Stella paused before reaching out to feel his forehead. “Are you getting warm again?”
Why would he still be so sticky even when he was awake?
Weston simply stared at her and suddenly leaned in to kiss her.
He pried open her mouth, his breath hot and heavy. Somehow, he could smell a refreshing scent on
her, like an ocean breeze on a hot summer‘s day.
He kissed her deeply, savoring her lips and holding her tenderly.
Stella realized that he was getting better and better at kissing. He seemed to be engrossed, immersed
in trying to excite her senses. Stella had never seen Weston try so hard to make her feel good. Gone
was his possessiveness and aggressiveness of the past, and although he was pushy, he wasn‘t
overbearing and was, in fact, warm and gentle. Only two of them were left in the hall. The movie credits
were still rolling on the television screen. Stella had lowered the volume of the television. The
background music couldn‘t drown out the sound of her heart beating. When the kiss ended, Stella‘s
face flushed just like Weston‘s, as if she had also developed a fever.
Stella felt like she had been infected by him.
“Aren‘t you afraid of passing the virus to me?” She grumbled.
Weston leaned his forehead against hers. “If you fall sick, it‘ll be my turn tomorrow to take care of you.”
“Forget it,” Stella pushed him away. “I really need to sleep right now...”
Weston refused to let her go, however. “Stay here and talk to me.”
“It‘s so late now, and a thunderstorm‘s forecasted for tomorrow. You don‘t have to report to the crew
tomorrow.” He held onto her stubbornly. “Keep me company.” Stella stood up and looked down at him.
She saw the look in his eyes that she had never seen before.
She sighed and sat back down. “What do you want to talk about?”
There were some things that he had wanted to tell her on multiple occasions, but when the opportunity
finally arose, he realized how difficult it was to put them in words. Weston caressed her face. He should
have said these things when his temperature was at its highest. Now that he was awake and alert, it
made things more difficult for him.
“For a family like ours, our idea and concept of marriage differ from most ordinary people.” After a long
while, Weston finally commented.
Stella suddenly understood what he meant and simply stared at him. With a chuckle, she said, “Are you
trying to tell me that your marriage with Guinevere is but a commercial alliance?”
Weston didn‘t respond, simply looking deeply into her eyes.
He seemed to have expected the sarcasm in Stella‘s tone, and he went on. “If I were to tell you that
things between Guinevere and I aren‘t what they seem...” “Don‘t treat me like a fool!” Stella cut him off.
“Things have come to this point, and I‘m already stuck by your side, unable to go anywhere. For this
year, at least, I‘ll be completely at your mercy. Why must you still say such things to dupe me? Is it very
amusing to treat me like a fool?”
Her eyes turned red.
“You‘ve been lying to me right from the beginning. I thought I was lucky to be fancied by you and
married to you...everything felt like a dream until you eventually told me that I was just a tool that you
used to provoke Guinevere! I‘m merely a stepping stone for your relationship with her...”
“Fine, I left. I no longer want to be involved in your relationship with her. I can‘t afford to play games
with you rich people...but why must you force me into a corner like this? Why?” “You and
Guinevere...both of you...all of you are forcing me into a corner...” All this while, Stella had been
suppressing her innermost feelings. Finally, at this point, her emotions were on the verge of collapse.
“Do you know what I can‘t stand the most? You two obviously played me like a fool, but I still have to
tolerate that pretentious and self–righteous face of yours!” “What is left for you to explain? That, in fact,
your relationship with Guinevere isn‘t that deep? Is it not enough that you‘re making me pretend to be
the Stella of the past, who loved you wholeheartedly? Do you want me to be eternally grateful to you
from the bottom of my heart?”
“What do you take me for?” Stella raised her voice and asked, choking back her tears.
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