Ch. 831..840
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 831
“When you ordered the kidnappers to get rid of me on the rooftop two years ago, did you ever think that you would one day see me as I am today?”
Guinevere stared speechlessly at her with her mouth agape. She seemed to want to speak, but words couldn’t escape her throat.
“Y-You…” she sputtered.
Her lips were pale. Her eyes widened with horror, as if she was literally faced with a corpse that had miraculously come back to life.
“Impossible ! It’s impossible I You should’ve been dead! I don’t believe it…”
She recalled the first time she had laid eyes on Ella in Fern City. At the time, she was confident that the woman she saw was Stella. Not only did they look exactly alike, they even had the same rare blood type. It was just too improbable to believe that it was all a coincidence. Back then, she had no doubts at all that Ella was in fact Stella.
But afterward, she had conducted her own investigation, including a DNA test, and they all had pointed toward the fact that Ella was indeed a different person. Only then did she let down her guard and believe that Stella was truly dead.
If only she had known that her first instinct was correct after all!
Her expression turned cold. She glared at Stella and hissed,”
You lying b*tch! You’ve been alive all along! You’ve been deceiving me!
“You should’ve been dead!” she rushed forward and tried to grab Stella’s throat. “You shouldn’t have survived! Why are you still alive? Why are you still alive?!”
Her deranged behavior caused a huge stir among the crowd.
But before she got anywhere near Stella, Weston had long strode forward, pulled Stella into his arms, and shoved Guinevere away
“Haven’t you caused enough trouble?” he stared down coldly at the woman who had fallen onto the floor. “Get out.”
“Get out?” Guinevere looked up at him through her tears. She could hardly believe her ears.
Weston had never treated her so heartlessly before.
“You’re chasing me away,” she blurted between her sobs, “all because of this woman?! Hahahahaha!”
Guinevere burst into a maniacal laughter before burying her face in her hands and wailing bitterly. “You’ve been lying to me all along! She has always been Stella! You knew it from the start, didn’t you?”
Guinevere lumberingly got back up to her feet. Seeing this, Weston pulled Stella backward to shield her from Guinevere.
Guinevere sneered at the sight of Weston shrinking away from her as if she was a venomous snake, and with reddened eyes, she added, “I’d been mocking her for just being Stella’s substitute … Turns out she has been Stella all along… I must’ve looked like a stupid clown to both of you, huh?
“She’s never been a substitute because she IS Stella!” she shouted wildly, her finger pointing squarely at Stella’s face.” You’re supposed to be dead! You should’ve stayed dead! Why did you have to come back to life? Why?!”
Her screeching voice rang through the hall, only to be interrupted by the constant stream of camera flashes which were all directed at her face-the face that had always looked dignified and elegant, but now could only be described as delirious.
Chris rose to his feet in the VIP section as he could no longer watch on quietly. He had been sitting among the members of the Ford family. Beside him was Wendy, who was holding Zachary on her lap and playing happily with the toddler without a care in the world.
But when she saw Chris standing up, she grabbed his arm and asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Chris brushed her hand away and said nothing. He then headed up to the stage without looking back. Once he got there, he placed an arm around Guinevere to support her and asserted,” That’s enough farce for the day.”
But that did nothing to shut the reporters up. When they all saw that it was Chris, a hail of questions began to rain down on him.
“May I ask if you, as Weston’s father, knew about his previous marriage all along?”
“Was Guinevere Cohen the homewrecker who caused Weston Ford and Stella Sealey to break up?”
“Since Stella Sealey was the lawful Mrs. Ford, what was Guinevere Cohen trying to achieve when she announced publicly that she was engaged to Weston Ford?”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 832
Those questions were like blood-sucking leeches that dug into everyone’s brains, influencing their thoughts and opinions.
Now, the truth was finally laid bare for everyone to see Guinevere had been lying all these years.
Her fans online were up in a furore. None of them could believe that their adored idol was such a shady person behind the scenes!
But however dramatic the reactions of people online was, it was incomparable to the reactions of those who were present and had seen everything go down with their own eyes.
“I can’t believe she still had the audacity to show up here even after doing all those horrible things ! Not to mention how she tried to make herself look like the victim despite everything!”
“I had a bad feeling about her the moment she appeared. Who in their right mind would show up at their ex-boyfriend’s engagement party and say all those things? She wasn’t just trying to make herself look like the victim-she was blatantly trying to win Weston back!’’
“How shameless! After all the things she’s done! I wouldn’t dare show my face here if I was her!”
Murmurs and whispers of this sort spread through the crowd.
“Shut up!” Guinevere shrieked. She couldn’t take it anymore and was beginning to lose her mind. “Shut up, all of you!”
Seeing that Guinevere was on the verge of losing her sanity, Chris desperately tried his best to lead her down the stage.
“Let’s go home now,” he told her with a gloomy face.
“No!” Guinevere refused to budge. With reddened eyes, she pleaded, “You have to help me, Chris! Please help me!”
She looked straight into his eyes and added, “You’re Weston’s father. I know you can help me! You must help me!”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked utterly pitiful.
“Nothing they said is true…” she muttered. “I’m not a. homewrecker! You know that, don’t you? You know how long I’ve been in love with Weston! How can I be the homewrecker when I’ve been by his side all along?”
“Of course,” Chris comforted her. There was nothing more he could do right now as everyone around them was eyeing Guinevere with suspicion and contempt. “I believe you, Gwen, but now is not the time to do anything. Don’t worry. I’ll definitely help you, just not right now. Let me take you home…”
Guinevere hesitated and looked as if she wanted to argue, but Chris gripped her arm and held her closer to him before leading her somewhat forcefully away from the prying eyes.
Meanwhile, Wendy watched on in her seat with a cold and stony look on her face. Zachary was still on her lap, happily bouncing up and down and completely oblivious to the commotion going on around him.
“Granny!” he cried out, pinching Wendy’s cheek with his chubby fingers.
Zachary had begun to speak, but while other kids his age had already learned how to say mommy and daddy, Zach was still fumbling in his speech. The only word he could say right now was granny.
“Yes, my dear.” Wendy turned her gaze toward the boy, and without a change in her expression, she stroked his little face and told him, “I’m here, darling. Are you hungry?”:
A lady who sat near her turned to her worriedly and asked,” Aren’t you going to go over there too?”
Even Chris had gone up there, so it seemed a little odd that Wendy did not join him.
Others in the crowd wondered why Chris and Guinevere seemed so strangely close to each other, but none of them dared to say anything about it. After all, such speculations seemed baseless at the moment. Furthermore, what had transpired today was scandalous enough that everyone was still reeling from it. No one had the time to notice the weirdly intimate relationship between Chris and Guinevere.
Someone even thought it was a good idea to give Wendy the following advice “I know the Ford and Cohen families may still want to maintain a good relationship, but since Guinevere’s not engaged to Weston anymore, you should remind Chris that he doesn’t need to be so concerned about Guinevere anymore, Wendy.”
The person who had said that might have truly meant well, but Wendy could not listen to it without turning cold and aloof.
“You can’t say that,” she replied with a thin wry smile. “You’re forgetting that Guinevere is still Zach’s mother.”
“Oh!” the person changed their tune when they saw Wendy’s icy expression. “I’ve completely forgotten about that!”
After that, no one ever brought up the topic to Wendy again. Most people were still in shock after having learned such staggering things about Guinevere anyway.
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A big portion of the crowd was now curious about Stella.
“So is Ella Steele really Stella Sealey?”
“Of course she is! Didn’t she say so herself just now?”
“So it’s not really an engagement party, but more like an announcement of their remarriage, right?”
Now that Chris had taken Guinevere away, it was only natural that everyone started to turn their attention to Stella.
“Was everything you claimed the truth, Miss Steele?”
“How should we address you now-Miss Steele or Miss Sealey?”
“I’m sorry,” replied Stella. With Chris and Guinevere gone, she had no desire to face any confrontations. “I’m not in the mood to answer any of your questions right now.”
She then turned to leave after that, but the reporters still wouldn’t give up.
“Miss Sealey!” shouted one. “Please answer our questions ! If everything we learned was true, then shouldn’t you hate Weston Ford? Why would you want to marry him now?”
“Why did you use the identity of Ella Steele to marry Weston Ford?”
“Have you changed your name permanently, or is Stella Sealey your old name and Ella Steele your stage name?”
Dozens of cameras and microphones were aimed at her.
Those people who had been paid by Guinevere to do a live stream here initially felt aimless when Guinevere had left, but even though they’d already been paid, they realized that they’d earn a thousand times more money if they continued the livestream, so they remained there.
At the request of the live audience, one of the reporters sneaked in and approached Stella, asking her, “Miss Steele, would you raise Weston Ford’s child with him once you got married?”
Stella did not answer, so he continued, “Zachary Ford is Weston and Guinevere’s son. Would you be able to treat him as your own son?”
He added, “Would you treat Zachary Ford poorly because his mother is Guinevere?”
The questions she had received earlier had sounded as if they were borne out of innocent curiosity, but the ones this man had just posed were obviously tinged with malice.
