Joyce was slightly taken aback by Stella’s presence. Her face was flushed, and her eyes darted
everywhere. It was unclear as to what she was just
doing
Stella looked at her strangely. “You don’t have any classes scheduled today, have you?”
She glanced at the class schedule, clearly recalling that Joyce didn’t have classes arranged for today.
When it came to the teachers, Joyce wasn’t the most professional one of the bunch. She taught
traditional folk dance, but constantly cut corners during her classes. Sometimes, she would end classes
when it wasn’t time, and her students learned at a very slow pace. As such, class coordinators seldom
prioritized her classes and frequently made her do more of the planning work.
Joyce’s face changed as she defended, “Can’t I come over to take a look even without any classes
scheduled? With so many outstanding colleagues at work, can’t I come over and learn from you guys?”
Stella knew it’d be impossible to talk reason with someone like Joyce. Instead of saying anything
further, she turned around and went on with her warm-up exercises.
Seeing the way Stella had ignored her, all of Joyce’s guilt from earlier evaporated. She sneered and
turned around to leave the classroom.
As the door slammed shut, Stella shook her head in silence.
When the time to start work rolled around, the other teachers began getting into position.
Yvonne had arrived slightly late today and didn’t even have the time to do her makeup. The silk scarf
wrapped around her neck looked like she was trying to hide something, and she looked lethargic in
general. When she saw Stella, she greeted her with a huge yawn. “Morning!” Stella glanced at her
watch and smiled. She had already finished one class by now. “It’s almost midday.”
Yvonne sighed loudly, “Men nowadays just don’t give women a break…” “What’s the matter?” Stella
turned solemn, thinking that something bad had happened to Yvonne.
The next moment, Yvonne hooked her arms around Stella’s neck and complained into her ear, “He
tortured me till late into the night before finally allowing me to sleep, which was why I almost overslept
this morning! I still have one more class. If it weren’t for my housekeeper, I’d probably be still in bed…”
Stella finally understood why Yvonne looked the way she did when she entered the center, and her
face flushed with embarrassment.
Yvonne saw her response which piqued her interest. “Why are you being shy about it? Haven’t you
ever…”
Stella immediately shook her head, refusing to give a clear answer. Yvonne, on the other hand, was
astonished. She blurted, without giving it further thought,” When you were with Weston, didn’t you
two…” She thought that given their relationship, they would’ve had already… She had long accepted
that they once shared an intimate relationship. Otherwise, why would Weston go to such lengths to
force Stella to stay by his side? Just because she looked good? They were all adults, and she at least
had that level of awareness.
However, the sight of Stella’s face darkening made her realize that she had said something wrong
Whatever it was, one thing was clear: Stella was being forced into the situation.
A young and beautiful woman like her was naturally the recipient of a barrage of sugar-coated bullets.
Yvonne believed that given Stella’s character, she could well resist many of such temptations.
However, she also knew that if someone were to threaten her with her family, Stella would have no
choice but to submit.
With that thought in mind, Yvonne immediately added, “I didn’t mean what I said, Ella. Please don’t
take it to heart.” Stella shook her head and smiled cryptically. “It’s a matter of time.”
Those five words alone were enough for Yvonne to get a realization. She said nothing else, and the
atmosphere became heavy with unspoken words. A while later, Stella broke the silence and said
casually, “How long have you and Dr. Quirk been married? You both seem to share a very happy
relationship.” The mention of Lucas made Yvonne smile with happiness, in complete juxtaposition to
the complaints that had just come from her mouth, “It’s been many years, and we’re considered an old
couple. I have pursued him since young and it took me a great deal of effort to finally win him over.”
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda