Chapter 42

On Monday, when Stella woke up in her room, she still felt a bit dizzy and heavy-headed. Her alcohol tolerance wasn't the best, but yesterday, there were some people from the orphanage at Shane's wedding. It had been a long time since she had seen them, and the atmosphere was good. Natalie was driving so she couldn't drink, but Stella had quite a few glasses. That's why she was feeling a bit tipsy. Rubbing her temples, Stella took off her pajamas and headed into the bathroom for a shower. When she came downstairs, she found that Ethan and Alex were already sitting in the dining room. On the table were milk and simple toast with fried eggs. There was a silent atmosphere between the two of them. The man was wearing gray home clothes, sitting casually, browsing financial news on his tablet with his eyes lowered. Alex was sitting across from Ethan, his body a bit tense, his round blue eyes fixed on the plate in front of him. When Ethan saw Stella approaching, his eyes brightened as if he had seen a savior. Glancing at the fried eggs on the table, Stella was a bit surprised and asked, "Did you make breakfast?" Ethan didn't really have much talent for cooking, and fried eggs and congee were the only two meals he could make decently. Putting down his tablet, he looked at her strangely for a moment before nodding, "Yeah." Stella didn't pay much attention to it, she just rubbed Alex's head, sat down at her own seat, and started eating breakfast. However, that slightly intimidating gaze was still locked onto her the whole time. Feeling inexplicably watched, after a while, she finally looked up, furrowing her brows. "Is there something on my face?" "No," Ethan raised an eyebrow, his lips curling slightly, "but—" "Are you forgetting something with your nonchalant attitude right now?" The man's voice grew heavy, tinged with a hint of accusation. Stella looked puzzled, furrowing her brows as she pondered. The memories after leaving the wedding yesterday were a bit fragmented. She only remembered Natalie sending her back to the villa, and then... it seemed like she stumbled into her room with her last flicker of consciousness. Pausing for a moment, she met the man's gaze, tentatively asking, "What am I forgetting?" Ethan leaned back in his chair with ease, chuckling lightly. He pointed at the screen of the tablet nearby and then handed it to her. Casually, he said, "Actions speak louder than words. Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Stella hesitated before accepting it. On the screen was footage from the living room surveillance. Alex was about to leave the country in a few days and had delicately told Stella that he didn't want a nanny anymore. Stella felt it might be because of his previous nanny that he had developed some resistance, so she didn't insist. After all, Alex would go to school during the day, and these days there was also a driver to pick him up and drop him off. But occasionally, when she and Ethan came home late, Alex would be alone at home. Afraid that something might happen to him, they had installed a camera in the living room the day before yesterday. At this moment, as Stella watched the footage from last night, her expression gradually stiffened on her face. The impact of the screen was too great, leaving her embarrassed and stunned, unable to snap out of it. Even though she knew she didn't handle alcohol well, she never imagined she would be so active under its influence! From the footage, it was evident that Ethan always maintained an appropriate distance from her. It was she who made advances, kissed him, and then proceeded upstairs on her own. After suffering "unfair" treatment, Ethan, seeing that she was unsteady on her feet, kindly helped her to her room. Feeling remorseful and ashamed, Stella lowered her head, unable to meet Ethan's eyes. Silently, he took in her expression, and with a cryptic smile, he said, "What? Not planning to explain yourself?" With that said, he noticed Alex looking puzzled as he peered over, so he gave him a brief glance and said, "Kid, go upstairs and play with your toys." Alex had been afraid of Ethan these days, so now he didn't dare to disobey him. With a cautious look at Stella, he carefully hopped off the chair and then hurried back to his room. The dining room quieted down, leaving only the two of them. After a long silence, Stella lifted her head, attempting to explain to the man, "I got drunk last night..." "And?" Ethan interjected. "And... my head wasn't quite clear," Stella admitted. Inadvertently, she had taken advantage of him. At her words, he raised an eyebrow lightly, his tone neutral, "Stella, is that your explanation?" Pausing