Chapter 69 He Fancied Miss Johansson
Before Stella could return her phone to her pocket, Miles took it from her. He retracted his hand from the wall while letting out a snort. Then, he was typing away on the phone, seemingly replying to a message. Although Stella tried to get her phone back, he didn’t allow her to do it. It wasn’t until a while later that he gave it back.
Upon going through her messages carefully, she noticed he had replied to Xavier. ‘I already have a boyfriend.’
To that, Xavier had asked, ‘Who is it?’
‘Miles Grant.’ Again, it was Miles who typed the reply.
“Hey!” Stella stomped her foot. He told Xavier that I already have a boyfriend without even asking why Xavier texted me! This is going to make me look self-conceited! Furiously, she asked him, “Why did you reply to messages that are meant for me in my stead?”
“Shouldn’t I be doing so?” Miles seemed to consider his actions fully justified as he usually did; his expression showed that he thought he did nothing wrong.
“I’m not talking to you anymore!” With that, Stella left. She could hear him chuckling in amusement when the door closed behind her.
On the other hand, she didn’t take the supplements meant for her grandmother, as it would be a hassle if her colleagues began gossiping about it if she brought them to her office.
Unlike Miles, who wished to make their relationship public, Stella preferred to keep a low profile. After all, she was but a normal employee, as well as a divorced woman without a prestigious familial background. The more unassuming she could be, the better it would be for someone of her status.
While recalling those moments of her sweet interaction with Miles, she seemed to have lost the motivation to work. Maybe this is just how a relationship is. Even when we bicker, everything we said to each other could be perceived as a flirtatious line. The light feeling that arose within her greatly improved her mood. She felt as if she was frolicking about in a lush field during springtime.
On the other hand, Kevin noticed that she was wearing a silly smile while spacing out, so he walked up to her to knock on her table. “Why are you spacing out? Daydreaming about the president again?”
As soon as Stella heard that, she denied it hastily while shaking her head. “No, absolutely not!”
Despite her obvious lie, Kevin returned to his desk without a word. Stella, on the other hand, figured that she would be doing herself a disservice if she didn’t focus on her work, so she resumed working on her computer. After a while, a message popped up to indicate that Miles had sent her an email.
Upon checking on the email, she realized it was dedicated to Yvonne North’s parents. It wasn’t until then that Stella came to know that Yvonne’s father, Malcolm North, was also the president of the famous Lunaria Inc. It was a huge establishment that was only second to Miles Conglomerate in the whole of Hollowcrest City. Therefore, Miles and Yvonne’s marriage would mean the union of the two major companies, which explained the attention it garnered, as well as the reason that news media covered it extensively.
In the email, Miles apologized to both of Yvonne’s parents. First off, he wrote that he didn’t reciprocate Yvonne’s feelings, nor could anybody force him to fancy her romantically. He also mentioned that he already informed Yvonne that he wouldn’t be attending the wedding. However, she attended the wedding nonetheless as she was still serious about the engagement that the adults made when they were younger, and Miles felt sincerely sorry about that. Other than that, he also informed them he already has a girlfriend, so he wished for them to be more understanding.
Stella noticed that the email was actually a carbon copy of his email to Malcolm, which prompted her to wonder what it meant. Does this mean he’s dismissive toward Malcolm? Well, not that I know anything about the feuds between rich families anyway.
After that, she got a text message from Kevin to inform her that what he said about Yvonne was merely his conjecture. Miles didn’t actually tell him anything about Yvonne, so he hoped Stella would forgive him for gossiping. After reading that, Stella couldn’t help but glance at Kevin, as he was never one to send her messages on private matters. They would only communicate about work, such as the location, measurements, and various other specifics of a project. Judging from that, she knew that Kevin was also a clever person, as he had already picked up on who to side with, just like how he asked about Stella’s background back then in the washroom.
That afternoon, Stella bumped into Xavier at the alleyway when she was going home. Perhaps he had guessed that the messages she sent earlier were more of a prank, as she didn’t even address his question, so he didn’t seem all that awkward while he waited for her there. On the other hand, Stella was feeling slightly abashed when she met him in person, so she asked, “Mr. Daniels, why are you here?”
However, Xavier was obviously not in a good mood. “I’m no longer the president of a company. I suppose I just got dealt a sh*tty hand.”
Upon hearing that, Stella figured he probably hadn’t known how he got bogged down, but she didn’t have the courage to divulge the truth either. Hence, she could only remain silent as she was overcome with guilt. A moment later, she asked, “Do you have something you need?”
“Not really. I only want to see you.” Xavier shoved his hands in his pockets.
It was springtime, so everywhere was full of life. As they stood there in the pleasantness of springtime, Stella heard a voice behind her.
“Mr. Daniels, why are you here?” Yulia was the one who spoke, and she was already standing behind Stella before the latter could recover from her astonishment.
