"Your grandfatherâs impression of me isnât good as it is," Stella explained patiently.
"He might have agreed for us to get married, but I still want to leave a better impression on him⦠The fact that he asked me to meet him must mean heâs giving me a chance.If I hesitate and bring you along with me, then Iâll never get another chance to get his approval."
"If he gives you any trouble," Weston replied while stroking her face, "just tell me, and Iâll handle it."
"Okay," she nodded.
"You should probably cover up your neck a littleâ¦" Weston said as he adjusted Stellaâs collar to hide the bright red hickeys heâd left.
"And whose fault is this?!" she scolded him.
"I told you to stop this morning, but you wouldnât listen!"
"Alright," Weston chuckled and massaged the red marks on her skin.
"Iâll pick you up this evening."
The manor Warren Ford lived in was a reasonable distance away from the city.
When Stella arrived, it was already late afternoon.
Warren had just woken up from his midday nap.
Noticing that she was here, he smiled kindly to her and said, "Come in!"
Stella nodded.Then she saw a man walking out of the study.It was Chris Ford "He came here to play chess with me,"
Warren explained while brewing a fresh pot of tea.
"He was just about to leave."
He paused and sighed before continuing, "As you get older, finding a companion whoâd spend the day with you gets harder."
Usually, Warren would spend a lot of time with an old friend of his, but even he had a piano shop to look after, so Warren often found himself in unpleasant solitude whenever he felt unwell and lonely. It was times like these that Chris Ford became useful again.
"Whatâs so strange about me being here?" he asked.
"Iâm your son, after all! Itâs only natural that Iâd be spending time with you!"
Chris acted differently when he was with Warren than when he was with Weston.He almost seemed like a petulant child.
The truth was, while he often indulged his sons, Warrenâs relationship with Weston was rather cold and almost professional in nature.
This was due to the high hopes and expectations that he placed in his talented grandson, which had, for better or worse, altered his attitude toward him.
But Chris Ford was different.
Warren seemed to be aware of this too, which was why he would mostly hand over the crucial tasks in the company to Weston while leaving the most trivial matters to Chris.
It wasnât merely due to their different personalities either.
Warren clearly saw the potential that Weston displayed to achieve great things.
Warren picked up the pawn in the chess box and tossed it at Chris.
"Save your breath!" he barked.
With a laugh, Chris caught the pawn in his hand and complained, "Oh, so youâre kicking me out now that sheâs here, are you?"
"Get out!"
Warren yelled, though still flashing a smile.As Chris walked past Stella, he stopped beside her and gave her a strange look.
"Not bad!" he sneered.
"Iâve really underestimated you!"
Stella looked ahead and ignored him, having no desire to take his words to heart Once Chris was gone, Warren and Stella were the only two people left in the tea room.
He told her to take a seat and poured her a cup of Pu Er tea.
"Actually," she suddenly spoke up after a long silence, "I donât really like tea that much."
"I know," Warren replied, smiling.
"In a few days, youâll finally be able to escape this life you hate so much."
Daily New Latest Chapters Stella searched the old manâs face.
"Does that mean⦠you would still fulfill the promise you made me?" she asked "Of course," he responded.
There was not the slightest change in his expression.
"You getting married to Weston is the last thing we want."
"But you havenât even done anything so far," she argued with a frown.
"Are you sure that Iâll be able to escape on the wedding day?"
Warren picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly placed it back down.
"Do you remember? my instruction to keep the wedding as simple as possible?" he asked.
Stella nodded.
"I hear your wedding party will be held near a cliff by the sea; is that correct?"
Stella thought about it for a while before answering, "I guess so She had not been paying much attention to the details since she never wanted to get married to Weston in the first place.â