Love at the Next Stop

Chapter 139 I Will Slap You Every Time I See You

Ever since Miles’ last message to her, pleading for her to return to his side, he did not contact her anymore.

At some point, she started to be more acutely aware of Miles’ mind, as though she could read all his thoughts from a distance.

This time, she also understood what Miles was thinking. He did not contact her for a long time to give her space to decide on who she truly loved.

Zachariah noticed that she was spacing out and called out, “Miss Stella! Miss Stella!”

Pulled back to reality, she asked him, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m happy because you are marrying Daddy. Although I love Mommy, I know that she will never get back with Daddy anymore. I like you too, Miss Stella. That’s why I want you to be my new Mommy!” He took her hand and swung it affectionately.

“What a good boy!” She caressed his head.

She had visited them today to go over the details of the wedding with Matthew. She wanted to work on the guest list and ask his opinion on whether or not to invite Miles.

In her opinion, she wanted the wedding to be carried out as soon as possible, preferably without letting Miles know. Since Hollowcrest City was not a huge place and Miles was well-connected, he would hear about her ‘marriage’ to Matthew sooner or later without them having to notify him.

Finally, Stella and Matthew only invited a handful of family members, relatives, and close friends. After all, they were faking their marriage, and they were worried about the repercussions if the news traveled too fast in the city. Not only that, this would be the second marriage for both of them, so they thought that a simple ceremony would be more appropriate.

Since the only purpose of this wedding was to force Miles to give up on her, she thought it would be best not to tell him about it.

Although she was brutal and cold-blooded in cutting ties with Miles, part of her decision to not invite him was because she didn’t want him to witness her marriage to the man whom he held a grudge against.

During this time, Miles spent most of his time smoking and practicing calligraphy art in his office. He had started practicing calligraphy since young. Since it was an art that required great patience, which he lacked as a child, he gave up halfway and abandoned the hobby.

Once, his calligraphy teacher told him that he could one day become an outstanding calligrapher if he continued practicing.

However, he had never picked up the art after stopping it. Even though he still had outstanding handwriting, he did not continue practicing the art of calligraphy.

For some unknown reason, he recently picked up calligraphy again. He loved to practice while smoking.

Within a month, his woman had left him for Matthew. He felt a stab in his heart when he thought about the hints of their affair from before. Now, he had no wish to contact Stella. He was more saddened than angered by her betrayal.

In March, Stella and Matthew’s wedding was carried out in a low profile. Most of their acquaintances had heard about his relationship with Stella. Even though a couple of friends attended the wedding, none of them told Miles about it. Moreover, they were invited to the wedding because they were close to Matthew, and they did not want to tell on their best friend.

The person who broke the news to Miles was Yulia. Since she was from Stella’s family, she was shocked when she heard about the wedding. Then, she recalled the WhatsApp conversation she had with Miles. She only knew about Stella’s affair with Matthew, which she assumed was the main reason behind the breakup.

As for Stella’s miscarriage, only three people knew about it: Stella, Matthew, and Audrey.

When Yulia heard the news of Stella’s wedding, she was beyond ecstatic because she had cleared Yvonne off her path and took out her biggest rival, Stella. Now, there were no other obstacles to her relationship with Miles.

Yulia was one of the guests at the wedding because she was Stella’s family member. Plus, Stella knew that Yulia would definitely send a video of the event to Miles—she was the best when it came to ruining relationships. She wanted to use Yulia to inform Miles about the wedding.

She would still live in the same city as Miles, but there was now another man in her life—Matthew Xenon.

Yulia did not immediately send the video to Miles. She waited for two days before doing so, which was two days after Stella and Matthew ‘consummated’ their marriage.

She had a question for the longest time. Stella was a divorcee when she got together with Miles, so he must not have been her first man. Despite that, Miles did not think lowly of her. Not only that, the two were lovebirds who only had each other in their eyes. Now that Stella had found herself another man, Yulia believed that Miles must hate Stella and her indecency to the core.From Stella’s case, Yulia concluded that Miles must not have cared for a woman’s virginity, which set him apart from the other rich bachelors. This gave her a boost of confidence because she was a rape victim. The incident had left her traumatized and scarred.

The video of Matthew and Stella’s wedding reached Miles on a cold afternoon.

At that time, he was focused on his calligraphy practice. When he saw the message notification with Yulia’s name as the sender, he did not immediately check it because he knew that Yulia must be sowing discord again—the thing she was best at doing.

After a long practice session, he finally checked his phone.

The video jumped into his eyes. He witnessed Stella and Matthew bowing in the wedding ceremony, with her being dressed in a pristine white gown. The scene delivered another painful stab to his heart.

How could they organize a wedding so soon? Were they worried that I’d mess with them?

He rewatched the video countless times to finally accept the fact that she had gotten married to Matthew. It seems that she loves Matthew with all her heart and soul.

Turning slightly toward the window, he stood there and suddenly broke into laughter. Stella, his woman who was soft on the outside but tough on the inside, ended up marrying another man after all.

