Chapter 102 Abstinence
Could it be Hollowcrest City since it was to the north of Murdough? But why would my luck in my career be in the north? I established my career in Murdough, though.
Stella took what he said with a pinch of salt and smiled wryly before letting him rest on a bench closer to the inside of the shop. After that, she even gave him some money so that he could get something to eat if he was hungry. The old man was very grateful toward her.
Then, Stella went back to review her shop’s accounts, and she suddenly received a text from Matthew. ‘Stella, Hollowcrest City. Now. Quick!’
Immediately, Stella called Matthew to ask whether anything urgent happened, and to that, Matthew replied that one of their important customers requested for a customization of a women’s outfit. Although he had managed to convince the customer to purchase from them, they didn’t have a designer for women’s clothes, so he wanted her to help them out.
This was official work. Moreover, Matthew was the one who paid for Stella’s studies overseas. Without any reasons to reject his request, Stella immediately bought a ticket back to Hollowcrest City.
Since Hollowcrest City was pretty near Murdough, people would rarely travel by plane, and Stella could see many leftover tickets every time she booked her flight, so she couldn’t help but wonder why Miles didn’t manage to get tickets. He obviously wasn’t one to travel by economy class seats, and there should have been more first-class and business class seats. I really wonder why he couldn’t get his flight tickets?
Stella was really confused. Regardless, she quickly packed up her stuff and figured that she should probably contact Miles before leaving.
Still, her call went unaccepted after it rang for a long time. Having no other choice, Stella sent him a text. ‘President Grant, I’ll be going to Hollowcrest City as President Xenon needs me there. However, I’m not sure when I’m returning.’
At the same time, Miles was at his company’s branch that had just been established on Burmington Road. This place used to be an agency without a legal entity and had a small scope, so he did his best to prepare for this branch’s opening. All in all, the reason why Miles’ opened this branch was obvious.
Since they had some fireworks performance, it was expected that Miles would not hear Stella’s call. He only managed to hear the notification when Stella texted him as she rarely sent voice messages. It was possible that her schedule was tight, or she was already on the way, so she had no choice but to do it.
Right after Miles moved part of his business here to Murdough, she’d have to return to Hollowcrest City. He chuckled bitterly at how things turned out. How many more times did they have to slip past each other in exchange for a perfect ending?
Miles couldn’t leave that night, as he had to stay in his branch company; he had bought a spacious place with four rooms and two halls above the branch. Frowning slightly, he placed his phone back into his pocket.
On the other hand, Stella had already boarded the plane and turned off her phone. It was already nighttime when she arrived at Hollowcrest City, and Matthew was still waiting for her at the company.
“Stella, you have to come over quickly. Meridian Trading had ordered a batch of women’s work clothes from us. I initially wanted to refuse the order, but after thinking about it, I accepted the order because we now have our own women’s apparel designer, so you’ll be very busy after this!” Matthew caressed Stella’s back gently as a caring gesture for his employee.
Stella frowned slightly at that before she nodded, as she knew how urgent this was. After discussing till midnight, they finally concluded what to do. From now onward, the two of them would work separately, where Matthew focused on hiring more women’s apparel designers while Stella concentrated on designing the work clothes for Meridian Trading.
Although Stella knew that Meridian Trading was Yulia’s company, she had never suspected any schemes within this deal. She only knew that since her boss gave her the responsibility to do this job, she would do her best. Yulia was working as one of Meridian Trading’s higher-ups, and she had come over to Amon the next day during noon.
As Stella had to stay in Hollowcrest City for a longer time this time, Matthew arranged for her to stay in his former house as that house was located near the company. Most importantly, it was near Miles’ place as well.
When Yulia arrived the next day, Stella was already waiting for her. The two of them greeted each other warmly, as it had been a long time since they last met.
While Stella took Yulia’s measurement, they started chatting until the conversation somehow got to Stella’s period, after which Stella began to complain about how she hadn’t been getting her period. Even when she got her period, it would only last for about a day. Honestly, her menstrual issue had been bothering her for quite a while.
“Could it be that you…” Yulia trailed off in an ambiguous tone, and what she was hinting at was obvious. After a woman made love with a man, it was easy for others to think that she might be pregnant once her period cycle got unusual.
Stunned, Stella immediately shook her head. This was definitely unrelated to Miles as they hadn’t been doing it for a long time besides what happened yesterday night. Moreover, her cycle had been messed up a long while ago, so it was impossible.
Moreover, Yulia really liked Miles, so Stella decided that it was better not to inform Yulia about her affairs with Miles.
“No way. I haven’t been with a man for a long time,” Stella retorted.
Unbeknownst to her, Yulia was secretly plotting to herself. Since Miles was going to Murdough for his branch company, she used the excuse of needing women’s work apparel to get Stella back to Hollowcrest City. Moreover, everyone knew that Miles and Stella had broken up with each other, so even though they might still be close, nothing physical could happen between them.
