Weston took a deep breath and tried his best to suppress the dull aching pain inside of him. Someone had noticed his presence thereâ¦
âWeston?â his mother called out. âWhat are you doing, standing over there like that? Come over here!â
Stellaâs body stiffened instantly when she heard what Wendy was saying. She had finally just relaxed and was able to hold Zach in her arms with ease, but now she suddenly didnât know what to do, and her eyes darted around in panic.
Zach seemed to sense her distress, and he, too started to get restless. He shook his little arms and legs and began to yell.
âWaaa! Waaa!â
It looked like he was trying to get Stellaâs attention.
âI think he really likes you!â Wendy exclaimed.
Zach had shown much interest in Stella since he first met her on the film set. His big gleaming eyes would be fixed on her as if he could already tell that she was a beautiful woman even though he was not even a toddler yet.
âHe wouldnât let anyone hold him at home,â Wendy continued. âBut his eyes got huge, and he couldnât even blink at the sight of all the beautiful women on set! What a rascal!â
Just then, Weston came over, and Wendy nodded at him.
Stella looked away and laughed before saying, âIf he really does like beautiful women, then he should be staring at you all day, every day!â Wendy laughed heartily. Although she had a strict skincare regimen, there were now visible crowâs feet around the corner of her eyes when she laughed, even though they werenât so obvious when the light was soft and forgiving. âYouâre such a sweet talker!â
Wendy told Stella before glancing at her son and added, âWeston never knew how to cheer me up like that! You know, I do regret giving birth to him. I shouldâve had a daughter instead! I wouldâve been much happier with a daughter!â
Wendy was only joking, of course. Stella was fully aware of it, too, so she didnât take any of it to heart.
She could feel that Westonâs gaze was fixed on her even though he was standing behind her. He was exuding a kind of pressure, but she refused to look back at him and just pretended that she didnât know he was there at all, while all the while focusing on teasing Zach and tickling his chin to make him laugh.
Luckily, Zach was very cooperative. He burst out into laughter when Stella tickled him even though the streams of tears on his cheeks had not even dried yet.
âHahahahaâ¦â
Zachâs high-pitched laughter rang through the hallway.
âLook at how happy he is!â cried Wendy, who was now in a very good mood when she saw how cheerful Zach was. Then she turned to her son and grumbled, âEven his own father had never been able to cheer him up like that! I guess he must really like Ella!â
Weston leaned down and stared at Stellaâs profile. The light shone down gently on her face. Westonâs expressions softened as well. He couldnât help but reach out a hand to stroke her hair. âItâs because theyâre both children after all,â he commented. âThatâs why they get along so well.â
Stella glowered at him before handing Zach back to Wendy âHe just yawned a couple of times just now,â she told her. âI think he must be sleepy.â
Wendy took him into her arms and gently patted his back. âIâll take him back to the nursery and put him to sleep then,â she said, gazing at Weston and Stella. âBoth of you should go to bed now. Itâs getting late.â Anyone could tell she was trying to give the two of them some alone time.
As soon as Wendy was gone, Weston pinned Stella to the wall and murmured, âIt appears that a certain someone likes you very much.â âWho are you referring to?â Stella raised her chin to look straight into his eyes. âWendy or Zach?â
Weston sniggered before leaning down to her ear and whispered, âDidnât it occur to you that I might be referring to myself, hmm?â
Stellaâs eyes darkened. She quickly looked away to escape the intimate moment they were sharing. It didnât matter how cold her heart was in regards to Weston; it was impossible she remained unmoved when he just implied that he liked her very much. The phrase meant a lot to her.
The fact that Weston would just blurt out that he liked her very much willy-nilly told her that she was like a new toy to him-nothing more than a passing fancy.
Seeing that she was avoiding his eye contact, Weston dropped the subject, hoping to not make it any more awkward for her.
âAre you staying here tonight?â he asked, caressing her face.