Chapter 60

The passionate kiss descended, and the soft tongue slipped into her mouth. Stella was kissed until she felt a bit breathless, her head spinning. When she regained consciousness, Ethan had already carried her into the bedroom, his entire body pressing down on her. In the darkness of the room, the warmth of his fingertips ignited a fire, clothes were shed, and the calluses on the man's fingertips lightly grazed the delicate skin behind her ears. His chin brushed against her with his short stubble, and at that moment, accompanied by his low, deep voice, the trailing notes trembled uncontrollably. ... After it ended, Stella was completely drained of energy, only able to slump weakly in his embrace. Ethan embraced her from behind, tucking the stray hairs behind her cheek, his slender fingertips twirling a strand of hair, his voice filled with contentment. "The soundproofing in the guest room isn't good," he abruptly remarked. "What?" Stella hadn't quite processed what he said. Then, she heard his low, amused voice, "So, should we move to the master bedroom?" There was a pause. "Okay," she murmured, smiling gently and nodding slightly. After that, Stella turned around, hugging him, burying her head in his chest. Compared to the intensity just moments ago, she enjoyed the quiet solitude with him more now. Ethan ran his fingers through her hair, planting a kiss on her forehead, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Are you unhappy again?" "I met Ella today." "Then?" "I didn't know that it was you who held me when I was brought out of the equipment room." She tightened her arms around him, her voice barely above a whisper. Ethan sighed, "Are you crying?" "I thought I'd never feel regret, but now... it seems like there's a bit of remorse." Stella felt regret for the first time, heartaching for him and everything he went through with this emotion. Ethan chuckled, "Is that all you regret? Remember how you used to control me?" How did she used to control him? Stella thought carefully. Back then, she was a bit meddlesome herself. At first, Ethan would sit behind her. Every time he skipped class and returned, he would have some minor injuries, then bury himself on the desk to sleep. The head teacher always arranged for students with good grades to take turns monitoring the evening self-study, and others naturally didn't dare to bother Ethan. But when it was Stella's turn, the young man continued to nap lazily on the desk for an afternoon, lazily lifting his head and packing up when it was time to leave. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by someone. Stella frowned at him. "Ethan, don't skip class!" It marked the first instance someone other than his father had reprimanded him. He raised an eyebrow with interest, smiling as he asked back, "So what?" "You shouldn't waste the opportunity to study." Children from orphanages cherished the opportunity to study even more, especially when they were at Jefferson High School, where educational resources were abundant. Thinking of this, Stella added sternly, "Squandering opportunities like this is very shameful." "Shameful?" It was also the first time someone had said that to him. Ethan, still casual, with his hands in his pockets, his eyelids drooping, looked at her. "Stella, who gave you the right to boss me around?" Stepping away from the memories, Stella paused, then continued, "I just felt that you shouldn't have skipped class for such meaningless reasons." "Indeed, I shouldn't have. But consider it as testing my patience all these years. Now I'm better because of it," Ethan patted her head. "Stella, no need to regret it. You're the one who gained." And indeed, she gained a better version of him. Catching sight of his arrogant demeanor, Stella finally couldn't help but smile. "You think you're the best now?" "Yeah," he nodded. ... The next day, before noon, the doorbell rang. In the living room, Ethan got up from the couch and walked to the door to open it. Jason and Luke stood at the door, handing the gifts they brought to him, saying generously, "Housewarming gifts. You are welcome." The villa had been empty before, and no one had been invited over since Ethan got married and moved in. Today, it was Stella who extended the invitation. Nevertheless, it was their first time coming over, so it could be considered a housewarming gesture. Ethan expressionlessly accepted the gifts and said, "Thanks, come in." After the two entered the entrance and changed into slippers, Luke glanced at Ethan and asked bluntly, "What? Not happy to see us?" Ethan chuckled and didn't say anything. After finally persuading Stella into the master bedroom and starting their married life together, Stella had said last night that they had guests coming over today and she needed to get up early to prepare, so she wouldn't let him disturb her. Reluctantly, Ethan ended up sleeping with a pillow. Happy? Definitively not! He'd never welcome them today! Soon, Ethan saw Stella walking out of the kitchen wearing an apron, glancing their way. So he changed his expression and said, "You're not unwelcome. The meal is almost ready. Go wait in the dining room." ... 10 minutes later, the food was brought to the table by the man. Stella took off her apron, sat down next to Ethan, and smiled at Jason and Luke, saying, "Make yourselves at home. Please, enjoy!" "Thank you," Jason said with a smile, then glanced at the man on the other side. "Ethan, I remember I was the one who oversaw the decoration of this house. Am I not entitled to come now?" He hadn't forgotten how Ethan had refused his help with the housewarming before. This riverside villa was Ethan's own, but he had been too busy with work before, always on the go, and Isaac had to accompany him on business trips, leaving no time to oversee the decoration . It was Jason who had helped find an acquaintance, an interior designer, to handle the decoration all the way. But since the house was finished, he hadn't been back until Stella invited him over for dinner. Seeing Jason's proud demeanor, Ethan responded casually, "What, isn't the food enough to keep your mouth shut?" After hearing his unfriendly words, Stella glared at him. Ethan grunted and withdrew his gaze. Stella pushed a plate of garlic vermicelli shrimp towards Jason and Luke, saying softly, "These are the shrimp delivered this morning, quite fresh, give them a try." Jason was pleasantly surprised. He had initially been reluctant when Stella invited them over for dinner. After all, the memory of those two sandwiches last time still lingered in his mind, and he was afraid his acting skills wouldn't be enough to fool Ethan. But now, it seemed like Stella's cooking skills were almost on par with a professional chef's. Jason opened up his appetite, and the several dishes on the table were quickly consumed by the three men. After finishing the meal, Stella changed her clothes because they had absorbed the smell while cooking.