Stella was too exhausted to face them right now, so she turned away and ignored the reporter.
The man was not going to give up just yet, though. He kept the camera rolling and chased after Stella.
“Miss Steele,” he uttered again, “please answer our questions! Or do you find these questions too difficult to answer? Why is that, Miss Steele? Miss Steele!”
“Who are you to force her to talk?”
Just as the man was firing questions at Stella, a large hand reached out and blocked the camera.
“What gave you the guts to be so bold?” the same voice asked.
The reporter turned around and saw Weston’s ruthless face glowering down at him. His oppressive and intimidating aura completely overwhelmed him, giving him no courage to even look straight into Weston’s eyes.
“I was only asking a few questions …” the man mumbled. His bold confidence , which had been so prominent only seconds ago, was now completely gone. Instead, his voice now faltered, and he looked meek.
“I don’t think you were on the guest list at all,” said Weston before snatching the man’s camera away from him..
“What are you doing?” the man responded in panic. He depended on that camera to make a living! “Give it back to me!”
Stella glanced coldly at Weston and pursed her lips without saying anything. Weston shielded her behind him, wrapped an arm around her body, and held her fast. With the other hand, he went through the photos in the camera that he’d just confiscated from the reporter.
“You really are a gutsy one,” he sneered. There was not a trace of warmth in his voice. “Which magazine do you work for?”
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Blood drained completely from the reporter’s face as soon as he heard Weston’s question. He was fully aware of how powerful Weston was. It would be stupid to provoke him. He shouldn’t have been so caught up in the moment and forgotten himself just now.
“I’m truly sorry, Mr. Ford…”
Weston restrained his anger and tossed the camera back to the reporter.
“Beat it,” he snarled, and said nothing more to him.
He turned around and noticed that Stella didn’t look very well. He frowned, took her hand, and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t feel well, we can leave now.”
Stella nodded.
“You take care of the rest,” Weston instructed Ben.
Ben nodded, then Weston swiftly took Stella away from the hall.
The engagement party had caused such a stir that news of it occupied the front page of all major newspapers in Ahn City. The whole incident was a hot topic on everyone’s lips.
Once the party was over, Weston booked a room at a hotel for Stella to stay in and brought her there. On their way, a pregnant silence hung over them. It was as if they were suppressing so
many thoughts in their minds, each unwilling to express them.
To start, there were those pesky questions that the reporter had asked…
It was true that Stella should hate both Guinevere and Weston. So why did she decide to marry the man? Was she resigned to her fate? Was she still in love with him even after all the horrible things that he’d done to her?
Neither of those answers sounded reasonable.
Both of them knew this, of course. That was precisely why they remained in silence.
As things descended into chaos outside, the two of them settled down in a VIP suite on the top floor of the hotel. But not long after that, Weston got up and was about to leave.
“Where are you going?” Stella asked, grabbing his arm before he left.
Weston sat down next to her, gently stroked her hair, and replied, “My grandfather is waiting for me outside. It’ll only take a minute. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Okay,” she replied. Then, she asked, “Will he be furious at you?”
She thought of how Warren had now learned of their previous marriage to each other, and that she had been using a fake
identity all along.
Weston leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I can handle it.” Stella nodded.
“I’ll go once you’re asleep,” he said as he ran his fingers through her hair.
“I think you’d better go now,” she urged. “Your grandfather must’ve been waiting for ages by now.”
“It’s fine,” he insisted, firmly but with a tender warmth in his voice. ‘TH wait till you’re asleep.”;
He gazed fixedly at her, as if she was the only person that mattered to him in this whole world. With those eyes and that husky voice of his, it was hard not to be completely bewitched.
After a while, Stella closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. The last things she was aware of were Weston’s gentle sigh, the rustling noise as he placed a blanket over her body, and the sound of his footsteps as he left the room.
Warren had been waiting in the hallway outside the suite for hours.
“My dear boy!” he greeted Weston with a cold sneer when he came out. “You’ve really given me a massive gift!”
Weston had never disappointed him before ever since he was born. As an exceptional member of the Ford family, he had always displayed a level of skills and talent that was far beyond the reach of his peers. At an age when other men like him were busy fooling around with women and burning money on expensive cars and designer clothes, Weston had spent his time establishing a firm foothold in the Ford Corporation.
He was undeniably a rare genius.
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Whether it was his father, Chris, or his uncle, Xavier, none of them could compare to his unrivaled brilliance.
Yet Warren could never have foreseen that this grandson of his, who had always been a source of his pride, would one day secretly get married to a woman completely unknown to him behind his back!
