Chapter 93
Chris sat in his car for a long time after hanging up on Kevin, his mind a tangled mess.
That studio had been running since last year, right under his nose, yet it had grown into something beyond his control.
Stephanie was his fiancée, and yet, with just a few words, she had shattered everything.
Chris couldn’t help but wonder who exactly was the man backing her
At noon, Ella finally got to have lunch with Stephanie. “What happened to your mouth? Why is it so swollen?” Ella asked as soon as she saw her.
“Got bitten by a bug,” Stephanie replied.
She was already tired of people asking about it all day.
Ella frowned. “What kind of bug bites like that?”
Stephanie froze for a second, unable to answer.
Then, noticing the man standing not too far away, Ella chuckled awkwardly. “Your brother sure spoils you, huh?”
She came out for lunch. Just to make sure she didn’t eat anything spicy, he even had someone follow her the entire time to keep an eye on her.
Stephanie scoffed. “You don’t think that’s just him being controlling?”
“If that’s what control looks like, sign me up for a dozen of him. I love it,” Ella said.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Hey, are you serious? Since when do you actually want someone telling you what to do?”
Most people rebelled against their families for a bit of freedom.
She had a few close friends in Fiorenza who constantly fought against their parents‘ strict rules just to gain some independence.
“You wouldn’t get it,” Ella said. “I’ve always had to take care of myself. What I’m missing is someone who actually cares.”
Stephanie paused, her fingers tightening slightly around her fork.
Her gaze
softened as she looked at Ella.
Unlike Stephanie, Ella had a rough start in life.
Stephanie had been abandoned by a servant, but at least the Giovanni family took her in and never let her suffer.
Ella, on the other hand, had a deadbeat father who disappeared the moment she was born, a textbook case of an irresponsible man.
She was from a single–parent family.
Her mother, busy trying to make ends meet, had left her in the care of an aunt, only sending money every month.
Later, her mother became one of the most powerful figures in Long Harbor, but throughout Ella’s entire childhood, love and affection had always been absent.
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Chapter 93
Even now, she didn’t live with her mother.
“If you actually had that many people hovering over you, you’d see how suffocating it is, Stephanie said, trying to comfort her.
Ella scoffed. “You just don’t appreciate what you have.”
She wanted a caring older brother, lots of them, in fact.
“But at least I don’t have to worry about you anymore,” Ella added. “I was really afraid the Hart family would make you suffer a lot.”
Stephanie smiled but didn’t respond to the mention of the Hart family. Just thinking about their idiocy left her speechless.
“How’s Mrs. Turner doing lately?” Ella asked.
“She’s doing just fine,” Stephanie replied.
Ella never really knew how to describe her relationship with her mother. They were distant, yet her mother gave her an absurd amount of pocket money every month. She was never stingy, but she never gave Ella her time.
“She’s always busy making more money. She already has so much, yet she still works like crazy. Honestly, with the way she grinds, I can’t help but think that who is she competing against,” Ella said.
“Oh? Competing against someone?” Stephanie raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. It’s like she has to surpass someone and crush them under her feet,” Ella said.
Otherwise, Ella couldn’t understand her mother’s insane drive.
But
every time
money was brought up, Ella could hear a certain bitterness in her mother’s voice.
“Has Mrs. Turner ever tried to find your father?” Stephanie asked.
“I don’t know. She never tells me anything about that,” Ella said, shaking her head.
