Stella Grace hung up the phone. She was lost in her thoughts.
“What’s wrong?” Frederick Addington asked as he held her cold hand.
Stella shook her head and said, “I heard some shocking news, so I’m feeling a little flustered.”
“You always think too much and keep everything to yourself. You’ll get depressed if you go on like this. Stella, you should make more friends,” Frederick suddenly suggested.
“Real friendships are few and far in between. Those whom you associate with regularly tend to become bad people. On the other hand, those whom you rarely interact with would be the ones who were always there for you. Sometimes a friend can be scarier than an enemy. I would rather have a few true friends than a lot of meaningless friends,” Stella retorted.
Frederick nodded. “You’re right. You already have me.”
“Ha.” Stella let out a laugh and looked out of the window.
Somehow, her smile made him uncomfortable.
“We’re here.” Frederick reminded her as he stopped the car at the door.
Stella recognized the Hummer next to her, which seemed to belong to Jasper Milton. She frowned. Must Frederick stir some trouble every day so that he could feel better about himself?
Right at that moment, Jasper and Lieutenant Shine walked out of the restaurant.
The corners of Frederick’s mouth curled up. “What a coincidence. I didn’t expect to see you even when we are going to have breakfast. When did A City become so small?”
Jasper’s cold eyes swept over Frederick’s evil face. “Whether we can meet or not depends on whether Master Addington is willing to see me. If you are thoughtful enough, you can see me anytime and anywhere.”
“How could I possibly compare to you in terms of thoughtfulness, Chief Milton? I am puzzled. Would you feel better if your people reported my relationship with Stella to you?” Frederick was very sarcastic.
“It’s my own business whether I feel good about it or not. You have done a lot of bad things, so, are you afraid of being scrutinized?” Jasper asked in return.
“If I had done a lot of bad things, then I would not still be standing here, safe and sound. However, you should be careful, Chief Milton. You were lucky enough to escape the last time, but the goddess of luck would not be on your side all the time. To be exact…” Frederick suddenly paused, held Stella’s waist, and pulled her to his side. “That Goddess of luck is already by my side.”
Jasper smirked slightly and he looked at Frederick mysteriously. “Then you should cherish your goddess, and I’ll cherish mine as well. After all, I’m about to get married. I’ll be sure to send the wedding invitation to you after preparing it.”
Stella was surprised. She looked at Jasper, her calm eyes full of emotions.
Frederick was also shocked and he blurted out, “Are you getting married? Who are you marrying?”
“I don’t need to tell you that. Take care of yourself,” Jasper said arrogantly as he walked past them.
Lieutenant Shine quickly opened the door of the back seat.
Jasper got into his seat indifferently, not even sparing Stella a single glance.
Stella’s back was stiff, her mind was buzzing, and she couldn’t bear to look at him either.
Jasper’s car drove past them and roared away.
Stella fixed her eyes on his car as it disappeared into the distance.
She had always hoped that Jasper could forget about her and find a suitable woman to marry and have children with. That way, he could finally find happiness with the woman he loved.
He was finally getting married to another woman. That meant that he would not pester her anymore. But somehow, her heart was aching.
It hurt so much that she felt as if there were three mountains pressing down on top of her. It was so heavy that she couldn’t even breathe. However, she had to pretend to be unperturbed, and her palm became even colder.
“No wonder he let me go all of a sudden. It turned out that he has a new lover.” Frederick suddenly guessed and looked at Stella.
“Let’s go in and get ourselves some breakfast. I’m very hungry,” she said calmly.
“I’ve booked room 203,” he answered.
When they arrived at the room, Stella lowered her head and casually flipped through the menu. But her brain couldn’t seem to register what her eyes were reading. She was still thinking about the words Jasper had said, “I’m getting married.”
In this world, how many people who loved each other could get together? After getting married for a long time, how many people still loved each other genuinely?
She had seen too many people getting hurt because of love. Sometimes it may become too tiring and lonely to keep on living. Perhaps, after the death of one’s parents, or when one’s children started forming their own family, one then would realize that he was the loneliest person in the world.
She found herself envying penguins.
Penguins were herd animals, and they would mate for life. Even if their partner passed away, they would not find another mate.
“Stella… Stella…. Stella!”
She raised her head and looked at Frederick when she heard him calling her name.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at her coldly. “Are you sad? I have been calling you for some time.”
Stella’s eyes were misty and red, but her tone was calm and indifferent. It was neither sad nor emotional. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you now that I’m not sad, am I right? To tell you the truth, I’m really sad.”
Frederick’s face turned livid. “Are you upset that Jasper is getting married?”
“I’m sad for myself. When I used to love you, you hurt me over and over again, and when I fell in love with Jasper, he lost his memory and had forgotten all about me. Now…” Stella paused. She lowered her eyes and her tears started to trickle down her face. “I’m starting to think that I shouldn’t have survived.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Frederick was very agitated. He grabbed her wrist and looked at her red eyes. “Listen clearly. I won’t allow you to do so. If you dare kill yourself, I swear that I will destroy everyone you care about, including your mother, Jasper, and Eli.”
Stella looked at her wrist. It was clear that he was holding on to her strongly, but she didn’t feel any pain. “Do you think that I still care about them now?”
“Yes, I do.” Frederick said with certainty.
Stella smiled slightly and got a taste of her salty tears.
Yes, she still cared about them.
Since she was still alive, she had a responsibility towards them.
Life’s suffering, grievances and despair would always tempt her into acting recklessly and impulsively, and even to the extent of throwing her own life away.
However, after thinking it over, she knew that she still had a lot of things to do.
It was easy for people to die.
It was impossible for them to come back to life once they were dead.
“I want to go to the bathroom,” Stella said meekly, her voice as soft as silk. It sounded like she was asking for something.
Frederick turned his face away and nodded.
Stella stood up and walked towards the bathroom briskly. She squatted in the last cubicle and cried out in anguish.
She’d finally succeeded in using her indifference, arrogance, and ruthlessness to force away her beloved man, whom had also loved her the most.
From here on, she would walk her own lonely path, and they wouldn’t have anything to do with each other anymore.
She was happy for him and also sad for herself. She decided that she would cry for one last time, and then she would be able to carry on living like a machine.
In actuality, she had died that day in Rolland’s house in Yale City, on the day when she had forced Jasper to leave…