In fact, he’d gotten married, divorced, and now re-engaged to the same woman, all without informing the family!
“I’m not sure if you remember that I’m your grandfather still. Perhaps I’m just an old decrepit man who doesn’t mean anything to you now!”
Weston made no reply.
“What’s wrong?” Warren barked, glancing at the door to the suite. ‘‘Am I not important enough for her to come out and meet me?”
Warren could’ve kept calm and suppressed his angry, but when he learned that Ella and Stella were the same woman, the rage just surged back up, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Both of you have been pulling the wool over our eyes all along! What do you take US for? Simple-minded fools?!”
He took a deep breath and looked straight into Weston’s eyes before continuing, “I’ll only ask you this: Is it all true? Everything concerning Stella, Ella, and all the mess that was claimed to
have happened-are they all true?”
Weston’s eyes darkened, and he remained silent for a while before replying, “They’re all true.”
“So she really is the woman that you married a few years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell US?”
“There was no need for it,” he replied bluntly.
At the time, Weston had no intention to hide the marriage from his family at all, but he wasn’t in a rush to tell them either. Both his father and Xavier knew about it, but they also knew that Stella didn’t mean much to Weston anyway. They assumed that he only married her to provoke Guinevere because he was angry at her. That was why they didn’t think it was important enough to mention it to anyone else in the family.
Besides, Weston and Stella had signed a prenuptial agreement before they had gotten married, so unless they remained lawfully husband and wife, none of Weston’s money or properties would ever go to Stella.
Had things stopped at their divorce and not turned out the way it did now, Warren wouldn’t have even been bothered when he found out that Weston had been married to Stella before. At most, he would’ve given him a good talking to, and that would’ve been the end of it.
But now that Ella had turned out to be Weston’s ex-wife, things had gotten much more complicated.
“Absolutely ridiculous!” Warren’s face turned ghastly with rage.”
I’d always thought that you were nothing like your uncle, who spends all his time drinking and fooling around! I’d never think that you would keep your marriage a secret from the family for so many years! I’d always regarded you as my most deserving heir, but as things stand…”
“Grandpa-” Weston muttered with a frown.
“Don’t you dare call me that!” barked Warren, engulfed by fury.” If you had thought of me as your grandfather, you wouldn’t have concealed such a serious matter from me! If things hadn’t exploded into chaos the way it did today, were you planning to fool me for the rest of my life?!”
“The most important thing is that my heart is set on her,” Weston replied firmly, his fingers on his brows. “Everything else is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether she’s Ella or Stella. The woman I want to marry has always been her and only her.”
“In that case, you shouldn’t have put a baby in Guinevere’s belly, then!”
Warren banged his walking stick furiously on the floor, then added, “I don’t care if you love her, but you shouldn’t have dragged Guinevere into it! How are we going to face the public now? How is the Cohen family to deal with the humiliation ? It was bad enough that you publicly broke off your engagement with Guinevere , but things have gotten even worse now! How should I ever face the Cohen family now?”
“They brought it on themselves,” Weston responded with knitted brows.
Warren heaved a long and heavy sigh as he realized that things
had gone past the point of no return.
“I know that I won’t change anything now no matter how much I yell at you,” he relented.
He glared at the young man in front of him with a gaze full of disappointment. He had put a lot of high expectations on this grandson of his, but he had dashed all his hopes.
“When did you turn into your uncle Xavier, Weston? You’ve made such a big commotion, and what was it all for? Just a woman.”
Weston clenched his fist. If there was one person in his family that he truly respected and revered, it was his grandfather, Warren.
“I’ve made my decision,” Weston insisted. “I was married to her, and now, I want to marry her again. My mind is made up no matter what, and that’s the end of it.”
Warren knew exactly what his grandson meant.
“Are you absolutely sure?” he asked. His old, wizened face hardened. “You’ve caused a huge uproar today, so if you regret it one day,” “I will never regret it,” Weston interrupted him, his voice full of conviction. “Whether she’s Stella or Ella, I know I’ll never regret marrying her.”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 836
Stella was woken up the next morning by a loud noise.
To her surprise, she actually had a good night’s sleep last night despite all that had happened.
The voices outside the door grew louder and louder. Stella frowned and forced her eyes open. Then she felt a warm and gentle embrace enveloping her from behind.
“Did the noise wake you up?”.
Stella turned around and looked at the man with groggy eyes, asking, “What… What time is it?”
“It’s still early,” Weston replied, leaning down and planting a kiss on her face. “Why don’t we sleep a little longer?”
He then tucked her back into the thick layers of blankets.
“You must’ve been really tired yesterday,” he added.
