Chapter 15 Let your cousin stay fat a while longer
The next morning, Ryan left the country for a medical summit.
When Tessa called Stellao later that day, Stella casually said, “Tell your cousin to stay fat a little longer, Ryan left the country, said he’d be gone for about a month.”
Tessa was surprised. “How do you know? Ryan called you?”
Stella replied. “Yeah, at one in the morning.”
“One in the morning? What, is he crazy?”
Just because he had a messed up sleep schedule didn’t mean he had to drag everyone else into it?
Stella chuckled. “He called about Lillian Reed.”
Tessa asked, “What about her?”
“She was admitted to the hospital last night. Turns out she has multiple illnesses.”
“Multiple? How many? What’s wrong with her?”
She had seen Lillian at the obstetrics and gynaecology department with Ethan yesterday and had assumed she was pregnant.
Turns out, she was actually sick?
Stella listed them off, “Uterine cancer, heart disease, and possibly liver cancer
Tessa gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.
“That… that many?! Wait, how did she end up with uterine cancer?”
Clearly, those without a medical background had a rather simplistic understanding of diseases. Like Stella, Tessa found the idea of Lillian having uterine cancer oddly suspicious.
Stella shrugged. “No idea. Ryan said he has medical ethics, so he wouldn’t speculate. So, let’s not either.”
Tessa agreed. “Fine, no speculation. But let’s be real, there’s no way she and than are getting married now. What kind of family would let their heir marry a woman whose reproductive system is compromised?”
The Keene family eldels had already despised Lillian for being the illegitimate daughter of a housekeeper. Now, with her health issues, there was no way they would approve of her.
“You’d better be careful, though, because of Lillian’s illness, the Keene family elders are going to panic. They’ll want to lock you and Ethan into marriage as soon as possible, just to keep him from rekindling things with her.”
Finding a new bride on short notice wasn’t easy. No matter what, they’d want to keep Stella in the picture. And given that she was part of the Reed family, they’d see her as the perfect counterbalance to Lillian Tessa wasn’t wrong. The Keene family elders had already caught wind of Lillian’s hospitalization. And not only that they knew about all her illnesses, especially the one they could never accept, uterine cancer.
After a quick breakfast, Stella was on her way to the design studio when her phone rang. It was Madeline. “Stella, come to the Keene estate for lunch. I’ll cook your favourite dishes myself. Ethan will come pick you up.
Stella declined immediately. “Thanks, but I have things to do this afternoon. I won’t be able to make it.”
She genuinely had work.
Sterling Global had given her a major project this time, and she didn’t trust the junior designers to handle it alone–she
Chapter 15 Let your cousin stay fat a while longer
Stella stayed silent.
Madeline softened her tone. “Or should I come to you?”
“Don’t I’ll go.”
Finished
Since Madeline was determined to talk, Stella figured it was better to do it in person. At least that way, she could make her stance clear. People’s attitudes were always more revealing in person.
Not long after hanging up, an unfamiliar number called.
Stella answered, “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
Ethan’s voice came through.
She resisted the urge to hang up immediately. But truthfully, Ethan wasn’t thrilled about calling her either. Lately, whenever he called, she blocked his number.
Jason number had already been blocked. Now he had to borrow someone else’s phone, only to risk getting this number blocked as well.
“Mom said I should come pick you up. You agreed to go to the Keene estate?”
His voice was heavy with exhaustion. From the sound of it, he had spent the entire night at the hospital with Lillian. Stella hummed in response.
Ethan asked, “Where should I pick you up?”
“I’ll go on my own. You don’t need to pick me up.”
The last thing she wanted was to sit in a car with him. Even breathing the same air as him felt like contamination.
Ethan caught the coldness in her tone, and his headache worsened. “Just wait for me at Kingston Heights. I’ll pick you up
were
She didn’t bother responding, just hung up. On the other end, Ethan clenched his jaw. Just as she had guessed, he had spent the entire night at the hospital with Lillian.
And now, hearing how indifferent she was, his frustration reached a boiling point.
In the driver’s seat, Jason glanced at him and tried to ease the tension. “Women only get this mad when they care.”
Ethan frowned. “You think so?”
Jason nodded. “If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t be making a fuss.”
Ethan’s expression relaxed slightly. But this whole situation was still infuriating.
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