Roger’s expressions turned sour when he noticed Riley’s smile.
“What are you smiling at?” he barked.
“Nothing,” replied Riley, looking very innocent. “Was I smiling?”
“You!”
Roger had always been cold around Riley, but she’d never taken it to heart and gotten discouraged.
Instead, she merely persisted with a big smile on her face.
Stella laughed as she looked on at the interaction between those two. Then she turned to Roger, and
the warmth on her face disappeared. She had become stern and serious.
“I’ve taken care of last night’s problems,” she told him a little coldly. “If you ever step into a place like
that again, don’t blame me for beating you up!”
Roger gripped the coffee cup in his hand the second he heard her speak of last night.
“Sis…” he began. “How did you deal with that Rory guy? What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” she replied. “It’s all been dealt with anyway, so don’t ever go near that bar, and if you ever
see that guy again, just avoid him. Understood?”
Stella completely trusted Weston in this regard. She knew
without a doubt that it would take him hardly any effort to deal with that Rory guy, much less the bar
owner.
But Roger had no idea that Stella was with Weston Ford right now. Neither did Stella want to enlighten
him about it.
Sure enough, he stared suspiciously at her and asked, “How exactly did you deal with that guy, Sis?
Don’t tell me you…”
He dreaded the thought that Stella must’ve sacrificed her body in exchange for his safety.
Stella could guess what he was thinking from his look.
“Just what the heck were you thinking?!” she yelled, slapping the back of his head.
“I’m just worried that those guys would hurt you or threaten you, or they might blackmail you in
exchange for something…”
But Roger had a good reason to think that way. Stella looked especially stunning last night. Even Riley
noticed it too.
“It’s only natural that Robb would be worried,” Riley interjected.” I, too, would be worried to death if I
had a sister as beautiful as you are!”
Riley had always been good at flattering people, but Roger found it annoying.
“Stop trying to flatter my sister,” he said. “I’m telling you now that we’re never going to be together.”
For Stella’s sake, he remained polite and gentlemanly when Riley confessed her feelings for him
before, but he found that
the longer he got to know her, the bolder she got. She had even been persistently following him around
everywhere. The thought of him having to spend a lot of time with her when they went abroad gave him
a headache.
Riley looked morose for a little while, but in a bat of an eye, she regained her chirpy energy again.
“You’re still single now anyway!” she said. “So there’s no reason why I can’t pursue you! Besides, I
never gave you any trouble at all. In fact, if it hadn’t been for my quick thinking in calling your sister last
night, your body would be floating in some river right now!”
“You!”
The two started quarreling again.
Stella rubbed her temples and turned to Roger. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?” His health was
still the thing that worried her the most.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “I felt a little out of sorts last night, but I’ve seen the doctor, and he said I’m
perfectly fine.”
“No,” Stella argued. “You have to go to the doctor again today. I want to hear that you’re fine with my
own ears.”
Riley was confused as she listened to them talk, so she asked,” What’s wrong with Roger? You’re
making it sound like it’s something serious!”
Stella glanced at Roger, not answering Riley’s question. His
health problems had never been a secret, but she still respected his privacy. It was completely up to
him whether or not he wanted to talk about it.
“It’s a type of leukemia,” Roger stated simply, not even looking at Riley.
“What??? Leukemia?!” Riley gasped, her eyes as round as saucers. “But that’s awfully serious! Why
haven’t you ever told me about this?!”
She had been pursuing him for so long, yet she never had an inkling that he was suffering from such a
serious illness.
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