In the middle of his laughter, tears streamed down his cheeks silently. He always thought that men should not cry, and the mantra was too embedded in him to the point that he did not notice his tears.

To be honest, ever since the night she slept with her back against him, he knew that her heart was not with him anymore. Her action conveyed the same message as her confession later. “I don’t love you anymore!”

Miles did not wish to see her anymore.

Since then, he started a life of endless travels around the world. He built up business connections in Switzerland, and since it was the perfect time to enter the market, he signed many business deals. Within two months, the sales revenue of Miles Conglomerate shot up to rival the sales of the first two quarters last year. Although he was unlucky in love, he seemed to be thriving in work.

On the other side, Stella was busy running between Murdough and Hollowcrest City for her business. In the past, she had faced a lot of problems in fashion design. But now that she was staying with Matthew, she would consult him because he was the expert in the field, and she benefited greatly from his advice.

The logo for her brand, ‘Stella’, was ready. Matthew took part in the brainstorming and conception of the minimalistic but well-thought-out logo. It was a logo perfect for a fashion brand, and it matched the chic and smart image of the designer, Stella.

Although Stella was flourishing as a fashion designer and was always dressed up like a lady like usual, Matthew noticed something different about her—she had stopped wearing high heels.

Most of the time, she preferred flat-heeled loafers or low-heeled pumps.

The loss of her child had prompted her to change her fashion style. Matthew wondered how much she missed Miles in private.

After the wedding, Stella occasionally stayed at the factory and sometimes went back to the Xenon Residence. On certain nights, she would go crazy from thinking of Miles.

One day, Audrey had an event to attend. Her friends in the photographer circle organized it, and she invited Stella to attend as well. Stella agreed to join the event because she wanted to clear her mind after spending too much time at work. For the event, she wore a pair of white STELLALUNA loafers that were comfortable on her feet.

Spring had arrived. It was the most favorite season of women because it was time to take off the thick winter coats for a change. Lately, she had been on a streak because she had received a few large business orders, some of them from abroad. As a local designer with a special eye for fashion, she stood out with her elegant and unique designs.

After her miscarriage, she had lost a lot of weight. Standing next to Audrey, who was wearing high heels, Stella appeared shorter and mellower. Unlike Audrey, she did not exude the shrewdness of a businesswoman; instead, she had a gentle aura around her.

At the exhibition event, Stella made her way through the corridor that exhibited photography works on the wall. She admired the sceneries of Africa that were wild, one with nature, and timeless. She also fell for some of the works that displayed the beauty of the landscapes in Solaria.

“President Grant, come here and take a look!” She heard a familiar voice from behind. That sounds like Yulia. As she was preoccupied with identifying Yulia, she did not catch her calling out to Miles.

She looked to the side and saw Yulia.

The exhibition venue was not crowded, and the space was rather narrow as Stella and Audrey stood on one side. They were two beauties that attracted a lot of attention. Audrey pretended that she was not with Stella and sneaked into the darkroom to escape from the impending drama.

The next moment, Stella noticed Miles at the event.

She had dreamed of their encounter countless times, and she had rehearsed her facial expression for when she would meet him again. I cannot appear shy. Or else, he would look through my facade.

Yulia spotted Stella at the same time as she was walking ahead of Miles. There was a reason she had attended this event. She wanted to enter Africa’s market, and since the photographer was an African whose father was a steel industry magnate, the photographer wanted to attract some investment from Solaria to gain his father’s favor. Yulia was a savvy businesswoman who wanted to connect with the African photographer.

She had asked Miles to sponsor the event, but it was only an excuse. Knowing that Miles had no interest in photography, she reached out for his sponsorship only because she wanted to create more opportunities to hang out with him.

Miles stared at Stella. In two months, she seemed to have changed into a different person.

Her wavy hair was straightened, and her tailored suit hugged her slender figure perfectly.

As for Stella, her gaze was fixated on Yulia.

Feeling uneasy, Yulia slowly took Miles’ arm. He had his hands in his pockets. Still surprised at seeing Stella, he did not notice that Yulia’s arm had wrapped around his.

Stella walked up to them slowly and stopped beside Miles. Then, she reached out and slapped Yulia across the face. The action not only embarrassed Yulia but also took Miles by shock.

“Stella, what’s wrong with you?” Yulia was both shamed and angered as she screamed at Stella.

“What’s wrong with me? Do you not know that you have been raped? And are you oblivious to your awful morals? How dare you go after President Grant! I’m slapping you on behalf of your poor dad.”

The slap was long overdue. Stella loathed Yulia for sowing discord between her and Miles. She also hated Yulia for causing her miscarriage. This was an act of revenge that she needed to take.

“You fell for another man and cheated on President Grant! What right do you have to meddle in his affairs now?” Yulia barked at her.

“I fell for another man, but that does not mean I allowed you to take my place! If I see you anywhere around President Grant, I will slap you each time I see that!” Stella sounded calm but threatening.

A petite woman like Stella should never be underestimated, for she could be ferocious in a catfight.