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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