Chapter 9

In front of Elodie lay a pearl necklace, a misty blue handbag, and a bouquet of champagne roses.

She bit her lip hard, her mind filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Alexander hadn't known her long—he had no idea what she liked. So why were all the gifts things she loved?

Could it be prepared by Stella? Had she found out?

At this thought, Elodie felt her blood run cold.

"Who picked these out?"

Elodie's voice was icy. The servant was startled by the coldness on her face.

"Chase delivered them. He said they were from Mr. Brown."

"I'm asking who picked out these things?"

Elodie suddenly raised her voice, her expression twisted.

The servant answered nervously, "It should have been a female assistant from Mr. Brown's company."

Those words pierced Elodie's heart like needles.

She suddenly stood up, grabbed the pearl necklace from the table, and smashed it hard on the floor. Pearls scattered everywhere, gleaming coldly under the lights.

"Ms. Turner!"

The servant cried out, not daring to approach.

Elodie's face was cold, her voice like ice: "Get rid of all of this."

"What about the cake tower?"

Seeing her dark expression, the servant quickly confirmed and then hurried to call the others to clean up.

In the end, the birthday party was left with only Elodie, sitting alone on the sofa, feeling down.

It wasn't until the next morning, when sunlight filtered through the curtains, that Stella slowly woke up.

The next second, she sat up abruptly, scanning her surroundings.

This wasn't her room! Looking at the decor, this was clearly a hotel.

Stella rubbed her throbbing temples and instinctively checked her clothing. She was wearing a hotel bathrobe with nothing underneath.

Seeing this, her heart sank.

She tried hard to recall fragments from last night.

The drinking game at the table, that sudden kiss, then being forced to drink more and more, and finally, Alexander helping her leave.

After that, her memory became even hazier, with only scattered fragments.

She seemed to have kissed Alexander first, and her hands had wandered inside his shirt...

Stella covered her face, wishing she could disappear on the spot.

She had to leave immediately.

Stella frantically searched for her clothes and finally spotted them neatly folded by the sofa.

Her clothes were clean, and even her underwear had been washed and placed to the side.

Stella's face flushed red. Without overthinking, she quickly changed, grabbed her bag, and tiptoed toward the door.

Her hand had just touched the doorknob when a lazy, deep voice came from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Stella froze, slowly turning around to see Alexander walking out from another bedroom.

He wore only a robe, the collar slightly open, revealing his delicate collarbone and a glimpse of his firm chest.

His hair was slightly messy, but his eyes were clear and sharp—he'd obviously been awake for a while.

"Mr. Brown."

Stella forced a smile, "I thought you were still sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb you."

Faced with her weak explanation, Alexander walked closer step by step and lifted her chin with his hand.

"So you were just going to sneak away?"

He stood in front of Stella, his shadow enveloping her completely.

"About last night—don't you have anything to say?"

Stella's back pressed against the door, with nowhere to retreat.

A flash of panic crossed her face, then she lowered her eyes, and words tumbled out like a machine gun.

"I was drunk last night and don't remember anything. If I offended you in any way, please forgive me, Mr. Brown."

"Don't remember anything?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow, placing one hand on the door beside her ear, trapping her between himself and the door.

"Do you need me to help you remember?"

Stripped of his serious exterior, he now seemed lazy and somewhat teasing.

"No need!"

Stella covered her ears, her face bright red, "I'm sorry, Mr. Brown. I was drunk—it wasn't on purpose."

Seeing Stella constantly shirking responsibility, displeasure surfaced in Alexander's eyes.

"So you did it on purpose then."

He stated it as fact.

Stella was instantly speechless. Her eyes darted around, and she quickly shook her head.

"No, I was just drunk. And I have a fiancé—we're getting married soon."

"You mean the fiancé who sets off fireworks for you, the one you mentioned yesterday?"

Alexander repeated the word, his tone mocking.

"Yes."

Stella looked up, meeting his eyes directly.

"Does he know that when his fiancée gets drunk, she throws herself at other men?"

Alexander's voice was low, carrying a dangerous pressure.

Faced with his question, Stella was left speechless, her eyes beginning to redden.

Seeing her looking both wronged and frightened, Alexander felt an inexplicable irritation rise within him.

He stepped back, creating distance between them.

"Get lost."

He said coldly, "You don't need to come to work today."

Stella didn't care about his dark expression. As if granted amnesty, she hastily pulled open the door and ran out, too rushed to even wait for the elevator, heading straight for the emergency stairs.

Watching her flee in panic, Alexander irritably rubbed his brow.

Stella had just gotten downstairs and, seeing no one had followed, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned around only to find Barry standing in front of her.

"Ms. Hall, why are you leaving so early? Alexander really should have at least kept you for breakfast."

His smile was suggestive, his tone somewhat teasing.

"Mr. Taylor, you've misunderstood. I'm just Mr. Brown's assistant."

Stella explained awkwardly, her toes curling.

Barry raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying her explanation.

"Come on, I've known Alexander for years. I've never seen him bring an assistant to our gatherings, and I've never seen him treat any woman the way he treats you."

Stella froze at his words and instinctively asked back.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're the first woman who's made Alexander have feelings."

Barry leaned in closer and deliberately lowered his voice.

"Yesterday, he took you to the hotel, planning to go back, but you grabbed him and wouldn't let him leave. So he really didn't leave—he opened a room next door and made me stay with him all night."

At this point, Barry looked at her with a resentful gaze.

"So you two slept next door for the night?"

Stella caught the key point.

Barry nodded matter-of-factly: "It's a suite with two rooms. I couldn't very well sleep in the same room as you."

"Of course not."

Stella refused instinctively.

Barry smiled, "You should keep trying! When you and Alexander invite me to your wedding, I'll definitely bring a gift."

With that, he ruffled his messy hair and turned to leave.

Stella watched his retreating figure, feeling dazed.