"You were ant to leave the eting and head ho. What drew you back to the office?" Ella asked, utterly taken aback by his words.
Given what transpired yesterday, how can I allow you to return ho alone?" Stefan shrugged and put his hand in his pocket. "Plus, I was going to take you sowhere before I dropped you off at ho."
Stefan was ant to accompany his father, but he excused himself, saying he had so work to do, took his car keys, and called another car for himself.
Throughout the eting, he was plagued by a persistent fear for Ella's safety. As the eting ca to an end and it was ti to head out, he altered his plans and headed straight to the office.
As they moved in the direction of his car, Ella could not help but smile at his thoughtfulness.
Ella was helped into the car by Stefan, who then proceeded to the driver's seat on the opposite side.
They soon started driving, with Stefan keeping their destination a closely-guarded secret.
***
[Beach]
"Here is the ice cream for the lady." Stefan's voice seized Ella's attention from the sea and she smiled, taking the cone from his hand.
"I have not been here before." Ella uttered these words, "This place is so beautiful, Stefan," as she delighted in her al at the beachside stalls, finishing it off with ice cream for dessert.
Stefan grinned and took a scoop of his ice cream, saying, "Then I must make sure to take you to every beautiful places in the city that you are missed seeing."
It was the most at ease Ella had ever felt. Ever since she was aware of it, her life had been filled with work and studies. She was never given any personal ti.
She did not rember Max taking her anywhere to spend quality ti with her, even after they started dating.
After graduating, he was unemployed for nearly a year before accepting a job that paid him inadequately.
Ella realized now that she had been carrying the majority of the load since she was so enamored with a man who understood his responsibilities.
While he just went around and fucked other won, Ella was the only one who considered their future, from supporting him to purchasing a house for them.
Ella experienced what it is like to be betrayed by soone you thought you would be with forever—it breaks you.
She was so in love with him that her entire world fell apart when she discovered he was having an affair in their apartnt.
His terrible deed ruined the house where they were ant to begin a family.
"What could be going through your heavy mind?" Stefan questioned, interrupting her train of thought.
"You know I have always dread of a happy family where I would have a loveable husband and kids who I will love throughout my life," Ella said, her wrinkles forming to the side of her eyes as they glittered with unshed tears.
"But that idea never really took off." She was holding back on the sob, and her voice trembled with the sensation of sothing getting stuck in her throat.
Ella was raised in the presence of her maternal grandparents in a fractured family.
A few months after their marriage, her father abandoned her mother, saying he was unable to care for the unborn child.
She rembered how hard her mother had worked to support and care for her family financially. Nevertheless, she never gave up or made her feel like a burden.
Her mother never married again and devoted her life to educating her so that she could support herself since she was the only person who could keep her going.
Despite not having much money, Ella understood the value of every dollar earned through laborious efforts. But after falling in love with Max, she was unable to see it.
She was skeptical, but he broke the barrier around her heart by shaping her into lies.
Her only fear was being left alone, so she would give in to Max's demands without hesitation. Despite this, she continued to lose her virginity to him because she was afraid of being left behind.
"That does not imply that you should give up on your dreams about it." With a contemplative look that made Ella giggle, Stefan remarked, "You have the right to start again and trust , everything will happen at the right ti."
"I never thought you were an ideologist, even though I knew you had a way with words. She shook her head in sarcastically and remarked, "You said the hardest words so easily."
Dreaming again was not difficult for her, but how could she trust that the person would not betray her?
Max presented himself as the ideal man, but when she was unable to please him, he eventually cheated on her.
Ella scoffed mockingly, rembering her own fate that made her doubt herself. "It is easy to say but it is hard to do, at least when soone already broken your trust."
Stefan kept a close eye on the girl, picking up on every word she said. He was aware of her pain, but she must not give up.
What if Max was not the right one? But there are many who would love her rightfully. All she has to do is give it a chance.
"Building trust is difficult, but it can be restored over ti. What if you et soone who genuinely loves you for who you are, but not Max?" Stefan questioned, turning her gaze back to him.
"And who will love, ? You?" Ella snorted, thinking Stefan's remarks humorous.
The scenes he described, in which the girl is betrayed and ets a man who falls in love with her, and they go on to live happily ever after, sound fantastic only on television.
The truth is that, because of the words that pierced your heart, all you could see were your failures and self-doubt.
"Why not? " Stefan asked, glancing at Ella, who did not seem to be taking anything he was saying seriously. "I am capable of being that person who can truly love you."
Ella gave him an incredulous look as she choked on his words.
"What did you just say?" She asked, her face turning serious furthermore.
Her venomous glare startled Stefan, who imdiately defended himself by saying, "What I an to say is, I can be the person to help you find your true love."
His words were modified. Recognizing Ella would never believe him, he changed his statents.
Stefan watched warily as her serious experience quickly took a shocking turn.
"Do you wish to assist ? But didn't you say-"
"No, I did not an to say that," he quickly clarified, leaving Ella even more perplexed by his actions.
Even though Stefan knew Ella would not believe him given his Playboy status, he was still interested in her.
After glancing at him for a short while, Ella turned her head away.
"What makes you want to assist ?" She enquired.
Stefan noticed Ella's altered aura and ntally sighed.
What he said made sense to her.
"I am not sure, but it seems like you are the kind of girl who needs everything." Ella's attention was drawn to his words, and she fixed her intense gaze on him.
She trusted everything he said because those magnificent grey orbs were so convincing.
Despite being perplexed by his actions, Ella could not help but notice how much respect he had for her.
It was simpler for a guy like Stefan to make a girl fall in love with him, but he never took advantage of her.
With no comnt, she turned back to the ocean. Her heart relaxed abruptly, and she kept eating her ice cream.
By the ti they got to her place, Stefan was thinking about Ella's lack of response.
He questioned whether she still had doubts about him or why they were not communicating constantly.
"So, how do you feel about the words we talked about earlier?" Before Ella had a chance to exit the vehicle, Stefan struck up a conversation.
Ella stopped mid-unbuckling the seatbelt process to give him a startled look.
"You continue to believe that I will accept your suggestion. I felt that my silence sufficed as an answer," she remarked, leaving Stefan in disbelief.
Ella felt that after going through a traumatic breakup, the idea of true love no longer applied to her, so she had no interest in finding it.
Rather than being desperate to have a man by her side, she wanted to take her ti.
"However, I promised to assist you," he countered.
"And I don't need your help," she declined.
Ella felt bad when he changed his words even though she was positive she had heard him clearly before.
Ella was unable to comprehend her relationship with Stefan. Prior to Max, they were not only fake boyfriend and girlfriend but also subservient.
Their relationship was not defined by anything other than her gratitude to him for his assistance.
Despite the complexity, she felt at ease in his presence. So couldn't she bring herself to take his help, she couldn't comprehend.
Stefan watched Ella get out of the car and did not argue much.
Unlike other won, he was not able to approach this one because there was sothing unique about her that he found irresistibly attractive.
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