25. First Guilty

Stellina was relieved that the impromptu meeting of the board members had finally ended well. Unfortunately, Stellina's feelings became upset again as she recalled the board members' debate moments ago. They were talking about their doubts about Diego becoming the new leader and blaming his decision implicitly. Now Stellina automatically remembered the topic of her debate with Diego-the man who had forced her to agree to the company takeover deal. Had Diego not forced her, Stellina would have chosen another confidant of Enrico, her father, to take over the company. "The board meeting was really tense," Diego said in the silence of the car. Stellina doesn't answer. Stellina and Diego were on their way from Enrico's printing company to the mansion. But there had been no conversation between them. Diego was too focused on the view of the road, while Stellina was suddenly annoyed with Diego again. "Why are you so quiet?" Diego occasionally glanced at Stellina, surprised that his words were not getting a response. "Yeah, it's pretty tense," Stellina replied briefly without turning to Diego. Diego, meanwhile, frowned deeply. He noticed Stellina's unenthusiastic reaction to him. "Why are you answering like that?" Diego asked as he watched the street in front of him and Stellina in turn. At Diego's question, Stellina simply shook her head. She was still looking out the window. Feeling confused, Diego occasionally tilted his head to look at Stellina's face. His confusion increased even more when he realized that Stellina's face was scowling in exasperation. Diego didn't know why Stellina seemed to be hiding something. To him, there were no other problems that had occurred today other than the debate at the board meeting. "Is there a problem?" Diego asked later. "Are you still uneasy about the debate in the boardroom?" Stellina's gaze finally shifted to Diego. Stellina showed a flat expression, looking at Diego without saying anything for a few moments. Suddenly, Diego became somewhat misunderstood because he was being looked at by Stellina like that. He secretly tried to guess whether he had done something wrong or not. "Hey, can you talk?" Diego finally protested after being unable to hold back. Stellina let out a long sigh and looked forward. "Considering the board members are blaming my decisions, I'm getting upset," Stellina replied. "But I'm not upset with them. I'm upset with you, Diego." Diego immediately frowned and gasped in surprise. "Why are you upset with me all of a sudden?" he asked in an unaccepting tone. "I'm upset that because of your insistence on taking over father's company, I'm being blamed by them." Stellina didn't care how Diego reacted when she said this. Diego didn't understand at all. While driving the car, Diego said, "Didn't we make a deal? Why are you suddenly upset again?" Stellina nodded bitterly. "Yes, we did have a deal, but we have to argue first like last night," she replied grumpily. "Come to think of it, they have a point. Why would I choose a stranger to take over my father's leadership?" Stellina continued in an irritated tone. "I'm reminded of our fight last night, when you almost didn't even give me the chance to come to the company." At Stellina's words, Diego was surprised. They had discussed the matter this morning and agreed to each other's terms. Diego thought Stellina had accepted his apology and was no longer upset with him. "Wait..." Diego thought for a moment. "So you're still upset with me about our argument last night?" Stellina was suddenly silent, but from her sulking expression, she seemed to agree with Diego's question. Diego rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly awkward and unsure of what to do. Just relieved that the two of them had reconciled, now Stellina was angry with him again. Diego was at a loss for words of persuasion. "Oh my, we made peace this morning. You've calmed down too. Now you're mad at me again," Diego said, exhaling a harsh breath at the end of the sentence. "Well, since you asked for the takeover deal, the directors almost didn't trust me," Stellina replied, not wanting to stop grumbling. "Naturally they refused, it's already a risk when you give such sudden notice." "But you think about it, it's uncomfortable to be thought of as not thinking of the good of the company. If you hadn't stubbornly argued with me last night, I wouldn't feel this urgent." As Stellina expressed her irritation, Diego's earlier annoyance slowly faded away. Diego felt that Stellina's words touched his heart, making him remember that his actions and words last night had indeed crossed the line with Stellina. Instead of feeling annoyed with Stellina for protesting at length, Diego felt uneasy. After wetting his lips, tapping his index finger on the steering wheel, he nodded his head. "Okay. I'm well aware that I crossed the line with you last night." Diego lowered his tone, sounding guilty. Stellina had yet to give any reaction. Still folding her arms across her chest, she looked at the road. "Stellina, come on, don't remind