gradually begun acting in dramas. Unfortunately, she faded from the spotlight for a while before reemerging recently. After finishing the shoot, Tina caught sight of Stella sitting in the lounge and walked in with Gina from the studio. She smiled and introduced, "Mrs. Powers, this is my friend who is here today to shoot the cover for Vogue." "Hello, Mrs. Powers. I'm Gina." Seeing Tina's polite demeanor, Gina also smiled and extended her hand to greet Stella. Stella smiled back and said, "I know you. I've watched your programs. You have your own style." The three of them exchanged a few words briefly. Soon enough, Tina's assistant had retrieved the wedding photos. Seeing this, Stella bid farewell with a smile, "You guys continue with your work. I'll head out first." The wedding photos with frames were quite large. Tina had her assistant follow her to the car downstairs to place them in the trunk. After they left, Gina spoke up, "Who is this Mrs. Powers?" "She's the heiress of the Carlson family. She just took over the company from the late President Carlson and is also the wife of Horizon Group's CEO," Tina replied. She had a wide network, and she had some acquaintance with Gina. "I see. Is she the one who was previously implicated by Avery?" Tina nodded, "Yeah." "Avery has been quiet lately. It looks like she suffered a setback from Mrs. Powers. She used to be the fiancee of Aaron." When Gina debuted, she and Avery were considered rivals. In the past few years, as Gina gradually faded, Avery didn't miss the chance to kick her while she was down. Tina lightly furrowed her brow, a hint of warning in her eyes. "Mrs. Powers is married now. Let's not bring up past matters to avoid problems." Gina nodded thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, Mrs. Powers and Mr. Powers have been married for a few months now. Why are they only taking their wedding photos now?" Tina didn't answer directly. Instead, she smiled and said, "Isn't it the same for you and your husband? You had your wedding photos and ceremony later, right?" "We don't have much of a choice in our profession," Gina shook her head. Being married could severely damage the image of female celebrities who portrayed sweetness and innocence. If Avery hadn't exposed her marriage back then, she wouldn't have been sidelined for so long. Tina continued reassuringly, "As long as your husband treats you well, that's what matters." Gina nodded slowly. "Yeah." ... Stella retrieved the wedding photos from Tina's studio and went straight back to the villa. In the living room, Ethan sat on the sofa and glanced back at the frames the driver had brought in. Stella looked around before asking, "Where's Alex?" "Isaac took him to the amusement park," the man's voice was calm and composed. Stella was somewhat surprised, "Isaac is taking care of the child?" Hearing the admiration in her voice, Ethan furrowed his brow lightly and glanced at her, "What's so difficult about that?" With that said, he picked up something from the coffee table, walked over to Stella, and handed her an exquisite and gorgeous box. "Here, this is for you," he said. Stella reached out and took it. When she opened it, inside was a dazzling sapphire necklace. The rich blue sapphire sparkled and shimmered in the light. At a glance, it was clear that it was quite expensive. Ethan observed her expression and casually remarked, "I attended a charity gala a couple of days ago and picked this up on a whim." His tone made it sound like he was buying cabbage. But after a moment, seeing Stella looking at the necklace without saying anything, he spoke again in a casual tone, "What do you think?" Stella met his gaze, smiled lightly, and nodded, "Yeah, I really like it." The man curled his lips and asked, "Do you have time at the end of the month?" Stella thought for a moment. Things were already settling down in the North city, and she didn't have any urgent work on hand. So she replied, "Probably. Why?" Ethan's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he cleared his throat lightly, asking, "How about going on a honeymoon?" "A honeymoon?" Stella looked up at him. "Yeah, isn't it your birthday?"