Chapter 95 Extra Story 4

Celeste saw Stella, froze for a second, said something to the man beside her, and then walked over with a smile. "What a coincidence!" "Indeed," Stella nodded. Celeste looked around and saw Ethan not far away. "I never thought you two would get married." Stella smiled and replied after a pause, "I didn't think so either. I'm sorry." She was explaining that when she helped Celeste pass love letters, she had no ulterior motives. After all, in high school, they had a decent relationship. Celeste smiled, revealing small dimples. "Why are you apologizing? I handed out plenty of love letters. Even without your help, Ethan wouldn't have liked me." Her natural demeanor made Stella relax. "We're holding the wedding, so—" "Make sure to send me an invitation." "Okay," Stella nodded lightly. Most of the classmates from the advanced placement class were easy to get along with. Looking back, it was her own insecurity from moving to Seattle from a small town that made her overly sensitive and unable to open up to others. By the time Ethan walked over, Celeste and her boyfriend had already entered the theater. "Did you run into someone you know?" Ethan asked. Stella took the movie ticket he handed her and replied softly, "It was our high school classmate." The man simply acknowledged with an "okay" and said nothing more. Seeing this, Stella knew he didn't remember and reminded him, "Do you remember, one Valentine's Day, I gave you a love letter?" She intended to explain that the love letter was delivered on behalf of Celeste. Ethan's eyes lowered as he stared at her, smirking. "What? Do you still fondly remember those wholesale love letters?" At the time, he had misunderstood her intentions, causing some awkwardness and a series of silent frustrations due to her inexplicable attitude. Hearing this, Stella swallowed her words, and the two of them entered the theater. Lavinia wasn't a commercial film actress; she primarily starred in art films, always aiming for awards. Due to her pregnancy, Stella often felt drowsy. Halfway through the film, she leaned on Ethan's shoulder and fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, the film credits were already rolling. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she turned her head and whispered to Ethan, "What happened in the movie?" "The main characters got married," Ethan replied. "That's it?" "What else?" Ethan looked down at her. Stella's eyes were filled with disdain. Sure enough, he didn't have any artistic sensibility. During her pregnancy, Stella occasionally speculated about their child's future interests. Now it seemed the child wouldn't be pursuing a career as an art film director. The girl sitting behind them nearly burst into laughter at their conversation. As she watched Ethan and Stella leave together, she remembered the earlier scene. She had recognized the man as the CEO of Horizon Group, whom many netizens had fancied marrying. Unable to resist, she took a photo but hadn't expected him to notice. When his piercing gaze turned her way, the girl stammered an apology, "I-I'm sorry, I'll delete it right away." Ethan frowned slightly but then said calmly, "If you have to post it, please cover my face." With that in mind, the girl edited the photo and posted it on Instagram, adding, "You would never guess this, but the CEO of Horizon Group actually went to a regular movie screening with his wife!!" When Stella, reminded by Layla, checked this post, the two of them had already returned to the villa. The post had been shared a few thousand times, which wasn't particularly high. However, in the comments, someone posted a clip from a financial interview Ethan had participated in previously. In the interview, he was dressed in a suit, exuding confidence and charm, looking nothing like the carefree man he was at home. When the host mentioned Stella, Ethan smiled and nodded, "We were high school classmates." The host then asked what he thought was the most beautiful moment in high school. Ethan pondered for a moment before replying, "Probably while doing exercises." He didn't seem to have any reservations talking about these things on camera. When Ethan came out of the bathroom after his shower, Stella asked, "What's so great about doing exercises?" He was slightly taken aback and, seeing her phone screen lit up, understood what she was referring to. Ethan chuckled and teased, "Back then, those test papers were the only thing that could make you focus." The image of a girl tightly gripping a pen, her brows slightly furrowed, sitting quietly with sunlight illuminating the fine hairs on her cheek, making them seem to glow. That was probably the most vivid scene etched in his memory. Liv's family returned to Seattle in early March. Ethan and Stella went to the airport to pick them up and brought them back to the villa. Although they had talked on the phone numerous times, this was the first time Stella and Liv met in person. Unexpectedly, Liv seemed even more nervous than Stella, who was pregnant. When Stella got up, worried that Ethan