Chapter 1644

Stella shot him a glance, “Go back then. I didn’t ask you to come anyway.”

Keegan was taken aback. Then, he scoffed and retorted, “Do you think I wanted to come here? I just didn’t want people to gossip!”

He just would not express his true feelings, which was probably why Arthur “bullied” him.

Marshall could not carry out the task at all, so Arthur had to call over some youngers from next door to help.

With swift and precise movements, they soon castrated over a dozen of piglets. Marshall was stunned as he asked in a low voice, “Doesn’t this… hurt?”

Arthur paused for a moment before saying, “Why don’t you ask them?”

Marshall was left speechless.

As Arthur spoke, he grabbed the fattest piglets and asked Stella excitedly, “Stella, how’s this one? Or you can pick which one you like, and I’ll butcher it for you later.”

The piglet squealed and struggled as its hind legs were being held up. Stella reached out to rescue it from Arthur’s hand and said in a low voice, “I don’t feel like eating meat. I want to eat the sweet potatoes you used to roast when I was a child.”

A bright smile suddenly appeared on Arthur’s face. “Okay then. I’ll start a fire to roast them for you.”

Then, he turned to Marshall and said, “Young man, take Stella to freshen up and help me chop some firewood after you come back.”

“Okay,” Marshall responded, stood up, and said to Stella,” Let’s go.”

The government had constructed some settlement housing in the town. However, the people in Jorgeville, including Arthur, were too used to living in their own homes, so none of them moved.

The settlement houses had bathrooms with hot water and electricity. After Stella took a shower and came back out, she saw Marshall talking on the phone.

He immediately covered the mic when he saw her coming out, “It’s Trevor. Do you want to speak to him? I’ll just tell him that you walked away if you don’t.”

Stella wiped away the water on her hair and said in a low voice, “I’ll talk to him.”

Then, Marshall said something to Trevor and passed his phone to Stella.

“Stella, how are you? Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah,” Stella responded vaguely before saying, “Trevor, I’m sorry for making you all worry about me.”

Trevor heaved a sigh of relief after hearing her speak normally, “It’s okay… It’s okay. I’m glad that you’re fine now.” He paused before asking again, “When are you coming back? n “After two more days, probably. I haven’t seen Great Grandpa for a long time. I want to spend some time with him before I go back. Are there any… updates on your end?”

Trevor understood that she was asking about Keegan.

He said after a long pause, “Not for now.” He was worried that Stella would get sad, so he added, “Perhaps he was rescued by someone else, as you said. He did not fall into the sea, and it was impossible for him to just disappear like that. I’ve sent Xavier to the hospital to check. I’ll let you know once there are any updates. Also, please apologize to Marshall for me. I need to thank him for finding you.”

“Okay,” Stella said before hanging up. Then, she turned to Marshall, and it was only then she realized that there was a faint bruise at the corner of his left lip.

Stella immediately figured out what happened. She returned the phone to Marshall and said softly, “Mr.

Moore, please don’t take what I said on the mountaintop yesterday personally. I wasn’t in my right mind at that time. Also, my brother was just too worried about me, and I apologize for what he did to you.

Also, thank you for everything that you’ve done for me.”

“Stella,” Marshall lowered his gaze and spoke in a low voice, “If you’re thanking me on behalf of Keegan, it’s totally unnecessary. He’s my friend, and it’s only right for me to help. However, if you’re thanking me personally, it’ll be even more unnecessary.” He spoke as he lifted his gaze, and his hidden emotions shone through, “Because I’m willing to do all those things for you.”