At first, Stella had not thought of it that way. However, she suddenly understood what Roger meant after listening to what he had just said. Roger was...
Stella was so shocked and lost for words. She stood up and raised her voice at once. âNo way!â
That was impossible!
Stella panicked, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Did she misunderstand him? Or...
âAbsolutely no way!â Stella kept repeating the same thing.â Youâre my brother! Weâre siblings ! Weâre family! How can you say such things?â
âBut weâre not even related!â Roger decided to go all out and rasped, âI just want to be with you for the rest of my life. Is that wrong?!â
âNo wonder...â That explained why Roger was so resistant whenever she talked about having their own families in the future.
Stella calmed herself and rasped, âStop saying such outrageous words! Youâll always be my brother. This wonât change...â
âWhat if I say no?â Roger had clearly made up his mind. He took Stellaâs hand with determined eyes and refused to let go.
âYouâre being ridiculous !â Stella shook off his hand and looked at him as if he was a monster. âWeâre siblings! Even if weâre not related by blood, we have been family for many years. How can you...â
Stella could not even finish her sentence. She was a traditional and conservative person at heart and could not accept such a taboo relationship.
Roger was hesitant, but Stellaâs strong refusal and resistance was clear. He knew there was no way back.
He just stared straight at her and said, âI donât want to be your family anymore...
âFamily canât be together forever. Youâll eventually marry another man and have his child. You keep saying Iâll start my family one day, but I donât want to!â
Roger suddenly got emotional. âI just want to be with you for the rest of my life!â
He enunciated word for word, âIf thatâs the case, why canât we be together and start a family?â
âShut up!â Stellaâs eyes grew red. Her hands were shaking from this absurdity. âDo you know what youâre saying? If Mom and Dad were alive and heard you say such things...â
âSo what if they heard? So what?â
Roger uttered, âI just want to be with you forever... Whatâs wrong with that...â
He lifted his hand and grabbed Stellaâs hand in a pleading manner. âCanât you leave with me? Letâs get out of here and never come back...â
Stella was shaking in a fury. She would never do such a thing!
Roger would always be her younger brother in her eyes. There was no doubt about that. She was going to tell Roger about her plans, but it seemed like there was no longer a need for that.
âNo. I canât go with you.â Stella pushed him away and looked at him. She said steadily, âWeston didnât threaten me. He doesnât have anything on me...
âIâm marrying him of my own free will.â
Roger refused to listen. He just could not accept it. âNo way! He hurt you so much before. How could you,â
âDonât talk about the past anymore!â Stella cut him off.
âDidnât you hear what he said yesterday? Heâll make it up to me. I donât want the past to affect the present and future. Weâll have to move on eventually.â
âI donât believe it!â
Roger grabbed her hand tightly and looked at her with his red eyes. âHave you forgotten what he did to you? Because of him, my little nephew died. Because of him, you canât be a mother again...â
Stella clenched her fists.