26. MV16 Project

The sound of clinking in this dining table area echoed. After Stellina and Diego returned from their business and arrived at the mansion, they heard that Eston had invited Stellina to dinner. Stellina had been with Diego and Arianna for fifteen minutes. They were waiting for Eston, who had just come in from outside, who knew what he was doing. Eston walked hurriedly as he took off his gray suit to reveal a white shirt. Seeing Eston arrive with one of his personal bodyguards, Diego and Stellina stood up from their chairs. Stellina also invited Arianna to stand up so she could pay her respects. "I see you have gathered here," Eston said after arriving at the dining table. He took the chair at the end of the long table. On the other side, Stellina and Diego bowed as a gesture of respect. Afterward, they both sat back down when Eston sat down as well. "Did something happen, Papa?" asked Stellina-who was impersonating Vellina. Eston took a deep breath, let out a long exhale as he stretched both hands forward, then seemed to think for a moment. "Actually, I invited you guys to dinner because I wanted to talk about the MV16 project." Eston looked at Stellina and Diego in turn. Stellina and Diego immediately frowned in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, asking each other questions, and then they both looked back at Eston. "Project MV16? Why the sudden urge to talk about that, Papa?" asked Stellina. Diego nodded his head. "I thought it was a mysterious project. What do you want to talk about?" Hearing Stellina and Diego's questions, Eston was silent for a moment. "There's actually something you might not like to hear, Vellina. About that project... the party that wants to negotiate with us about MV16 only wants to discuss it with you," Eston explained, his eyes fixed on Stellina. Stellina was surprised to hear Eston's explanation. This was too sudden, because she also didn't know much about the MV16 project. Her charade as Vellina had not studied the project in depth at all. "Papa... that's a very sudden thing," Stellina commented in an almost whispery tone. Eston looked a little uneasy too, but did not want to show it. The look on his face conveyed firmness to Stellina. "Well, I didn't expect that they would ask for that either," Eston replied while exhaling a harsh breath at the end of his sentence. "This is their will. I've tried to persuade them and negotiate many times, but it's impossible for them to give up that wish." It was not only Stellina who was surprised, but Diego as well. In her seat, Stellina felt uncomfortable. She looked at Diego as if asking what she should do. Finally, Diego tried to say, "Papa, wait a minute. It will feel urgent to Vellina." Eston seemed unfazed by Diego's words. "There's no choice, Diego, they're not willing to compromise to change their minds." Stellina sighed softly. She couldn't eat the food in front of her for an instant because of her anxiety. The thought of having to deal with those who would compromise on the project, she wasn't ready. Stellina needed to explore how she would act as Vellina when she took on the project. On the other hand, Diego understood Stellina's concerns at the time. Seeing that Stellina didn't know what to answer, Diego finally tried to persuade her again. "Papa, is there no other way?" Diego asked. "Maybe they'll accept a compromise if-" "Diego, I've told you in no uncertain terms. They won't accept the compromise," Eston interrupted, his tone rising. "In this project, Vellina's role is crucial in order to smooth things over with them," Eston continued. Diego was somewhat surprised to hear Eston's high-pitched voice. So was Arianna whose shoulders jerked so Stellina immediately embraced and calmed her down. "It's okay, grandfather isn't angry," Stellina whispered softly as she saw Arianna looking at Eston with fear. Arianna remained silent and continued eating. Stellina looked up as she tried to dispel her anxiety. With the same stern look as Eston, Stellina emphasized. "If I have to hold on for the continuation of the project, what about my recovery process?" replied Stellina, deliberately looking at Eston through demanding eyes. Eston casually replied, "You can hold onto the job first, after which you can focus on the recovery process." Hearing that, Stellina was wide-eyed. Even though she was not actually going through the memory recovery process, Eston's words sounded so cruel. Did Eston not think about his daughter's condition? Why did Eston prioritize work and money over his own daughter? "Papa, don't you know that this recovery process is very important for me?" asked Stellina, sounding exasperated. "Don't talk as if you're the center of life. Not only is your condition important, but also this project!" Eston was beginning to sound aggravated at the rejection and protests from Stellina earlier. Stellina felt a little stabbed in the heart at Eston's outburst. How Eston cared more about money than his own daughter. "I'm very sorry, Papa. I can't do that," Stellina finally replied. She had been holding back. Eston suddenly stopped the movement of his meal. The knife and fork he was holding were then placed down with a slam. The loud clanking sound startled Stellina, Diego, and Arianna. Arianna showed a whining expression to Stellina as if she wanted to inch closer out of fear. Stellina reached back to Arianna's shoulder and patted it a few times. Giving her peace of mind. "How could you refuse?" Eston protested back. The look in his eyes was sharper than before. "This is an important project! Why can't you agree?!" "I need to undergo a memory recovery process, Papa, how can I handle this project in my condition?" Stellina's alibi was evasive. "You can leave the project work to Diego-" "Diego is very incompetent at his job!" Now Eston's tone had really risen. He snapped at Stellina with a hint of anger. In the end, Arianna, who had been holding back her fear, was now crying. Her whimpering made Stellina and Diego panic. Both of them immediately approached Arianna. "Arianna..." Stellina spoke softly to Arianna as she took her into her arms. "Alright, alright, you're already