Chapter 2264

Stella, fed up and drained, shot an angry look at the two men and snapped, “Enough!”

Seeing Stella’s frustration, both men released the plate and fell into silence.

Bella, relieved by the break in tension, smiled awkwardly and tried to shift the mood.

“It’s just lunch.

Is it really worth all this fuss?”

Turning to Stella, she added, “Try to understand-they both mean well.

Just eat what you like and leave the rest.”

She then glanced at the two men with a meaningful look and continued, “Stella is an adult.

She doesn’t need to be pampered.

Let’s just enjoy the meal.”

..

Library

After diffusing the tension, Bella reached for her utensils and said, “Alright, let’s eat.”

Stella, however, had lost her appetite.

She turned to Matthew with a firm look and said, “Come with me.”

Standing, she addressed Sanford and Bella, saying, “You two go ahead.

I’ll be back in a minute.”

Matthew gave Sanford a hard stare before catching up with Stella.

Unbothered, Sanford calmly continued his meal.

Once they reached a quiet spot, Stella faced Matthew with frustration.

“What are you trying to accomplish here?”

Unfazed, Matthew shrugged and replied, “What do you think? I’m having lunch with you.”

His nonchalant response pierced her heart, and she couldn’t help but ask, “You’ve been avoiding me all this time.

Why the sudden change?”

Matthew paused, struck by an unfamiliar awkwardness.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to respond to Stella; the truth was he didn’t have an answer.

His memories were frozen in a state of disliking her and yearning for divorce, yet, inexplicably, he now felt drawn to her, compelled to be near.

In Stella’s eyes, his silence seemed to confirm her frustrations.

To her, Matthew was being utterly irrational, refusing to give her clarity, all the while hovering close, occasionally wounding her with his unpredictable behavior.

She was on the verge of breaking under the weight of his constant emotional shifts.

Taking a steadying breath, she forced herself to remain composed and, with as much patience as she could muster, said, “Just forget it.

Leave.

I don’t want to argue in front of my mother.”

With that, she turned to walk away.

A surge of panic gripped Matthew, and he instinctively caught her wrist, his brow furrowing as he demanded, “Are you going back to eat with Sanford?”