for a moment, Stella sighed and earnestly said, "Rest assured, I will... try to make it up to you as best as I can." "You sound confident," Ethan chuckled, "So, tell me, what can you offer me as compensation?" Stella choked up. Truth be told, she really didn't know how to make it up to Ethan. After all, he seemed to lack nothing. Seeing her silence, Ethan raised an eyebrow lazily and asked, "Can't think of anything?" After a pause, Stella met his gaze and said, "What do you want as compensation? As long as it's within my ability, I'll do my best." "Oh Really?" "Yeah," Stella nodded. After a brief silence, the man chuckled lightly, his tone playful, "Well then, I'll have to think about it." Stella breathed a sigh of relief, but then she heard his casual hint, "Stella, since you've already taken advantage, don't think you can just... dodge the bill when I make my demands. After all, it's payback time." ... After their conversation, the atmosphere returned to calmness. In the days that followed, both of them tacitly skipped over Stella's drunken episode. Despite initially feeling somewhat embarrassed, she gradually returned to her usual self within the man's natural demeanor. On Thursday morning, she took a half day off to take care of the remaining procedures with Alex. While waiting in the lobby, Alex's mood remained low, and he didn't speak a word. Once the paperwork was done at the Civil Affairs Bureau, he followed behind Stella and got into the car. With his chubby face twisted in thought for a while, Alex suddenly asked, "Will you still come to see me?" Stella was taken aback for a moment as she helped him fasten the child safety seat belt, responding vaguely, "Maybe." She always had to consider Ethan's attitude and didn't want to make promises to the child that she might not be able to keep. Alex lowered his head and whispered, "When we get to Auntie's place, will I not see Mom anymore?" Stella fell silent, nodding gently. Not long after the last visit, Jessica confessed to the police about the part involving her husband, Charles White, and provided powerful evidence. Though there were still parts for the police to investigate, Charles was likely to face imprisonment. Recently, Stella took Alex to see Jessica for the last time, informing her that Alex would soon be leaving the country. With that in mind, she smiled at Alex and softly asked, "Alex, do you hate your brother?" During this period, Ethan's attitude toward Alex was far from gentle, and the little boy didn't dare say a word in front of him. However, they were harmonious in many details. Sometimes, even Stella couldn't understand their attitudes toward each other. Upon hearing her question, Alex furrowed his brow, took a while to respond, and then shook his head, "Actually... I don't really hate him. I know it was Mom who did something wrong and got taken away by the police. The teacher told me that when someone makes a mistake, they have to accept punishment." Stella smiled and patted his head. "It's good that you understand." Jessica was still a mother; at least she raised Alex well and didn't instill any resentment towards Dylan Powers and Ethan in him. After closing the car door for Alex, Stella had just sat in the driver's seat when she received a message from Layla. "Where are you now?" Stella typed a reply, "Just finished handling things for Alex and heading back to the company after dropping him off. What's up?" "Have you seen that gossip post?" Layla asked. "What?" After a while, Layla sent her a link with a title. "Exposing the inside story of a certain actress's marriage breakdown." Stella raised an eyebrow and clicked on the link. Ten minutes later, she finally finished reading the long post. She understood what Layla meant. The protagonist of the post had been identified; it was Gina Fortland, whom she had met at Tina's Studio not long ago. Recently, news had spread about Gina and her husband from outside the industry separating for a year. It was said that her husband insisted on not getting a divorce, always making excuses to delay. However, the post mentioned that Gina had recently gotten involved with a certain CEO, which significantly improved her resources and pressured her husband into hastily processing the divorce. The various descriptions clearly pointed to Stella's own husband, Ethan Powers , as the person closely connected to Gina. The whistleblower even dug up Gina's history, proving she had studied at Jefferson High School for a year and had known a certain CEO for a long time. Stella was lost in thought, silent for a while, before being interrupted by the ringtone of her phone. She frowned before answering the unfamiliar call.