Besides, Stella had also clarified that nothing happened between the two of them. Yulia didn’t make any comments about that. After having her measurements taken, she sent Miles a text message on her way back to her company. ‘Stella might be pregnant!’
Yulia didn’t think anything was wrong with the message because if Stella were pregnant, the child obviously wouldn’t be Miles’ and their relationship would definitely worsen. Since Yulia knew nothing about Miles’ private affairs, he couldn’t get mad at her anyway. If Stella wasn’t pregnant, it meant that there was something wrong with her hormones. Either way, she made herself look as if she was caring for Stella.
No matter how one looked at the message, it wouldn’t make Yulia sound like a bad person. However, when Miles saw that message, he frowned because he and Stella just did it two days ago. Hence, there was no way that she was pregnant.
Moreover, the person that WhatsApp-ed him was Yulia, and he sensed how Yulia felt about him. Harrumphing, he thought to himself, The intention of this sender is rather apparent. Still, there wouldn’t be smoke without fire. I bet something must be wrong with Stella’s body. After he settled his work in Murdough, he immediately flew back to Hollowcrest City.
Stella and Matthew were still discussing the design of the work apparel when Miles entered Matthew’s office. He looked tired, and his buttons were undone. It seemed like he just got off the plane. Right then, Stella and Matthew were surprised to see him.
“Are you pregnant?” Miles asked Stella.
“No?” Stella was taken aback. She didn’t know how Miles managed to jump to that conclusion because didn’t she just explain to him that she was infertile?
Then, Miles went toward Stella and slung his hand on her shoulder before they walked out, leaving an upset Matthew alone in the spacious office. Shouldn’t I be happy seeing those two reconcile with each other? Pregnant? Pregnancy is only possible if they had slept together, though! So, does that mean that…
On the other hand, Miles trapped Stella against the wall outside of the office before he asked, “Yulia sent me a text saying that you’re pregnant, but I don’t think it possible for it to happen so soon because we only slept together a few days ago. Still, there must be a cause to it. Is there anything wrong with your body?”
Right then, Stella’s face flushed red. He’s still as attentive as ever, huh? Nevertheless, was there any need for Yulia to try to cast a bone between her and Miles? They were cousins, after all.
“My period has been irregular recently. It’s been very long since I’ve gotten my period, and it ended within a day!” Stella’s face turned slightly red as she was telling it to Miles.
When Miles noticed Stella’s red face, he immediately got turned out. Somehow, whenever he saw her like this, he just wanted to—
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he asked with a raspy voice as he used his fingers to caress Stella’s red cheeks. Without replying, Stella merely lowered her head.
At the same time, Yulia ran into them the moment she walked past from the corner. The ambiguous atmosphere around them blinded them toward everyone around them. It was as if they were the only people left in the world at that moment.
“Because it’s my private matter? Moreover, we’ve already broken up, so I can’t just tell everyone about it, right?” Stella answered seriously.
“It’s fine. Let me bring you to check it out,” Miles suggested. “I know a traditional medication hospital.”
While they were on the way, he gave Janice a call before telling her that he was bringing a woman over to the gynecologist and wanted her to get them a good doctor. Stella couldn’t hear what Janice replied, but she could hear Miles saying, “I’m already bringing her to the gynecologist, so what do you think we are?”
Immediately, she turned toward him. It seemed like Miles was undoubtedly close to Janice, so it wasn’t surprising for him to introduce Janice to Lizbeth and her father.
Stella started coughing when she got into Miles’ car. After getting back to Hollowcrest City, she had constantly been coughing. Could it be that I still can’t adjust to Hollowcrest City’s weather? She was only experiencing light coughing yesterday, but it had gotten worse today, and it felt like something was blocking her throat.
“You’re coughing?” Miles asked before he stopped his car by the side of the road and patted her back.
“I’m not sure. It just started yesterday, so I’m guessing that I’m still not adapting to the weather here. It’s also possible that it’s because I’ve been too tired recently, so it affected my immune system.” Stella’s face turned red from all that coughing. At that moment, she felt very uncomfortable and guilty at the same time because she troubled Miles again. After all, time was money, and he was a busy president.
“There are general doctors at the hospital as well. We’ll just get you a full body checkup!” Then, Miles started his car and drove toward Beacon Traditional Medicine Hospital. Beacon Traditional Medicine Hospital was a high-end hospital that only a tiny part of the rich folks in Hollowcrest City could afford. Janice was one of the doctors in this hospital that specialized in massage and dry needling.
After consulting the gynecologist, the doctor explained that since Stella had an abortion at an infirmary, she might have gotten some bacteria infection due to the lack of hygiene. Moreover, along with her busy lifestyle, her fatigue had affected her hormone production, causing her period to be irregular. However, the doctor assured them that this was normal.
Since they were recommended by a friend, Miles didn’t bother shying away as he stood behind Stella, who was sitting on a chair, and placed his hands on her shoulder while the doctor checked her pulse.
Upon hearing about the abortion at that infirmary, Stella could feel Miles’ grip tightening around her shoulder. He’s mad… at Zane.