“Not really,” she yawned and turned around to lean on his chest. “I think Guinevere was a lot more tired.”
She brought up the name as if that person no longer had any power to bother her.
“Yesterday was a mishap…” Weston ran his fingers through her messy hair. “But I promise you that she will never appear in our
lives ever again.”
Stella was silent for a long time before she asked, “Don’t you have anything else to tell me?”
“What other things should I be telling you?”
“Well,” she replied in a timid voice, “everyone found out about US yesterday..”
“Yes, everyone knows now.”.
“I didn’t plan on revealing anything yesterday,” she said, closing her eyes.
“I know.” Weston swept her hair away and kissed her. “I understand you completely. You don’t have to explain anything to me.”
“If…” Stella utered, slowly opening her eyes. “If Guinevere hadn’t appeared suddenly, I would never have said all those things…”
“I know,” Weston assured her, his lips now moving closer to hers. He went in and kissed her passionately. “I understand completely. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll handle everything. All you need to focus on now is getting ready to be Mrs. Ford.”
A wry, sardonic smile cropped up on her face, but she quickly hid it. She took Weston’s hands and asked him, “What does everyone think of me now?”
Did they pity her? Suspect her? Or did they regard her with contempt and anger? After all, Guinevere and Weston had treated her so abominably, yet she was now still willing to be Weston’s wife.
“Don’t bother yourself with what others think of you,” he told her, raising her hands up to his lips and kissing them gently. “With me by your side, no one would ever dare to mock you.”
“Not to my face, perhaps…”
Stella lowered her eyes and continued, “But what would they be thinking about me in their hearts?”
“You can’t control what people think.” Weston lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “But I promise you, Stella: I will never let anyone harm you again.”
Light flashed in her eyes. She smiled and placed her hands on the nape of his neck.
“Okay, I trust you.”
After a moment, she asked him, “Which identity should I be using now?”
Weston was about to say she could use any name she liked. She was still the same person, after all. But he changed his mind when he looked into her eyes. “Ella,” he replied.
Stella would never forgive him. Ella, on the other hand, was the woman who had told him that she would like to start over with him.
After a brief pause, Stella smiled and nodded, saying, “Okay, from now on, Stella Sealey no longer exists. There is only Ella Steele now.”
They then fell back to sleep again in each other’s arms.
It was only later when she woke up again that she learned the person who had been making all the noise outside was Diana …
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Stella got up and put on her clothes. She turned to the man standing beside her and asked softly, “Can I go out and talk to her for a little while?”
Diana was her aunt, after all. When Stella was still living in her old home, it was Diana who had truly cared for her. After the death of her parents, Diana had been the only source of warmth and support she had apart from Roger.
Even if she loathed to see Michael, she still wished to give Diana an explanation about everything that had transpired. It even occurred to her yesterday, when her true identity was revealed, that Diana would come to see her.
“Are you sure?” Weston asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Michael is here with her too, you know.”
“I know,” she replied. “But I still want to see my aunt.”
He said while pinching her earlobe playfully, “You still haven’t told me why you don’t get along with your uncle, yet you seem to love your aunt very much.”
“Didn’t you say you’ve looked into it before?”
Stella sat down at the dressing table. Weston’s warm breath brushed against her skin as he spoke. It tickled her, making her want to move away from him, but Weston wouldn’t let her get away. He nuzzled up closer against her ear and whispered in a seductive voice, “I can look into anything in this world, but I can’t look into your heart and find out what your preferences are.”
Stella couldn’t help but giggle.
“Did you really think that my behavior toward my aunt and uncle is all due to my preferences?”
“No.” Weston planted little kisses from her ear all the way down to her neck. “But it doesn’t surprise me that you wouldn’t like any other man apart from me.”
Those words made Stella pause, then she caught the meaning he implied between the lines.
“What nonsense are you thinking about? He’s my unde!”
Weston breathed heavily by her ear and said, “What would you say if I told you that I’m even jealous of how close you are with your aunt?”
“I would say that you’re completely out of your mind!”
Stella was different now. She would never have dared to joke around and say such things to him in the past. But that did not bother Weston one bit; in fact, he indulged her and played along with her.
“So what if I really am out of my mind?” He teased her. “You’d still belong only to me anyway…”
Eventually, Stella did end up meeting Diana that day, albeit under Weston’s watchful eye. Nevertheless, Stella didn’t mind that at all because she had no desire to see Michael. With Weston there with her, she knew that Michael wouldn’t dare to be so bold with her. –
Especially when she saw the way Michael was glaring at her vehemently when she turned up, as if he was ready to tear her apart and get rid of her…
But knowing that Weston was right there beside her, he had no choice but to conceal his feelings and appear civil.
“Mr. Ford,” he said, “since it turns out that Ella is in fact my niece, Stella, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind letting US talk to her for a while, would you?”
“Of course,” replied Weston. “There’s no problem at all. But my fiancee would like to have a private chat with her aunt. Why don’t we give the ladies some space to catch up?”
Since Weston was so forward about it, Michael had no choice but to relent.
“Sure,” he replied with a slight sneer before glancing at the two women in front of him. “I’ll wait for them right here, then.”
Weston knew that Stella was at odds with her uncle, but he didn’t know the reason why. They had been in a rush just now, so he didn’t have the time to ask her about it.
But looking at Diana, who was on the verge of tears the moment she saw Stella, Weston was fairly sure that she would not cause Stella any harm, so he had no qualms in letting her speak to Stella alone.
Meanwhile, Stella and Diana settled down in a quiet private lounge.
“I knew you were Stella!” cried Diana. “I knew it the first time I saw you! I was sure that I couldn’t be mistaken!”
“I’m so sorry,” Stella muttered. “I had no choice but to keep my identity a secret, Aunt Diana.”
Stella seemed better able to keep her composure than her aunt, because she knew that after such a ruckus that had occurred during the engagement party, there was a high chance that her aunt would come to see her, so she had braced herself for this meeting since then.
But Diana had completely misunderstood Stella’s reserved attitude toward herself.
“Tell me, Stella-have I done anything wrong to make you unhappy? Or did your uncle do anything to offend you?”
At the time, Diana was still blissfully oblivious to her husband’s infidelity. She even regarded Michael as a sweet, doting husband who was always there for her.
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“Of course not, Aunt Diana!”
Stella frowned with concern and added, “Please don’t overthink it and get the wrong idea! You’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Then why didn’t you reveal your real identity to me when I saw you at that shopping mall?”
“Well…” Stella smiled bitterly. “You’ve heard of what happened at the engagement party yesterday, haven’t you? That was the reason why…”
“I can understand that.” Diana pursed her lips. “Still, you could’ve just told me that you were Stella. I never would’ve revealed it to anybody else! Didn’t you know how happy I was when I saw you? I was heartbroken when you insisted that you were Ella Steele, not Stella Sealey…”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Diana.”
Stella had no idea what else to do apart from apologizing. She couldn’t possibly tell Diana that she had to keep her identity a secret because she knew something Michael was doing everything in his power to hide from the rest of the world that he’d been cheating on Diana behind her back, and that the woman he had cheated on her with was Stella’s own roommate.
Meanwhile, Michael waited anxiously outside, his eyes kept shifting toward the door behind which his wife and Stella were chatting.
“You look nervous, Mr. Sealey.”
Even Weston could clearly see that he was tense and agitated.
“It looks like you’re afraid that my fiancee would reveal something to your wife that you wish she wouldn’t know.” Weston stated his observation.
The corners of Michael’s mouth twitched in concealed chagrin. He turned to Weston and said, “You’re overthinking, Mr. Ford. It’s only because I’m anxious to talk to Stella myself. She is my own niece, after all.”
“That reminds me.” Weston drummed his fingers on the coffee table. “I do find it strange that while my fiancee was excited to meet Mrs. Sealey, she had no desire to talk to you at all, even though you are the one related to her by blood.”
“Is that a genuine question ?” asked Michael, now on pins and needles. “Or are you insinuating something?”
“Which do you think it is?”
“I wouldn’t dare to presume to know what you’re thinking, Mr. Ford.”
At that point, the door opened, and out came Stella and Diana. Michael immediately rose to his feet and rushed toward his wife.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern written all over his face.
“Of course I am!” Diana replied. “I was just catching up with Stella. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I…” Michael fumbled, realizing that his overreaction might look too suspicious. His eyes darkened as he glanced at his niece. “I was just worried because you’d been in there for a long time. I wondered what you two were talking about.”
He was obviously testing the waters to find out if Stella had revealed his secret to his wife. Stella found his antsy attitude in front of her aunt immensely amusing.
What was the point of looking so concerned about his wife now when he didn’t seem to care a jot about her when he cheated on her?
“A long time?” Diana sighed, discontented but still oblivious to the looks exchanged between her husband and Stella. “What do you mean, a long time? It felt like we’d hardly talked about anything at all! There’s still so much to say… Stella, we must meet up again, okay?”
Before Stella could say anything, Michael wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder and reminded her, “Don’t forget that Stella is soon to be Mrs. Ford. You can no longer expect her to come out to see you anytime you’d like!”
