The receptionist spoke softly and politely, then waited quietly for Stella Grant’s response.
Stella furrowed her brows slightly over the phone, paused for a mont, and then said in a detached voice, "Let him co up."
Receptionist: "Okay, Miss Grant."
After hanging up the phone, Stella walked into the bathroom and splashed her face with water.
She was standing in front of the mirror, gathering her hair to tie a ponytail, when the door was knocked from outside.
Stella paused her hand that was tying her hair, quickly finished tying it, and stepped out of the bathroom to open the door.
Today, Kenneth Grant had changed his clothes. It seed like he had carefully dressed up. Though he didn’t have the sa grandeur as before, he wasn’t as disheveled and sloppy as yesterday.
Father and daughter exchanged glances, Kenneth Grant’s face showed obvious embarrassnt. He handed the breakfast he was holding towards Stella, speaking in a flattering tone, "You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? Dad bought you breakfast; it’s red dates bird’s nest porridge, your favorite from before."
After a night of calming down, Stella was now emotionally calm and stable.
She reached out to take the porridge from his hand, stepped aside to let him in, without ntioning that she had stopped liking this porridge ages ago.
Kenneth Grant appeared very uneasy from the mont he entered to when he sat down.
After sitting down, he nervously rubbed his hands which were resting on his lap, then took the initiative to start the conversation with Stella, "Yesterday, we t for too short a ti, I didn’t have a chance to ask you, how is your mom now?"
The relationship between husband and wife can be quite delicate at tis.
When the relationship is good, they’re not just family, but closer than family.
When the relationship fades, they’re not strangers, but more distant than strangers, and so might even beco enemies.
Stella was no longer a child; she could certainly discern whether Kenneth Grant’s inquiry was sincere or not.
Stella moved the corner of her lips slightly, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table, opened it, and handed it to him, "She’s sick, and hospitalized."
Kenneth Grant took it, seemingly to hide his nervousness, he took a big sip, cald down, and asked, "What illness?"
After asking, without waiting for Stella to answer, he continued speaking on his own, "It’s like this when you get older, a bunch of old age illnesses co calling. It’s been the sa for these past few years, often having backaches and leg pains. Your mom should be better than , when she was young, your grandparents spoiled her. After marrying , she’s always lived a privileged life, she..."
Stella coldly interrupted, "Kidney failure."
Kenneth Grant’s words were caught in his throat, looking at Stella with a face full of shock.
Compared to Kenneth Grant, Stella remained very calm, while opening the red dates bird’s nest porridge he brought, stirring it, she said casually, "After your incident back then, those creditors dragged my mom and to the company, forcing us to repay your debts. My mom was timid and got quite frightened."
Kenneth Grant: "..."
Stella leaned down and took a sip of the porridge, the sweetness of the red dates made her feel sick, "You ntioned yesterday that you’d left us fifty thousand, but we never received it. Even if we did, fifty thousand wouldn’t cover the hole of your external debts."
Kenneth Grant: "..."
Stella took a sip of the porridge and then put it down, not taking a second sip, looking up at Kenneth Grant, "Do you want to see my mom?"
Kenneth Grant was so shocked by Stella’s consecutive remarks that he was speechless.
After a long ti, he replied in a trembling voice, "Where is your mom hospitalized now?"
Stella said, "Brynnfield, never left."
After saying that, she paused for a mont and added, "It’s not that she didn’t want to leave; it’s that those creditors wouldn’t let her leave, fearing that if she and I both left, no one would repay the debts."
While saying this, Stella maintained a deanor that was calm throughout, without anger, nor sarcasm.
But the calr she was, the more Kenneth Grant felt uneasy inside.
Stella hates him; that was Kenneth Grant’s imdiate thought.
The mother and daughter struggled in Brynnfield while he had already remarried in Portre.
He thought he lived a difficult life, not knowing what they endured was a thousand tis harder.
As Stella’s words ended, silence filled the living room.
After a long while, Kenneth Grant took a deep breath and said, "I’ll, I’ll find a chance to go back and see her."
Stella gave an ’mm’ sound in response, then followed up, saying, "If possible, discuss with your current wife, have you both take over the external debts you owe. I’ve already repaid more than half, only a small portion remains."
Upon ntioning external debts, Kenneth Grant tensed his jaw, without replying.
Stella: "Even if this debt is considered a joint marital debt, my mom’s share has already been fulfilled, the remainder should be yours to bear."
Kenneth Grant, in a hoarse voice, said, "I, I know."
As Kenneth Grant’s words fell, his face visibly turned unsightly. Just as he felt like sitting on pins and needles, the door was suddenly knocked.
Kenneth Grant had developed a habit of becoming highly tense from years of evading creditors, becoming nervous at any slight sound.
Stella glanced at him, then stood up from the sofa, "It should be my friend."
At this mont, she guessed it should be Sue Woods and Ray Woods.
When the door opened, Stella was montarily stunned upon seeing the person standing outside.
Silas Sutton stood outside in a black shirt and trousers, not looking down at her but instead directly gazing coldly at Kenneth Grant sitting on the sofa, raising an eyebrow, and asking, "Do you have a guest?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)