me about the fight last night," Diego coaxed once again. Somehow Stellina began to feel her annoyance gradually fading as she thought about her attitude. Why did she have to be so angry with Diego? After all, if you think about it, Stellina was also the one who agreed to the deal. "Stellina..." Diego's tone softened, unlike usual. Stellina quietly bit her lower lip. Diego's softening voice made her melt. There was a sense of pity in her heart if she continued to scold Diego and drag out the argument. "You're not going to stop being annoyed with me?" Diego asked, this time deliberately asking a nosy question. Diego didn't feel comfortable at all if they continued to ignore each other. Considering Stellina still had to carry on the charade of being a Vellina. "You don't stop persuading," Stellina said with a disgruntled sigh. "I actually thought I had stopped being annoyed with you this morning. But apparently my agreeing to your request got me blamed." "They're just not used to it, Stellina," Diego replied in an attempt to calm things down. "I was wrong for what I did and said to you last night. Unfortunately, the meeting was not entirely my fault." Stellina looked away from Diego, then stared for a split second. She honestly didn't expect him to apologize so sincerely. The look in his eyes also showed sincerity to Stellina. "I'm sorry, okay?" Diego returned Stellina's intense gaze, then curved a sweet little smile. Stellina was secretly surprised to witness Diego's actions. Finally, Stellina's irritation had completely dissipated. "I was surprised that you would apologize to me directly," Stellina said, expressing her thoughts without hesitation. Diego frowned, but still smiled amusedly. "Am I that bad?" "Uh-hum," Stellina nodded, "you exude such a bad aura that I didn't think you could be good." After hearing Stellina's words, Diego gaped in disbelief. It was the first time in his entire life that someone had dared to say such a sentence. While Stellina looked out the window, Diego shook his head. There was no more conversation between them as Diego let Stellina calm down. The tense situation had gradually faded away. Soon Diego's car turned into a shopping district. In between the shopping districts, Diego stopped the car at a flower shop. Stellina became confused. She sat up straight and looked around in confusion. "Why did you stop here?" asked Stellina as she looked around the area. Diego did not answer. He suddenly got out of the car, making Stellina flinch at the sound of the car door opening. "Diego? What are you doing? Diego!" Stellina called out to Diego, but unfortunately to no effect. The car door was closed. Stellina saw Diego stop and gesture to her not to get out of the car. Then Diego walked back to one of the flower shops. In her seat, Stellina was still wondering what Diego was doing at that moment. However, she complied with Diego's request not to get out of the car. As a result, Stellina was forced to wait for a moment while watching Diego's movements there. From here, Diego was seen picking out flowers and occasionally talking to the florist as if he was consulting. Stellina immediately frowned. "Who exactly is he going to buy flowers for?" she asked, wondering. After a few moments of waiting and watching Diego, Stellina saw him finally turn around. In his hand was a large bouquet of flowers. Diego walked toward the door beside Stellina's seat. Diego carried the bouquet carefully as he walked. When he finally reached Stellina's side door, Diego opened it. "Here, for you," Diego said as he handed the bouquet to Stellina. Stellina was wide-eyed and surprised. Diego's actions were anything but ordinary. It was so unusual that Stellina watched the bouquet for a few seconds. "What is this?" "A bouquet of flowers, can't you see?" Diego asked, his tone once again sounding sarcastic. "I know." Stellina held up one of the petals, as if to show Diego. "Look, why are you giving this to me? It's rare." "As an apology. I know you like flowers," Diego replied with a look of sincerity in his eyes. Stellina was astonished, thinking Diego was joking. But as long as she looked at Diego, she did not see a joking expression. Stellina finally put away her bad thoughts towards Diego and accepted the bouquet. The curve of her smile expanded from a thin one to a wide one. "Thank you. You surprised me repeatedly because I thought you were-" "I'm not as bad a person as you think I am," Diego cut in quickly, then quickly closed the car door. As if he didn't want to hear the rest of what Stellina had to say. As Diego walked around the car, Stellina couldn't help but laugh. Why was Diego so unpredictable? Stellina secretly inhaled the scent of the flowers in the bouquet in her arms. It was a fragrant scent that instantly created warmth in her chest. Stellina couldn't help but smile wider at this sweet gift. When Diego got back into the car, Stellina quickly faded her smile. She pretended to act like it was normal to be given flowers. At least Diego couldn't know how good it felt to get a bouquet of flowers.