“Why not?” asked Diana, disconcerted by what her husband had said. “She’ll still be the same person even after getting married! She’s our niece no matter what! She’s only getting married, not getting sold to other people!”
Those words created instant tension and awkwardness, especially since Weston was still right there.
“Don’t be ridiculous !” barked Michael with a stolid face. “She should know her place once she’s gotten married. It has nothing to do with getting sold to anyone!”
Diana didn’t like her husband’s response at all, but she had always made a point of not challenging her husband in front of strangers, so she didn’t argue with him about it for the time being.
Weston saw that Stella was not looking very well, so he approached her and took her hands into his before announcing,” As long as my fiancee is willing to see you, you may come and see her anytime you’d like.”
The warmth in his tone created a stark contrast to the way he had treated Michael earlier.
Diana was pleasantly surprised herself. She didn’t have that good an opinion of Weston up till then, mainly because of what she had learned that he and Guinevere had done to Stella. But seeing the way he treated Stella now softened her heart somewhat.
“I don’t care what happened between you in the past,” she uttered to Weston, “but Stella is my niece. I would hope that you wouldn’t take advantage of the fact that her parents had died to treat her poorly. I would never forgive you if you hurt her again!”
“I promise you that I will take good care of her,” declared Weston somberly while his captivating eyes, which crowned his exquisitely handsome face, were fixed on Stella’s.
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 839
It was almost impossible not to get lost in those alluring eyes.
“With me by her side,” he asserted, “I will never let anyone harm her.”
Eventually, Michael had managed to persuade Diana to go home, albeit reluctantly.
As soon as they got into the car, Michael immediately asked her, “What did Stella tell you when you guys were alone
together?”
Diana had noticed earlier that Michael had been acting really weird lately. At first, she chalked it up to him being overwhelmed with joy since finding out that their niece was alive after all. But now, it was beginning to look like something fishy was going on
“Nothing in particular,” she told him. “We were just catching up.”
She paused before adding with a frown, “What’s up with you, anyway? Why do I have a feeling that you’re unhappy for some reason?”
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized how improbable her conjecture was. She might have been very close to Stella, but it was Michael who was related to her by blood, and he had maintained a good relationship with his niece all along. They had seemed to be at odds with each other for a
while when Stella’s parents died, but it had only been a brief quarrel and nothing more. Diana simply could not believe that her husband would be upset that his niece had returned.
But why was he acting so bizarrely now?
Seeing that she was beginning to suspect something, Michael turned gloomy. He sighed heavily and pulled her into his arms.
“Diana,” he murmured, “you know that I love you, right?”
Diana was startled. She fell silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“Of course I know that!” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly.” Who else would you love if not your own wife?”
“If someone comes to you with some lies about me to break US apart, who would you believe- them or me?”
“You,” she answered without any hesitation. “Because you’re my husband. You’re the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. Why would I trust anyone else over you?”
Michael smiled contentedly.
“You really are such a silly goose.” He held her close, his face a picture of tenderness, “but I just can’t help but love you anyway.”
As soon as his face was hidden from his wife, the affectionate expressions on his face vanished entirely.
He cursed Stella’s name under his breath. He must find a way to silence her forever, so she could never expose his secrets to his wife.
The two of them met at a cafe. They sat across from each other. Michael was wearing a suit, looking as if he was here for a business meeting.
Weston was sitting at a different table not too far away. He was willing to give them some space, but he was still close enough to warn Michael not to get any ideas.
“You’ve found yourself a powerful protector indeed,” he commented with a smile that looked half friendly and half mocking.
“Yes, I certainly did.” Stella smiled and played along. “You didn’t expect me to be a sitting duck, helplessly waiting for your attack, did you?”
Though she was smiling, her eyes were piercingly cold. The smile on Michael’s face quickly dissipated. He continued, “I know you haven’t told her about that… incident. What should I do to make you keep that secret forever?”
Stella stirred her coffee nonchalantly and replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Uncle Michael. Which incident are you referring to?”
She was only taunting him, of course. She knew perfectly well that he was referring to the incident where he cheated on his wife with her roommate.
“I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” Michael sneered with simmering rage, “but I have truly changed. It happened so long ago, and I’ve now become a completely different man…”
Seeing that Stella was unconvinced , he decided to change his approach
“People screw up all the time when they’re young. Am I right? Besides, I haven’t done a single thing to make Diana unhappy ever since then…”
Mr. Ford Is Jealous Chapter 840
“Haven’t you?” Stella picked up her coffee cup and took a sip.” How can I be sure of that when your own wife is still oblivious to the fact that you cheated on her many years ago?”
“That was the only time it happened!” he insisted as calmly as he could through gritted teeth. He was seething with anger, but he knew it would be best to control his emotions. “I’d completely cut my contact with that woman ever since then…”
“Are you sure that was the only time? Judging by your conversation with her back then, it sounded more like a repeated offense to me.”
“I was just starting up my company back then,” he argued. “I had to meet so many people and entertain lots of clients, so it was impossible for me not to forget myself sometimes. But eventually, I managed to firmly establish the company, and ever since then, I’ve never fooled around at all!”
“Oh,” Stella responded, her voice studded with biting scorn. “So you managed to establish your company then, huh? I wonder: How exactly did you do it?”
After her parents had died, Michael had usurped all the money and properties that should have been inherited by Stella and Roger, stolen all of her parents’ pension compensation money, and kicked the siblings out of their house.
At the time, Roger was critically ill and desperately needed the money for his treatment.
If it hadn’t been for Michael, Stella would’t have had to go through all the harrowing experiences she’d gone through these past few years. She wouldn’t have had to give up her studies and give up on her dreams.
Michael was aware of all that. He knew that he’d wronged Stella and Roger. He quietly rested both of his hands on the table and interlaced the fingers of one hand with the other.
“I’m really sorry about what I’ve done many years ago. I don’t care if you don’t believe me, but the truth is, I was in an extremely desperate situation. My company was about to be sold, and if I let that happen, I would never gain the trust from my wife’s family. I needed them to accept me…”
He paused and heaved a long sigh before continuing , “I know things were difficult for both of you too. I know that Roger needed the money for his treatment. But I had no choice! I had to choose between you two and my wife…”
“You didn’t have to choose between US and Aunt Diana,” Stella interjected bluntly. “You only had to choose between US and your own comfort and wealth.”
“I know you must hate me.” Michael gritted his teeth. “But you can’t possibly believe that I gladly did all that, can you? We’re family! I’ve known you since you were born! Are you just going to disregard the close bond that we had in all those years when you were growing up?”
Stella’s face suddenly turned sullen.
“You’re right,” she said. “You were so close to US in all those years; that was why it hurt so much when you betrayed us! Do you know how unbearable it was to find out that your own family backstabbed you? It was simply unforgivable! What have we ever done to you? How could you do such a thing to us! We were your family!”
Stella’s eyes reddened, and she was on the verge of tears. Seeing this, Weston instantly rose to his feet and walked over to her.
There was nothing that Michael could do now but to suppress his emotions and stay in control.
“I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done… I had no choice.”
“You told me that you did it all for Aunt Diana’s sake,” Stella countered him with disdain. “But what about the time you cheated on her with another woman? Did you do that for her sake too?”
“This world is not as simple as you imagine,” he replied. “It’s completely normal for men to fool around sometimes. Take Weston, your own fiance, for example! Not only was he with Guinevere , he’d even been with other women at Lowe Garden! What’s the difference between what he did and what I did? But none of this matters anyway!”
He paused to change into a more emphatic voice, “As long as you are the only woman in his heart, it doesn’t matter how many women he fools around with out there, because they don’t mean anything to him!”
“Why don’t you tell Aunt Diana what you just told me?” Stella stared blankly at him. “See if she’d forgive you after that.”
Those words finally brought Michael over the edge. He sprang up to his feet and blurted, “She must never find out about this! You know what she’s like! She’ll never be able to handle it!”
Michael tugged at his collar before adding, “If you could forgive Weston, then why can’t you forgive your own uncle too? Trust me-all men with health and position would definitely make the same choice that I did at least once in their lives. If you don’t believe me, you can just ask Weston how many kept women he has. Yet you’re the only one he allows to be publicly acknowledged as the woman by his side, and the woman he would marry. He even broke off his previous engagement to Guinevere just for you! Isn’t that more than enough?”
“… It sounds like you’re talking about me.”
Weston appeared at their table. He swept a glance over Michael.
“I heard that you were discussing the nature of men, Mr. Sealey,” he said, his voice heavily tinged with threat. “Would you mind if I join you and listen in?”
“I’ve said all that I wanted to say,” said Michael, making sure to keep his emotions in check. “It seems that you’ve heard everything as well. So why should I waste your time by repeating myself?”
Weston sat down next to Stella and wrapped his arm around her waist. His movements were so smooth and natural that it looked like he’d done it a million times before.
“You sounded desperate to drag other men down to your level, Mr. Sealey. Did you think that it would make you look better and justify your past actions by doing this?”