Chapter 288

Keegan got her a birthday gift; +10000 points.

Keegan’s first love was not her; -100 points.

Keegan called out another woman’s name when he had a fever; -10000 points.

Keegan did not like her; -100000 points.

In the end, after all of the adding and subtracting, disappointment was the only thing left in the equation.

Marshall did not look at Stella. He gently stirred the noodles in the pan and said, “You were only twenty-something at the time. Why did you want to get married so early?”

Stella was reluctant to talk about the complicated matters that took place in her family. She jokingly replied, “I’ve never gotten married before, so I wanted to see what being married is like.”

Marshall smiled. “What is it like, then?”

Stella sneered and said, “Not as fun as being single.”

Stella did not want to go further on this topic. Hence, she steered the conversation away and asked, “Mr. Moore, do you have a girlfriend?”

Marshall replied calmly, “Given how my body is, if I get a girlfriend, I would be in her getting better partners.”

way of Stella thought he was referring to his illness before and asked, “Didn’t you recover from it?” Marshall did not reply. Instead, he pulled up his shirt, and Stella instantly went silent. From his wrist and above, vast areas of hideous burn marks were scrawled all over his body, like lumps entrenched on his entire forearm. It was a startling sight.

Stella’s heart wrenched, and she averted her gaze.

Marshall calmly pulled his sleeves down again and smiled. “I must have scared you, he spoke lightly.

Stella had just realized that the way she averted her eyes was somewhat impolite and quickly apologized. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Marshall replied airily. “I get shocked at the sight of it too.”

Stella took a moment to calm herself and quietly said, “I wasn’t scared. Just dismayed…”

She paused for a while before she continued speaking in a soft voice. “Did it hurt… when it happened?”

Marshall went still for a few seconds.

He scooped the spaghetti out of the pan with a strainer, poured the pasta water away, and put the pan back on the stove. Then, he lightly buttered the pan in a few circular motions.

After a while, he replied, “It happened a long ago. I don’t really remember anymore.”

Stella said, “It’s better that you don’t. Then, it won’t hurt you as much.”

Stella just realized that each time they met, Marshall’s shirts were always carefully buttoned up to the first button, and his sleeves always covered his wrists.

The weather in Rivera was not considered hot, but the temperature was relatively high under the direct midday sun. Last time, when they had a meal together in front of the school, Stella was sweating under the rays, yet Marshall was still firmly covered up from head to toe.

At that time, Stella thought that since Marshall was a lawyer, he would pay more attention to keeping an appropriate appearance. She would have never thought that he was trying to cover up his scars.

‘I shouldn’t have babbled about girlfriends, then Mr. Moore wouldn’t have to open up about his scars,’

Stella thought.

Stella was still upset, but Marshall was done cooking the spaghetti. He placed some of the spaghetti in a bowl and gave it to Stella. “Try it,” he said.

Stella took the bowl from him and had a mouthful. “It’s super-duper tasty.” Stella gave him a thumbs up.

Marshall smiled and said, “Come on, let’s go to the dining room.”

Stella meant it when she praised Marshall’s cooking skills. ‘His carbonara spaghetti is better than the ones I make.’

Respectfully, Stella finished everything in her bowl.

When she had finished eating, Marshall wanted to clear the table for her. However, Stella did not dare to trouble him any further, so she took the initiative to carry her cutleries to the kitchen herself and washed them up.

When they left, it was already dark outside. Marshall said, “Nobody is in the theater now. They might be on the deck. Let’s go there together.”

Stella nodded.

Right after they came out, Stella unexpectedly spotted an unwanted guest. “Why is she here?” Stella frowned.