scared. Let's just go to your room, shall we?" Arianna nodded her head without saying anything in opposition. Finally, Stellina and Diego, who had already gotten up from their chairs, brought Arianna to her feet and embraced her. "Sorry, Papa, we can't continue our conversation right now. We need to take Arianna to her room first." Stellina said goodbye to Eston, who was feeling a bit guilty. Eston did not reply. But from his gestures, he couldn't say anything because he had scared his granddaughter. Finally, Stellina and Diego walked with Arianna to the room on the second floor. As they walked, they both tried to calm Arianna down. Either with repeated gentle pats or shoulder strokes. When they arrived in front of Arianna's room, Stellina squatted down to match their height. Stellina gave Arianna her sweetest smile. "Don't think about it, okay?" Stellina said softly while holding both of Arianna's shoulders. "That's normal adult talk, dear. Your grandfather is not evil." Arianna was still sobbing, but her crying was more subdued than before. She nodded her head in reply to Stellina. "Now you sleep in the room. Get some rest. Good night, Mama's favorite," said Stellina who then gave Arianna a quick peck on the forehead. Arianna walked into the room as Stellina stood up again. After the door to Arianna's room closed, it was just Stellina and Diego who both looked nervous. "She's in shock," Stellina said to Diego. Diego let out a rough breath. "Well, she's just a kid. But, Stellina, about Eston's offer... I think we should bring Arianna to our meeting." Stellina nodded in agreement. She no longer had the energy to argue or refuse. They returned to the dining room at that time. After dinner was over, Stellina and Diego decided to go to their room. They needed to rest after their energy had been drained almost completely. ----- "Hey, why are you sleeping on that side?" Stellina protested to Diego, who had laid down on the left side of the bed. Diego shifted his gaze from the cell phone to Stellina. With an innocent look on his face, he said, "What's wrong with me sleeping on this side?" Stellina glared in annoyance. Her steps rushed quickly to the edge of the bed, the left side where Diego was. "We agreed not to sleep in the same bed! Are you trying to take advantage now?" Stellina asked, grumbling in exasperation. At her question, Diego put down his cell phone and changed his position to sit up. Diego looked at Stellina with an astonished look in his eyes. "Why are you annoyed? After all, can't... we just sleep in the same bed for once?" Diego deliberately gave a mischievous grin at the end of his sentence. Stellina knew full well the implicit meaning behind Diego's question, especially with a smile like that. Irritated, Stellina picked up a pillow near Diego and hit him on the shoulder. "Don't joke around! You can sleep on the sofa now!" Stellina's tone sounded annoyed. "Ah! Oh my, you hit me!" Diego immediately protested while avoiding Stellina's pillow punch. Since Stellina didn't stop swinging the pillow at Diego's shoulders, Diego caught the pillow. With a quick movement, Diego pulled the pillow out of Stellina's hand. Stellina's body swayed forward and she couldn't hold herself up. As a result, Stellina was wide-eyed as she fell onto Diego. Their faces met so closely that the distance between them became only two inches. Stellina's entire body froze instantly, while Diego grinned. "So don't mess with me," Diego scolded her ignorantly. "Come to think of it, this is my bed and room. Why should I be the one sleeping on the couch? You should be the one sleeping on the couch." Stellina was still frozen from the fall. It took her time to process the shock. This was the first time she had ever been this close to Diego. "Unless you want to sleep with me," Diego continued in an almost whispered tone. Only then could Stellina move her whole body. She spontaneously pushed back her own body away from Diego. "No need! Why do I have to sleep with you?" Although she was actually misbehaving and nervous, Stellina tried to cover up. After that, Stellina grabbed one of the pillows and walked quickly to the sofa. Before she lay down, she gave Diego an exasperated look. Diego could not help but laugh. As the night wore on, Stellina started to fall asleep. Diego, who still had his eyes open, got up from the bed. He had not stopped noticing Stellina sleeping without a blanket. So Diego took a blanket and stepped onto the sofa. The blanket was spread over Stellina's body, and Diego slowly laid it across her body to keep her from getting cold. Before walking over to the bed, Diego took a close look at Stellina's face. The corners of his lips couldn't help but crack a small smile. "When you sleep like this, your face is much calmer," Diego said softly as he watched Stellina's face. The night was getting late. Both of them were fast asleep even though they were in separate beds. In the midst of the silence and deep sleep, Stellina didn't realize that her body was spinning to the left until she fell over. Stellina awoke from her sleep in a state of shock. Vaguely, still half asleep, Stellina looked around until her gaze fell on her own body. There was a blanket. Stellina strongly remembered that she did not wear a blanket while sleeping earlier. Then, the direction of her gaze moved to the bed, where Diego was. There Diego was sound asleep without a blanket covering his body. The sight confused Stellina. "Diego covered me?" muttered Stellina, wondering. There was no other answer. It must have been Diego who gave her the blanket and left her alone to sleep in the cold. Unable to bear it, Stellina got up from her position with the blanket. "He turns the temperature down to the lowest degree, then pretends he's not wearing a blanket," Stellina grumbled as she stepped onto the bed holding the blanket and pillow. After slowly climbing onto the bed, Stellina finally spread the blanket to cover Diego's body as well. Stellina immediately lay down next to Diego, under the same blanket. Stellina watched Diego's face from the side for the first time. "Good night, Diego," Stellina said very softly-almost silently.