My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 64: Stay Away from Stella

"It’s not out of the question for Owen and me to say something, but that will cost you extra. I can bring it up with Owen, but I can’t guarantee it will work. After all, Owen is my husband, and his income is now our joint marital property. I’m not generous enough to use my own money to cover Chase’s losses."

Stella’s tone was shamelessly mercenary, like a penny-pincher guarding her hoard.

Madeline Jennings was both furious and disgusted.

’What in the world is she talking about!’

’What does she mean, "use her money to cover Chase’s losses"?’

’Who’s going to lose money!’

’My son is every bit as good as Owen Rhodes! How could he possibly lose money!’

’That ungrateful brat Stella, always siding with outsiders!’

’Kiana is a thousand, no, ten thousand times better than her. I have no idea what Owen Rhodes sees in her.’

’First Ethan Rhodes, and now Owen Rhodes... they’re all blind.’

Stella didn’t know exactly how Ms. Jennings was cursing her out in her head, but she could tell from the look in her eyes that it was vicious.

’Sometimes she really found it strange. Why did Ms. Jennings hold such immense malice toward her?’

’What was so different between her and Kiana?’

’And besides, who was the one truly owed a debt here?’

’She had been Kiana’s personal blood bank for years without complaint, and even donated her bone marrow. What else could she possibly owe Kiana?’

’And now Ms. Jennings was even trying to pin the blame for Chase’s injuries on her.’

’If they hated her so much, why did they even have her in the first place?’

Stella’s hands were trembling, but she did her best to maintain her composure.

Her expression turned cold. "Decide whether you want to pay my fee to speak for Chase, and then come find me."

With that, Stella pulled open the door and headed downstairs.

「Meanwhile, in the study.」

Owen Rhodes was leaning against the large desk, his arms crossed as he stared directly at Ethan Rhodes.

Ethan, however, had his head slightly bowed, lost in thought.

Owen waited for a moment before growing impatient. "If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving."

Seeing that he was actually about to leave, Ethan finally voiced the question on his mind.

"Why Stella? When did you two get together?"

Owen’s eyes darkened. "I don’t need to report the details of my relationship with my wife to you."

Hearing the words "my wife," Ethan’s fists clenched instinctively.

He had never been particularly afraid of Owen, and right now, a knot of frustration was caught in his chest, threatening to drive him mad.

"But she’s my ex-girlfriend! Grandpa will never agree to this!"

Owen looked down at him. "I thought the nature of your relationship with Stella was made perfectly clear at the engagement party."

’What had been said at the engagement party?’

’Oh, right. Stella said she only saw him as a big brother, and he had tacitly agreed.’

’So now everyone knew their relationship was "purely platonic."’

A sudden realization struck Ethan, and he instantly understood the purpose behind all of Owen’s actions before and after the engagement party.

"So, those shares you mentioned... that was actually hush money for me?"

"With all the things you’ve done, do you really think I need to buy your silence?"

Ethan Rhodes was the one who voluntarily gave up Stella. He was the one who publicly pursued Kiana. And at the engagement party, he was the one who admitted his past with Stella meant nothing.

What was there to silence?

Seeing the look on Ethan’s face, like someone had stolen his favorite toy, Owen took a step forward, his gaze turning glacial.

"But you... what is this all about now? Having regrets?"

Without a second thought, Ethan instinctively retorted, "Of course not!"

But as he said it, his brow furrowed unconsciously.

’Did he regret it?’

’He didn’t know.’

’He didn’t know how to explain the strange feeling that had been building inside him for the past two days, nor why his gaze was constantly drawn to Stella.’

’No, he would never regret it.’

At this thought, his clenched fist suddenly relaxed.

It wasn’t that he wouldn’t regret it, but that he knew he had done too many things for which regret was no longer an option.

"You’d better mean that."

After that, Ethan fell into a long silence.

Owen asked him, "Anything else?"

Ethan shook his head, his gaze lowered.

"Weren’t you supposed to be rushing back to Veridia today for the Veridian project? Are you planning on managing it from here?"

Owen added, "If you don’t want to do it, just say so. Don’t waste everyone’s time. The team in Veridia isn’t obligated to wait for you indefinitely."

Ethan gritted his teeth. "I’ll head to the airport in a bit."

Owen’s final words were, "You made your choices. Understand your place, and stay away from Stella."

It was a warning.

When Owen reached the living room, Stella was just coming down the stairs.

Even from a distance, Owen could see that she looked pale.

He strode toward her. "Where did you go?"

Stella’s gaze was unfocused, and her voice sounded distant. "Ms. Jennings wanted to have a word with me."

Wyatt Keating’s agreement hadn’t arrived yet, so Stella sat on the sofa to wait.

She sat lost in thought, staring blankly at the porcelain cup on the coffee table.

Ten minutes later, Wyatt Keating sent over the agreement. After Gavin Sterling reviewed it and found no issues, both parties quickly signed.

During the twenty-minute wait, Gavin Sterling had also calmed down and thought things over.

He had indeed handled today’s events poorly, but it was all because he hadn’t known that Stella’s supposedly worthless husband was actually Owen Rhodes.

Despite the blunders and misunderstandings, they would all be family from now on. The benefits he could gain from Owen were greater than what any other prominent family in Jandor could offer.

Once he thought it through, he felt that signing the agreement wasn’t a loss after all.

Since Owen currently favored Stella, he would play along and use the opportunity to leverage more resources out of him.

So when Gavin Sterling finally wrote the check, he made it out for fifteen million.

"Stella, Dad really handled things badly today. Can you forgive me? It’s almost dinnertime. Why don’t you and Owen stay and eat with us? Consider it a welcome for Owen into our big family."

Gavin Sterling smiled warmly, putting on a show of cheerful harmony, as if the events of the afternoon had been completely forgotten.

But Stella stood up and took Owen’s hand. "Owen, I want to go home."

She was clearly distraught and listless. Though it was the middle of summer, her hand was ice-cold.

Owen immediately squeezed her hand back, enveloping it in his own palm.

"Alright, let’s go home."

He tossed a curt "No, thanks" at Gavin Sterling and then led Stella away by the hand.

Owen treated her like a porcelain doll, carefully helping her into the back seat. The moment the Ghost pulled away, Stella threw herself into his arms and held him tight.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "Owen, why do they treat me like this? What more do I have to do to make them happy? Would giving them my life be enough?"