couldn't handle the kitchen, Liv's expression tightened, and she stopped her, saying, "Let the men handle it. Your uncle is a chef." Liv's husband, Archer Smith, was indeed a chef, but not an ordinary one. He had already opened a chain of restaurants. Alex cautiously approached Stella, his round eyes staring at her belly. "Is there really a baby in there?" Liv pulled Alex close and patted his head. "Of course. When the baby is born, you'll be an uncle." Alex had been well taken care of by Liv. Stella knew that Liv had a high-risk pregnancy in the past but had a miscarriage due to the sudden news of her father's death, which made her particularly anxious about Stella's condition. After dinner, Ethan went to the second-floor game room to play chess with Archer. Liv told Alex to go back to his room. "Alright, stop bothering Stella. Go to your room and sleep." Reluctantly, Alex put down his game controller and went upstairs. "Stella, come here. I have something for you," Liv said, sitting on the sofa and smiling as she waved Stella over. Stella sat down beside Liv and watched as she took out two albums from the other side. Opening them up, they were filled with old photos from years past. "This is when Ethan was three years old. His mom brought him to my place. He got mischievous and ran off at the amusement park, scaring his mom half to death. We had quite the time finding him," Liv recalled. The child in the photos had a tender face with dimples that seemed somewhat familiar. Liv pointed to another picture. "And this one is when he was 5. He got into a fight with another little boy and knocked his tooth out. The other boy's mother came to complain, so his grandpa gave him a good scolding. His mom was so mad she flew over to find me herself." The boy was sprawled in the garden, covered in mud, captured in the photo. Stella couldn't help but worry. If their child inherited Ethan's mischievous streak, what would they do? As Liv finished explaining the thick album, Stella's gaze fell on a photo in the top left corner of the last page. "Who's in this one?" she asked. Liv followed her finger and smiled. "That's from the year Ethan took a break from school. I wanted him to study in Europe, but he refused. He did come visit me for Thanksgiving though." Stella's eyes fixated on a bag in the corner of the photo, lost in thought for a long moment. She remembered Thanksgiving from her first year in Chicago. After finishing her finals, she took a rare break and went downtown to pick out some gifts, intending to send them to Natalie and Layla. It was snowing when she returned to the apartment. Wrapped in a thick scarf and wearing a hat, she carefully watched her steps. As she approached the intersection near her apartment, Stella caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance. She paused for a moment, but quickly realized it wasn't who she thought. Back at the apartment, Caille was dressed elegantly, applying lipstick in front of the mirror, clearly getting ready for a date. Seeing Stella come in, Caille smiled and reminded her, "There's something for you on the table from someone else." "Who sent it?" Stella asked, a bit surprised. Caille shook her head. "I don't know them. It was delivered by someone from next door. They just left; didn't you see them when you came back?" Stella shook her head, took off her coat, and opened the package on the table. "What is this?" "Some snacks I like." There were even some that could only be found in Seattle. In high school, Stella would occasionally stash cookies and candies in her desk drawer when she didn't have time to go to the cafeteria. The snacks in the package were all ones she enjoyed. Especially those grape-flavored chewy candies. She used to chew on one while studying, something she had missed dearly. Caille exclaimed with a wow and teased her, "Well, the person who sent these certainly put some thought into it." At that time, when Layla was supposed to send her a gift, Stella just assumed it was sent by someone on her behalf and didn't think much of it. Upon Layla informing her that her package was missing, Stella figured out who had sent those snacks. Liv and Archer, exhausted from their long journey and jet lag, had already retired to the guest room. When Stella entered the room, Ethan was standing by the window, on the phone with Isaac. She didn't speak, just watched his silhouette against the night sky outside the window, silently smiling. After Ethan hung up the phone, Stella stood by the door. He walked over and asked softly, "Weren't you chatting happily with Liv just now?" "Your relationship with her is very good," she said with a smile. "But why did you not find her?" Even when he had a quarrel with his grandfather in childhood, he would insist on going abroad to find his aunt. Such a relationship was far from ordinary. Ethan didn't expect her to bring this up, so he looked her in the eyes and asked, "Are you here to accuse me?" Stella shook her head, reached out and hugged him, whispering, "Even if we have children, I will love you a little more."