For now, Stella didn’t want to see Yulia, as the latter did Miles dirty by filming him without his knowledge. Moreover, she sent the clip to Yvonne, which put Stella in an awkward position. Things got worse when she realized she didn’t actually know how to explain her relationship with Miles to Yulia, as she had in effect snatched Miles away from her. All in all, she had conflicted feelings toward Yulia, so she dared not turn around.
Meanwhile, Yulia and Xavier were staring at each other. “Mr. Daniels, do you have a better grasp of your status now that Miles managed to pry you off your throne? You should also understand how important Stella is to Miles, so you won’t be getting anything out of this meeting,” Yulia said, her tone full of mockery. In fact, she was only able to do so as Xavier was now of similar status to her.
“Yulia!” Stella turned around to chide her for spreading unverified claims, especially while in Xavier’s presence, as it would strain his relationship with Miles. Yulia didn’t seem to be bothered by Stella’s response, but Xavier, in contrast, stared straight ahead while standing before Stella, seemingly shocked by Yulia’s words.
On the other hand, Yulia continued while standing behind Stella, “Mr. Daniels, didn’t you realize it was Miles that was messing with you?”
Her question was met with silence before another voice came through from behind her. “What’s wrong about the fact that I messed with him?” It was none other than Miles. Out of the four people present, Stella, Yulia, and Miles were all standing on the same side, while Xavier was the sole person on the other side. Even though Stella wasn’t sure how Miles knew to show up at this exact moment, she was certain that his presence would spice up the already tricky situation.
“Was it simply because I fancy Miss Johansson?” Xavier’s eyes were red when he asked that question, and he was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles were popping.
“Of course. It’s always prudent to exercise caution; we have to nip any potential hazards in the bud. Therefore, it only made sense that I have to ensure that you give up on Stella before you get another chance to escort her upstairs. Don’t you think so?” Miles stepped forward to stand beside Stella as he spoke.
So he saw it when Xavier escorted me up the stairs last time. His revenge sure came down on Xavier hard; he didn’t even give him the chance to fight back. Even Stella was a little intimidated by him. How might he seek revenge against me if I somehow offend him one day in the future?
Meanwhile, Xavier knew that there was no point in him staying any longer, so he turned to leave. On the other hand, Yulia also noted that Miles was ignoring her, and the realization made her face turn red with anger. Although she wanted to say something, she didn’t know what to say, so she ended up leaving as well. She was irked by the fact that the man of her dreams had chosen to date Stella. After that, Miles led Stella upstairs by holding her hand, during which she questioned, “Will you seek revenge against me as well if I somehow offend you one day?”
“Of course.” When they got into the elevator, he whispered into her ear, “I’ll make sure that you won’t be able to get out of bed for three whole days.”
“You meanie!” Stella turned around to punch him on the chest.
Miles seemed to be enjoying Stella’s reaction and her display of shyness, so he let out a rumbling laugh. A moment later, upon reverting to a serious attitude, Miles asked her, “Have you read my email to the North Family? What do you think about it?”
“That’s between Yvonne and you. It’s none of my business.” Stella put on a face that showed she didn’t care one bit. Hence, Miles didn’t pry any further. The email had essentially severed all possible ties between Yvonne and him, so the two of them no longer had a shot; Stella wouldn’t be able to help even if she wished to do so.
After getting out of the elevator, Stella took out the keys to open the door, only to see Matthew and Zachariah standing at the entrance. Matthew knew where Stella lived ever since helping her out last time. Without a doubt, Miles’ expression soured as soon as he saw Matthew, but he didn’t blow up due to the fact that they were good friends.
“Nice to see you, Miles.” Matthew took the initiative to greet him, to which he responded with a grunt before clearing his throat.
In the meantime, Zachariah was already holding onto Stella, holding her in place. Looking as docile as a lamb, he looped his arms around her neck, seemingly without the intent to let go. With Stella crouching on the floor, the two men watched on as she embraced the boy while giving Zachariah a pat on the back. “What’s the matter?”
“Stella, I miss my mother!” As soon as Zachariah said so, he started weeping, which was a sorry sight to behold. Matthew had informed her that his ex-wife went abroad after their divorce, and had never met with Zachariah since then.
“Since you miss your mother, I don’t mind being your mother from now on. How does that sound?” Other than trying to be considerate to the child, Stella didn’t think much of it when she said so. She never had kids of her own, but she seemed to be rather close with Zachariah, and that was all that mattered to her.
However, those words held a different meaning to Miles. The fact that Stella allowed the boy to address her as his mother didn’t sit well with him when the boy’s father harbored feelings toward Stella. Even so, Zachariah was too embarrassed to address her as his mother, so he ended up reverting to addressing her by her name. Stella spent a long while holding Zachariah in her arms before releasing him to open the door.
