Instead of crying out, Stella simply endured the pain.
But Weston could see that she was hurt, so he let her go.
“Wash yourself,” he snapped before getting up and stomping out of the bathroom, leaving Stella alone
in the bathtub.
Weston closed the door behind him. Now, all that remained in the bathroom was a thick cloud of mist.
Stella couldn’t see very clearly. For a good while there, she just sat like a statue in the bathtub.
As the minutes passed, she finally slid down until the bottom half of her face was underwater. She
breathed out, creating bubbles in the water. She closed her eyes, but the scenes from her nightmare
came flooding back.
She didn’t want to remember all those things… but all she could do now was hug herself tight.
Meanwhile, Weston stood on his bedroom balcony with a glass of champagne in hand. The sight of
Stella whimpering and sweating in her sleep still ran fresh in his mind. He didn’t mean to be so cold to
her, but the thought of her willing to risk her life for Roger made him burn with rage.
In this state, it would be best for him to just be cold and
distant right now, as he feared that he might really hurt her. Once his tempestuous emotions finally
simmered down, he picked up his phone and called Ben.
“Get Stella’s background information and send it to my email,” he instructed.
By then, it was already midnight, and Ben was about to go to bed, so he was a little confused by this
sudden demand.
“Stella’s background information…?” he asked.
Ever since Stella changed her identity, Ben had always been cautious about how to address her. He
would make sure that he called her Miss Ella even when he was alone with his boss, just to prevent
anyone from overhearing and thus exposing her true identity.
But now, he wasn’t quite sure if Weston wanted Stella’s background information… or was it Ella’s?
Weston merely frowned and said nothing.
That brief silence unsettled Ben, who quickly responded, “I’ email you both sets of background
information right away!”
Weston hung up the phone immediately,
Soon afterward, two compressed hiles were sent to Weston’s email
Weston went inside and opened his notebook computer to check his email. He then clicked on those
files…
Stella Sealey grew up in a completely normal family. Both of her parents were college professors, and
they raised her in a safe and loving environment.
Her parents had a good reputation among their friends and family. Stella and Roger themselves were
excellent children that never got in any trouble.
But Weston had to pause when he learned which university Stella went to.
She had, in fact, attended the same university that he did!
Indeed, they must’ve surely bumped shoulders with each other, since Weston was only a few years
older than Stella. But alas, he simply didn’t know her at all at the time.
The year Stella turned eighteen, her parents tragically died in an air crash where no survivors were
found. Not long afterward, Stella and Roger completely left the Sealey household, even though she still
had her grandparents and an uncle who was only ten years older than her, and all signs pointed to
them being a tight-knit happy family.
Yet for some reason, Stella and Roger completely severed their connection to the family from then on.
Now that he thought about it, Weston recalled that when they got married, Stella only told Roger about
it. He didn’t think much of it then, though. He simply assumed that she must be at odds with her family
for some reason.
But looking at it now, he was sure that something fishy that he didn’t know about had to be going on.
Even when news got out that Stella had died falling from a building, no one from her family showed up
to look for her.
It was almost as if her family didn’t care for her existence at all.
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