Ch. 1041..1050
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1041
“Of course,” Mrs. Cohen agreed.
Dr. Quirk glanced at Weston before turning on his heels and heading into the funeral hall.
He reappeared not long afterward, announcing with some relief, “Miss Cohen is in a stable mental state. There‘s no cause for concern at the moment, so, you can rest easy.”
Hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Cohen sighed in relief. But they then quickly
looked at each other with quizzical eyes. The fact that Zachary‘s death did not cause Guinevere much psychological turmoil felt peculiar…
Enter title…
But still, they wished for nothing more than for her mental health to improve as
soon as possible, so they just thanked the doctor and left. They had wanted to
take Guinevere with them too, but she had expressed her wish to stay by
Zachary‘s side a little longer. As they didn‘t have the heart to say no to that, they relented.
There were then only Weston and Dr. Quirk left in the main hall.
Dr. Quirk was the first to break the silence, saying, “I‘ve heard about Ms. Sealey.
So, what is your plan, Mr. Ford?”
“That is none of your business,” Weston bluntly responded.
“You‘ve misunderstood me,” Dr. Quirk told him. He was not at all angry. In fact,
he even smiled after hearing Weston‘s brusque response. “I only asked
because I‘m worried about Ms. Sealey. After all, I did warn you earlier that her mood was volatile and that she was in danger of causing harm…”
“She never intended that,” Weston interrupted him, frowning “I see,” Dr. Quirk quickly figured out what Weston implied. “So you intend to help Ms. Sealey get exonerated?”
Even Dr. Quirk was surprised by this himself. Men with high status, like Weston Ford generally valued their bloodline above everything else. No matter how much they loved a woman, they would never let that come in between them and their children.
“You‘ve really surprised me,” Dr. Quirk exclaimed.
Weston regarded him with his dark, brooding eyes, exuding an intimidating air.
“What happened was an accident,” he stated. “Stella‘s
mood was unstable, which led to such a tragedy occurring. At the end of the
day, it‘s all my fault because I neglected her mental health. She never had any
history of hurting or harming anyone else before, so whatever she might‘ve
done, she was clearly not in full control of herself and, therefore , should not be
held accountable . You‘re her psychiatrist. You should be fully aware of this.”
He had spoken at length. Dr. Quirk had never heard him explaining anything so verbosely before.
“Mr. Ford…” The doctor suddenly caught the meaning between the lines. His
eyes trembled. “Are you trying to Weston tapped his finger on the table. He knew that Dr. Quirk finally understood him.
“You‘re an expert psychiatrist. You have first–hand and professional knowledge of her psychological condition. She is mentally ill. She could not possibly be responsible for her own actions.”
“You want me to be a witness proclaiming that she‘s unfit to be held accountable for her criminal actions?”
“Isn‘t that just the truth?” Weston retorted plainly while looking straight at him.
“You warned me about it a long time ago. It was all because I didn‘t listen to you
that
such a tragedy happened. At the end of the day, it was my fault for neglecting
the problem and not handling it properly…”
“Are you going to shoulder all the blame yourself and exonerate her in the
process?” Dr. Quirk asked.
Weston‘s eyes were as chillingly cold as ever.
Dr. Quirk was smart enough and he didn‘t need more explanation to grasp the
true situation. He touched the tip of his nose and said, “I‘ll think about it.”
“There‘s no need to think about it.” Weston stood up. “If you‘re not willing to do
it, I‘ll just find someone else. I‘m only asking you now out of sheer
convenience.”
Hearing this, Dr. Quirk changed his approach, calmly looked at Weston, and
asked, “You seem pretty confident about this. Aren‘t you afraid I might betray
you and expose the plan you just revealed to me?”
“You won‘t do that.” Weston adjusted his watch and glanced at the time. “At
most, you‘d just refuse my offer. Going against me would be a stupid move that
will benefit you in no way.”
“What if I decided to take Mr. Warren Ford‘s side and help him instead?”
Weston clasped the metal band of his watch, emitting a crisp click.
“If you have the balls to do it, then go ahead and try.”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1042 The corners of Weston‘s lips twitched. He smiled, but there was no mirth in his eyes. Only a flash of bitter coldness remained.
“But I must warn you,” he said. “You may choose to take his side, but are you sure he‘ll be powerful enough to protect you?”
“Warren Ford is still the chairman of Ford Corporation. He is, for all intents and purposes , more powerful than you.”
“You can try it then,” Weston patted his shoulder. “I‘ve never forced anyone to do anything. In fact, I prefer working with people shrewd enough to judge how things will turn out before they make a decision.”
Enter title…
Once he was done speaking, he strode away and left the place.
Dr. Quirk looked at his disappearing figure and shook his head.
“Lunatics… They‘re all lunatics…”
The Ford family driver drove him to the crossroads when
Dr. Quirk stopped him and said, “Just drop me off here.”
“But Mr. Ford instructed me to drop you off at your house.”
“It‘s fine,” he insisted. “I‘m getting off here. I‘d like to take a walk.”
Dr. Quirk stepped out of the car and picked up his phone when a white Porsche
suddenly stopped right beside him.
“Get in the car.”
The car window rolled down, revealing Yvonne‘s strikingly exquisite face.
“Sister–in–law!” Dr. Quirk raised his brows in surprise.“ What are you doing here?”
“I‘ll explain later,” she replied. “Just get in the car!”
Dr. Quirk opened the door and sat in the passenger‘s seat.
Yvonne stepped on the accelerator , and the car sped off. She drove into a quiet
alley, and when there were no more cars in front, she finally broke the silence
and asked him, “Did you just come from the Ford Mansion?”
“Yes. Why?”
Yvonne pursed her lips, found a quiet place, and parked her car there.
“I wanted to ask you–have you seen Stella?”
“No,” he answered. “I haven‘t seen her for a long time now.”
Yvonne tore off her seat belt and turned off the car engine. Her eyes were full of concern when she asked, “I heard someone say that she‘s locked up somewhere. Do you have any insider information?”
“I don‘t know much more than you do, really.”
Dr. Quirk rolled down the window and rested his arm on it.
“She killed someone,” he continued. “And now Weston Ford is finding a way to protect her…”
“How could she possibly kill anyone?!” Yvonne raised her voice. “I refuse to believe it. Those are all false rumors!”
In the past few days, news about Stella poisoning Zachary Ford to death had spread like wildfire. By now, the whole of Ahn City knew about it, and virtually everyone regarded Stella as a vicious murderer.
It had not been that long since her lavish wedding, where Stella was the object of envy for all of Ahn City‘s young women from elite circles . No one would have expected
her fate to turn on its head so drastically and so quickly.
Both Stella and Guinevere‘s reputations seemed to have taken a one–eighty–, degree turn.
Before, everyone had mocked and jeered at Guinevere. Yet now, it was Stella‘s
turn to become the public‘s target for scorn and derision as she was believed to have taken a life.
But Yvonne had a first–hand account of Stella‘s disposition, and she was naturally adamant in defending her innocence.
But even she could not say it with much confidence when she said, “She would never do such a thing…”
“I‘ve only known her briefly,” Dr. Quirk said, “but from what I‘ve seen of her, she didn‘t look like someone who could murder a child. But then again…”
He glanced at Yvonne and patted the back of her hand.
“She hadn‘t been in the best mental health lately,” he comforted her, “so even if
she did do such a thing, it was probably not intended in the first place.”
It would seem that Dr. Quirk had fallen into Weston‘s trap and was seriously
considering this line of reasoning himself.
“Is that true?” Yvonne‘s expressions turned complicated. “I haven‘t been able to contact her. I don‘t know how she‘s doing right now, but I really don‘t think that she can do something so evil… Besides, she‘s been through so much herself!
She should know more than anyone about how painful it is to lose their own child! No, she would never do such a thing!”
“But perhaps it was precisely because she suffered such a traumatic loss which completely changed her into a different person,” Dr. Quirk said.
“Yvonne,” he sighed, “I know I probably shouldn‘t be saying this, but the truth is, you‘ll never know someone completely inside and out. Everyone hides a certain
facet of themselves from the rest of the world, a side you would never get to see.”
He spoke at length as though trying to make his point sound more convincing
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1043
“I‘m sure even Lucas is hiding something from you,” Dr. Quirk added.
“Impossible!” Yvonne refuted instantly. “Lucas and I grew up together! I know
absolutely everything about him!”
“Are you sure?” Dr. Quirk chuckled, which sounded suggestive.
Yvonne frowned as soon as she noticed his expression.
me?!”
“Hey!” Dr. Quirk laughed and put up his hands in the air. “How did we end up
talking about this? Weren‘t you just asking me about Stella Sealey?”
Enter title…
“I was asking about Stella,” complained Yvonne, “but you kept skirting around
the subject. You‘re clearly not willing to tell me the truth!”
Dr. Quirk shook his head. Then, he smiled and asked, “Do you mind if I smoke
here?”.
“Yes!” Yvonne replied bluntly. “I absolutely do mind! I
hate the smell!”
“Seriously,” Dr. Quirk burst into laughter again. “Lucas is probably the only man
who can stand that horrid temper of yours!”
“Well,” she grumbled, seeing that she could not tease any information out of
him. “I don‘t need anyone else but him to be able to stand me, so I‘m perfectly
fine with that!”
“Don‘t worry too much,” Dr. Quirk assured her, knowing that she was still
concerned about Stella. “I‘m sure Weston will protect her.”
“I know he will,” Yvonne sighed, “but he still can‘t just cut her off from the rest of
the world!”
No one had been able to meet or contact Stella –neither before nor after the
incident. Surely, Stella would need a friend to comfort her and be by her side at
a time like this, especially after she had taken such a serious blow.
Could Weston‘s action of keeping her isolated really be good for Stella?
It was already very late at night when Weston was on his way back to the
Stardust Mansion. Joan had called him
many times, but he had been busy dealing with all kinds of things, and he
couldn‘t answer them.
“Mr. Ford…”
Joan spoke quietly, as if trying to prevent someone else from hearing her.
Weston’s brows knitted, sensing that something was wrong with Joan‘s tone of
voice. He signaled the driver to keep driving and asked Joan, “What‘s wrong?”
Joan glanced furtively in the direction of the bedroom before responding, “Are you with Miss Cohen right now?”
As she spoke, she tiptoed slowly to the living room, trying her best not to let Stella overhear her.
She was on her phone earlier, scrolling through the Moments section, when she came across a photo that Guinevere posted recently.
She had added Guinevere into her circle a long time ago. In fact, it was Guinevere who wanted to add Joan into her circle first, citing that she wanted to keep in contact with the housekeeping staff because she might need their help in the future. Joan did not think much of this at the time and just accepted her friend request.
Still, Joan was always very cautious whenever she posted anything on Moments, ensuring she never revealed any information about Stella and Weston. Despite that, she would still browse through Guinevere‘s posts every now and then, but she never expected to see a post like this — a photo clearly showing Guinevere with Weston together. She was leaning against him.
The photo was accompanied by the following words:
“It has been such a harrowing time, but I‘m lucky to have you by my side.”
Joan froze in shock for a moment when she first saw that.
It could be said that it would only make sense for Weston to be with Guinevere
since their son had just died. After all, they were still Zachary‘s biological parents.
But Joan was only human, and it was only natural that she would be biased. It was only natural that Joan took Stella‘s side.
Stella hadn‘t eaten anything for the entire day, cooping up in her room the whole
time. Joan wished Weston would hurry home to check up on Stella.
“Mr. Ford,” Joan began earnestly. “Mrs. Ford hadn‘t eaten or drank anything for
the entire day, not even a sip of water…”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1044
Weston frowned.
“I‘ll be home soon,” he assured her.
Back at the Stardust Mansion , Joan sighed in relief and replied, “I‘m glad to hear that. Should I prepare anything for you, Mr. Ford?”
“No.”
After hanging up the phone, Joan turned around and discovered that Stella had been standing behind her.
“Mrs. Ford!” Joan almost jumped in shock. “How long have you been here...?”
Stella said nothing. She then stared at Joan and casually told her, “I heard everything you said on the phone just now.”
“E–Everything?” Joan‘s heart skipped a beat. “What exactly did you hear...?”
“He‘s with Guinevere Cohen right now, isn‘t he?”
Joan‘s eyebrows shot upward.
“Mrs. Ford, I wouldn‘t worry too much about it...”
“How could I not worry about it?” Stella‘s eyes were fixed on Joan.
Perhaps it was because she hadn‘t eaten anything the whole day that Stella‘s face looked blanched and sickly.
Her eyes fell on Joan‘s phone, and she said, “Let me see it.”
“Mrs. Ford,” Joan tried to explain, “it‘s really nothing to worry about. Since their son just died, Mr. Ford had to be by Miss Cohen‘s side out of normal familial obligations.
Please don‘t think too much about it...”
“Let me see it,” Stella firmly insisted.
Joan sighed. She had no choice but to show Stella Guinevere‘s recent post on Moments.
It was a beautiful photograph. Weston‘s herculean stature still towered over Guinevere‘s lanky and slender figure, making the tall woman look small and fragile next to him.
They were both wearing black.
Weston was in a smart black suit, which was his usual attire anyway, and he gave off an intimidating air of superiority.
Guinevere wore a black dress with a delicate white flower pinned on her chest. The dress subtly accentuated her curves and highlighted her ravishing figure.
She was hugging Weston from behind. He did not push her away.
If they had not been at a funeral, this photo would have been dazzlingly charming.
“They look like they‘re made for each other,” Stella observed.
Joan knew, of course, that she was being sarcastic , yet, for some reason, she could not sense any irony in Stella‘s eyes. In fact, she looked oddly earnest when she said that.
This utterly unsettled Joan.
“Please don‘t overthink things, Mrs. Ford...”
“I‘m not overthinking.” Stella turned around and added, “It won‘t matter anymore whether he comes home or not.”
She then slid back into the bedroom and gently closed the door behind her.
All she knew was that there was no escape for her now.
The car was already parked outside the Stardust Mansion when Weston‘s phone suddenly rang.
It was Ben‘s number.
“What is it?” Weston asked coldly.
“Mr. Ford...” Ben sounded distinctly anxious. “We have a problem...”
Ben had just received the news himself, and the first thing he did was to report it to Weston Ford.
“Roger Sealey has...”
When Ben was done reporting, Weston‘s countenance turned frigid. It was only after a while that he finally opened his mouth and instructed Ben, “Don‘t let the news spread and bring him back.”
“Yes, Mr. Ford.”
As soon as he hung up the phone, his face clouded severely. His eyes shifted towards the Stardust Mansion. He saw the dim yellow light that was still on in the bedroom, as if someone was waiting for him to come home.
He tore off his necktie, feeling utterly on edge.
Why did it have to be now...?
He closed his eyes and told the driver to get out of the car. He then slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped off.
It was already past midnight, yet Weston was still nowhere to be seen.
Joan had repeatedly gone to the door several times and looked outside to see if there was any sign of him coming home, only to be disappointed time and time again.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1045
Joan sighed, wondering if he could really be with Guinevere.
Stella knew Joan was not asleep yet, so she came out of the room wrapped in a woolen shawl. “…You should go and get some rest. It‘s getting late now.”
“Mrs. Ford?”
Joan looked at the frail figure in front of her and couldn‘t help but comfort her, saying, “I‘m sure Mr. Ford is held up by something urgent right now. Once he‘s dealt with everything, I‘m sure he‘ll come home. Don‘t you worry about it. I‘ll wait for him here. You can go inside and get some rest…”
“I‘m not waiting for him anymore,” Stella shook her head. “You should go and get some rest too.”
She smiled and added, “He‘s probably by Guinevere‘s side.”
After all, their son had just died. As Zachary‘s father, it was only natural that he would be with the child‘s mother right now. Stella had nothing against that.
“Mrs. Ford…” The more she acted that way, the more Joan felt bad for her. “I‘m certain Mr. Ford will come home once he‘s dealt with everything out there.”
Stella‘s eyebrows drooped. She closed her eyes.
It no longer mattered to her whether he came home or not.
The awful weather late at night made going out to sea unsuitable.
Ben stood on the deck as the waves violently rocked the boat. He glanced around and turned to Weston, saying,” It looks like it might rain soon, Mr. Ford.” Weston stood tall and firm at the front deck. His eyes were as dark as the surface of the nocturnal sea, dotted with faint starlight. The aura around his body was frosty enough to condense the air, but his voice was eerily calm when he said, “This matter must be resolved before dawn.”
Whether Roger was alive or dead, they had to get to the bottom of this.
Ben nodded.
“We never expected things to ever come to this, Mr. Ford …” Ben explained apologetically.
He rarely ever fumbled in the tasks Weston assigned him, and although what had happened was due to factors that were out of his control, he still blamed himself for being incompetent, ultimately leading to Weston having to clean up all the mess himself.
But now that the ship had sailed, it was no longer the time to look for someone to blame.
“Make sure that Stella docsn‘t know about this for now,” Weston raised his wrist and glanced at the time.” Negotiate with those people over at the delta. Do what you can to bring him back.”
“Yes, Mr. Ford.”
Ben noticed his visibly somber face and couldn‘t help commenting, “Who would‘ve thought that he‘d be so similar to Mrs. Ford? They‘re both just so headstrong…‘
They had finally managed to rescue Roger from those dangerous people over at the delta. However, not only was Roger not grateful, he even insisted on treating Weston like an enemy.
Not only that, but he even went so far as…
Ben sighed again.
Weston turned around , his eyes dark as the night. Like the vast endless sea, dangerous turbulence hid behind their ostensibly calm surface. The rain was getting heavier.
Joan couldn‘t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She had been raring to give Weston another call, but she was afraid of disturbing him.
Even Stella was probably asleep by now, so why shouldn‘t she just wait till the next morning to talk to him? That was what she thought, but she still tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Weston might be spending time alone with Guinevere Cohen right now at such a late hour. What if something happened? She could hardly be blamed for worrying over this because it was plain for everyone to see that Guinevere still harbored feelings for Weston right now
Zachary‘s death must have caused them indescribable pain, which presented an excellent opportunity for them to reconcile. After all, they must be both heartbroken right now, so they had to be leaning on each other, lamenting, and comforting the other…
This would be the perfect fuel to reignite old flames, and once that spark was lit, no one could contain the resulting fire.
Just as her thoughts ran wild, she suddenly heard the gate opening downstairs. The creaking noise distinctly pierced through the droning of the late night storm.
“Could that be Mr. Ford coming home?” Joan sprang up to her feet.
The black Maybach slowly pulled into the driveway as the gate opened. When Weston stepped out of the car, he noticed Joan waiting for him at the elevator door.
“You‘re still awake?” he shot her a glance and frowned.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1046
“Mr. Ford, you‘re finally home…”
Joan seemed immensely relieved to see him.
“Mrs. Ford still hasn‘t eaten or drank anything yet,” she informed him. “I really am at a loss of what to do.” For a moment, Weston froze in silence before handing the car to the driver to be parked.
“I know.” He turned back to Joan and added, “It‘s getting really late. You should go get some rest now.”
Joan nodded repeatedly. She was now completely relieved.
“It‘s good that you‘re back. It‘s good that you‘re back…”
As Joan got older, she still retained her conservative view of things. To her, it did not matter what Weston and Guinevere did when they were together that night. As long as he came home in the end, it meant he still cared about Stella.
As for what could have happened between them, to Joan, it was customary for men to lose control of themselves and make mistakes sometimes.
It was good enough that he came home in the end.
By the time Weston entered the bedroom, the first light of the day had started to appear at the edge of the
horizon. He had been hard at work the whole night, getting practically no sleep at all. The room was dimly illuminated. He could see a tiny bulge beneath the thick layer of blankets on the bed. He walked over and noticed that the bulge trembled slightly with the sound of his approaching footsteps, but it soon returned to its initial stillness,
Weston‘s eyes slickered, with a glimmer ol mirth emerging from inside them.
He walked to Stella‘s side and reached out his hand to pull the bulge under the blanket into his arms.
“Still awake?” he asked in a deep, husky voice.
Stella stayed silent, pretending that she was asleep.
Weston naturally would not let her get away with that. He kissed her several times on the forehead and said, “Joan told me that you hadn‘t eaten anything for the whole day. If her cooking isn‘t to your taste, I can find someone else to replace her..”
“It has nothing to do with her cooking!” Stella swiftly pushed the blanket off her body. “Don‘t you dare replace her!”
“So you‘re finally willing to talk, hmm?” he asked gruffly and pinched her nose.
Stella stopped pretending to be asleep and scrutinized him from head to toe.
He was still wearing the same clothes he did yesterday. In his strikingly straight and majestic eyebrows, there was a sign of barely noticeable exhaustion.
Weston was a demanding perfectionist in every aspect of his life. He rarely allowed himself to look as sloppy as he did. Evidently, what happened to Zachary and Guinevere must have distressed him quite significantly.
Stella opened her mouth to speak, looking straight at his dark eyes, asking, “Where… have you been last night?” Her voice was hoarse, sounding distinctly frail and weak. Her delicate lips were cracked, likely due to the fact that she had not drunk any water for a long time. He raised her chin and pressed his thumb against the corner of her lips. “I had some business to attend to last night. What‘s wrong? Are you angry with me?”
Stella said nothing, but her eyes were still fixed on him.
After a period of silence, she finally asked, “What kind of business? Why did it take you so long?” He was clearly by Guinevere‘s side last night, she thought. Why did he have to bother himself with concealing the truth?
“Are you starting to get clingy now?” Weston smiled, stroking her chin. He then picked her up and put her down on his lap. “All these messy problems will soon be dealt with, and I‘ll have a lot of time to spend with you.”
Naturally, he wasn‘t about to tell her what had happened to Roger last night, at least for the time being. Her mental state had been unstable as it was, so while the problem of Zachary‘s death had yet to be resolved, he had to make sure she was safe before he could tell her the truth about Roger.
Stella leaned against his chest, listening to his strong and steady heartbeat.
After holding her for a while, Weston said, “Since you can‘t sleep, why not sit here with me for a while?”
He then effortlessly picked her up.
She limply leaned on his shoulder, as if her body had no bones.
It suddenly occurred to Weston that all he needed was to exert a little force, and he could easily break her whole body.
“Joan told me that you haven‘t eaten anything today,” he fretfully raised her chin. “Did you do that on purpose? Were you trying to punish me?”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1047
“No,” Stella shook her head.
“I just had no appetite…”
“I did promise not to force you to eat anything,” Weston cut her off. “But that was only if it doesn‘t affect your health.”
He glanced at the shimmering light on the horizon. It was already sunrise, and rays of sunlight had crept into the room through the curtains.
“You should go eat something,” he added, kissing her on the forehead.
Stella frowned. She truly had no appetite at all, but she also knew that there was no arguing with Weston, so she kept quiet and said nothing.
Joan was already asleep by then. Weston had no intention to disturb her either, so he put Stella down on the sofa and went into the kitchen himself.
Stella did not have a good sleep at all, basically having tossed and turned all night. Even so, she probably wouldn‘t be able to fall asleep now if she tried.
Weston knew this too, so he allowed her to watch TV, hoping to kill time and relieve her boredom.
Stardust Mansion was much quieter early in the morning than it was at night.
Stella could hear the faint noises coming from the kitchen. She got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. She gazed at Weston whose back was facing her.
He heard her coming but did not turn around.
“What‘s wrong?” he asked. Stella said nothing, leaned against the door and continued looking at him.
As he did not hear her reply, he put down the knife in his hand, placed the cut tomatoes in the bowl and set it aside, and covered the pot with the lid before turning around to look at her.
“Are you feeling unwell?” he asked.
She shook her head and stood up straight. Weston pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, asking her, “Are you getting hungry?”
Stella shook her head once again.
He knew that she was not in the mood to talk, so he just kissed her hair and quietly held her in his arms.
After a while, the silence was broken by the bubbling sound of water that was starting to boil. “The food‘s almost ready,” he told her. “Why don‘t you go sit down and wait for me outside?” Only then did Stella raise her head to look into his eyes before turning around to go back into the living room.
Soon afterward, Weston emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of noodle soup in his hand. A mild, savory aroma permeated the entire living room. Even though Stella said she had no appetite, the smell was so tantalizing that her stomach suddenly growled Rumble… Rumble…
Weston chuckled softly as he put down the bowls on the dining table and went back into the kitchen to bring the cutlery over. Once the table was set, he raised his head and called out, “Come here. It‘s ready.”
Stella got up and headed toward the dining table. She took a seat and laid hier eyes on the two bowls of soup in front of her.
He laid made a simple chicken noodle soup, a dish that Stella used to often cook for him. Weston had always been a fussy eater. He never liked dishes with too many ingredients in them, but he made an exception for Stella‘s chicken noodle soup. It was the one dish that he would finish to the very last drop, albeit a little begrudgingly. “So you know how to make it too…”
Stella picked up the spoon and looked at the clear surface of the soup dotted with green bits of chopped spring onion. The scent of rich chicken broth lingered at the tip of her nose.
It looked like he even made some adjustments to the recipe himself.
“I just made that on the fly,” he said, stroking her hair before taking a seat opposite her. “My cooking skills are probably nowhere near as good as Joan‘s, but it should be good enough to fill your stomach.”
Stella leaned her head down and took a bite.
Weston did not move. He merely peered down to observe her expressions.
She knew he was waiting for her comment on the food, so without raising her head, she slowly savored the rest of the soup before declaring, “It‘s delicious.”
“It‘s just as good as the one Joan makes,” she added earnestly.
Stella had long realized how much God favored this man. It was as if he had been blessed with all the talents and privileges that life could offer.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1048
She used to think that a man like Weston probably did not know how to take care of himself in terms of daily chores. Perhaps that would be his sole weakness.
But then again, although someone of his stature had no need to bother himself with such trivial matters, that did not mean he did not know how to do it.
He had rarely ever stepped into the kitchen, yet he could easily rustle up a dish that tasted pretty good in spite of his inexperience.
Stella could not help but wonder how such a lucky man could exist in this world. Everything he wanted was seemingly served up on a silver platter for him. There was just nothing that he could not have or do.
“Judging by your expression,” Weston scrutinized her closely, “it doesn‘t look like you enjoyed the food.”
Stella smiled and put her spoon down. She looked straight into his eyes earnestly and said, “I have a question for you, Weston. Do you always get what you want? Was there ever anything you wanted that you couldn‘t get?”
He paused before responding, “Why ask that all of a sudden?”
Stella smiled and replied, “I just always felt like you have everything you desire. It‘s such an enviable position …”
His eyes gradually clouded over. He massaged his brows as a helpless expression cropped up on his face.
“Who said that I have everything I desire?” he asked.” You know what I desire the most, and yet you can‘t give it to me.”
“And yet, I’m still by your side,” she reminded him. “That‘s true,” he replied. “And yet, you are still by my side.”
He ran his fingers through her hair and gently toyed with a strand of it between his fingers, adding, “You‘re already by my side, but why am I still unsatisfied? Why do I still desire for more?”
Ever since Zachary died, the two of them had never spoken so casually with each other before.
Stella had no intention of asking him if he was with Guinevere or what they had been doing together yesterday.
Likewise, Weston had no intention of telling her what happened to Roger.
Once they finished their food, Weston cleaned up the table and went back into the kitchen. He then came up to
Stella and held her in his arms.
“Do you want to go back to sleep, or would you like to take a walk instead?” he asked.
“Let‘s take a walk.”
They then went into the back garden.
A stroll so early in the morning felt like a strange deviation from their usual habits.
Stella sat on the swing, feeling a little lightheaded.
“You didn‘t sleep well last night, did you?” Weston asked, kneeling in front of her and holding her calf in his hand. He found that her skin felt cold to the touch.
“You should go back inside and put on more clothes before coming out,” he frowned.
“No,” she shook her head. “I‘m not cold.”
Weston‘s grip tightened as he squeezed her calf. “How could you say that when your skin feels so cold?”
Stella paused suddenly and looked down at him. As her toes touched the ground she asked him, “Did… something happen?”
She felt that Weston was unusually gentle and considerate today. If nothing had happened, why would he suddenly change abruptly, especially when they were still mad at each other the last time he left the house?
Weston briefly fell into silence. His warmth spread from his palm onto the skin on her calf. It felt scorching. He had to admit that he felt guilty about what had happened to Roger.
“Nothing happened,” he insisted. “Why ask?” “No reason,” Stella shook her head. “I just feel you’ve been acting a little weird.”
She withdrew her leg and released it from his grip. Weston made no objection to this. He rose to his feet and went back into the bedroom to get her a pair of cotton slippers, which he then helped her put on her feet. Then he gently draped another coat on her shoulders.
“Be careful, or you‘ll catch a cold,” he said. Stella stopped mid–swing when she heard those words and sprang up to her feet.
“I don‘t want to stay here anymore…” she said. “I want to go back to bed.”
Weston had just made all the effort to make her warm, yet she suddenly changed her mind and wanted to go back to bed. It was a little too obvious that she was doing it on purpose.
He stared at her but said nothing before picking her up in his arms and carrying her back into their bedroom.
He then gently tucked her under the blanket.
Upon noticing that he was leaving, she reached out a hand to grab his wrist.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1049
“I’m going to the study,” he replied.
“I’ve got some work to do.”
“But you haven’t rested since last night, have you?”
“I’m fine,” he grabbed her hand and placed it back under the blanket before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
“Unless…” He brushed away the hair on her cheeks, then looked at her as if he could read her mind. “…you need me by your side for you to fall asleep?”
He treated her so gently that Stella even doubted if the conflict between them had even existed.
She pursed her lips and softly said, “I’d like to meet someone.”
Weston remained silent, his expressions unchanged. His eyes were steadily glued on her.
“I just want to meet Aunt Diana once,” she added.“ Please?”
“Tell me why.”
She took his hand and pressed his fingers. He had long and straight fingers that looked very elegant. Stella always thought of how much more enchanting those fingers would be if Weston could play the piano.
“I know you don’t want me to see anyone else,” she said, “but I have something really important to tell Aunt Diana
Weston looked at her as if he was waiting for her to continue.
Stella took a deep breath and added, “There’s something that I simply must tell her. I just can’t continue to keep her in the dark about this…”
She raised her hand, placed it on her heart, and earnestly asked, “Just let me see her once, please?”
Weston fell silent for a while.
Then, he pinched her cheek and looked into her eyes, telling her, “I can let you see her once.”
Stella’s eyes lit up…
“But,” Weston continued, “you must promise me one thing-from now on, you must always eat properly. You must never do what you did yesterday.”
“Really?” Stella asked incredulously. She could hardly believe how easy it was to persuade him.
Weston stared at her for a moment. There seemed to be something stirring in his eyes.
He nodded.
“Great!” Stella quickly responded. “Then I promise you I will eat properly from now on.”
Hearing this, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
“I will have Ben follow you closely at all times,” he told her. “Contact me as soon as anything happens. You’re also not allowed to stay outside for too long, okay?”
“Okay, understood.”
He looked at her and sighed deeply.
“Get some rest,” he said. “I have some work to do at the company now.”
“But you haven’t had any rest for the whole night,” she argued while stealing a glance at him. Her voice was laced with concern, perhaps out of gratefulness that he agreed to her request. “Why don’t you sleep for a while?”
“No,” he gently kissed her fingers. “I don’t need sleep. As long as you listen to what I say, it’ll be the only peace of mind that I need.”
The two seemed to have some tacit agreement on not bringing up the subject of Zachary’s death.
“Sleep tight,” he said, tucking her under the blanket.
After seeing that she had closed her eyes, he finally walked out of the room and left.
By the time Stella woke up, it was broad daylight.
Weston had already left Stardust Mansion. He had been extremely busy these past couple of days. Last night, het was only back to be with her for a few hours before he had to go out again.
When Stella walked into the living room, she noticed that Ben was already sitting there.
“You’re here already?” she asked, though she did not look one bit surprised.
Ben nodded. “Mr. Ford has instructed me about what to do, Mrs. Ford. We can leave anytime you’re ready.”
“Okay,” she replied before going back into her room to change.
After long contemplation, she still came to the conclusion that it would be best to tell Diana the truth. But, as for what Diana should do after learning the truth, she would leave that choice to Diana herself.
But she knew one thing for sure-she could not possibly keep concealing the truth from her like everyone else.
This was perhaps the last thing she could do for someone else, she thought to herself in despair.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 1050
She used to have a comically whimsical idea that she would carve out her own successful career, then escape Weston Ford’s grasp through the power and reputation she had gained. But now, when she looked back, she could not help but find the notion silly and naive. The power gap between them couldn’t possibly be bridged by her individual efforts alone.
It was the same as what happened after Zachary’s death. She had no way to protect herself or fight against those determined to see her getting convicted as Zachary Ford’s murderer. Even Weston didn’t believe that she didn’t kill the boy. Indeed, he was doing all he could to help her escape punishment, but he never truly thought she was innocent.
Stella was inside a quiet private room of a restaurant, contemplating the words she should say and the best way to tell Diana the truth when the door was suddenly pushed open. The person walking in turned out to be Michael Sealey
“We meet again, Stella.”
Under her surprised gaze, he took a seat right in front of her.
“What are you doing here?” Stella scowled. “Where’s Aunt Diana?”
“She’s not feeling well,” he replied. “So I came here on her behalf. You can tell me whatever you wanted to tell her.”
Stella’s eyes turned cold and stony. She stared at him without saying anything.
Michael raised his brows and smiled a meaningful smile as if he had expected to see such a reaction from her.
“Perhaps you don’t have anything to say to me, but I do, in fact, have news to break to you…” he said.
He paused to pick up the cup of coffee in front of him and took a sip, before adding, “Roger is dead.”
Crash!
The coffee cup in Stella’s hand slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor, noisily shattering into a thousand pieces.
The windowsill of the private room on the second floor was lined with lush green plants , filtering the sunlight through their leaves, and casting faint shadows on the table.
Stella did not move, nor did she say anything. She just stared vacantly at the broken fragments of the coffee cup on the floor, the expression on her face completely
unchanged. Time seemed to be extended indefinitely, flowing implausibly slowly between the two of them.
One second.
Two seconds.
Time went by so slowly that Michael wondered if he had pressed a pause button.
He looked on as the blood slowly drained from Stella’s face, until, at last, she became deathly pale. Yet he waited patiently.
In no time, a waitress soon rushed into the room and politely asked in a soft voice, “Pardon my intrusion, but do you both need any help?”
The loud smash could be heard from outside the door, and she rushed over to see what was happening.
Stella did not react at all. She just sat there very still like a puppet.
Michael nodded at the waiter and said, “Could you please clean up the broken cup?”
“Of course.”
The waitress immediately called another person in, who efficiently tidied up the mess. She then turned to Stella and thoughtfully asked her, “Would you like me to bring you another cup of coffee, madam?”
Stella’s hands trembled slightly. Only then did she seem to be jolted awake from her dreams as she turned to look at at the waitress.
“No,” she replied. “Thank you.”
“Okay,” the waitress responded. She then apologized for her intrusion again before exiting the private room, leaving Michael and Stella alone.
Michael rested his chin on his hand and calmly looked at Stella, telling her, “I can understand how you feel. But, to tell you the truth, the moment I heard the news, I couldn’t accept it either, but…”.
“You’re lying,” Stella interrupted him, looking straight at him with piercingly icy eyes. “I will never believe you.”
“You actually think I am lying to you right now?” Michael frowned. “Do you think I would ever joke about something like this?”
Stella pursed her lips vehemently, saying nothing.