Chapter 9
At that time, Stella had just glared at Rowan from a distance.
I felt like she kept running into him everywhere, and now, he was with a beautiful woman. It left her frustrated.
Now, In hindsight, she realized he had been on a blind date. A pang of jealousy hit her.
And now he acted like he didn’t even know who Diana was.
Fuming, she tried to pull away from his embrace.
Rowan furrowed his brow, tightening his grip around her waist to keep her from moving. Only then did he respond, “You mean Diane?”
Diane? Stella felt even more upset. “You sound so familiar with her, calling her Diane, but you call me by my full name!”
Rowan sighed, clearly exasperated. “Everyone calls her that I didn’t even know her last name, so how else was I supposed to address her?”
Diana had grown up abroad and hadn’t been hack for long, so she wasn’t familiar with the young heirs and heiresses of Londale’s high society.
Besides, Rowan had only met her once, so he didn’t remember her full name. All he knew was that everyone referred to her as
As he spoke, Rowan gently brushed the stray strands of hair from Stella’s face, tucking them behind her ear, exposing her pretty features. He smiled softly and whispered; “Besides, if calling her Diane seems too familiar, do you want me to stam calling you ‘Starry‘ instead?”
Stella was lett speechless, unable to respond. After all, “Starry didn’t sound nearly as elegant.
She decided not to linger on that and steered the conversation back to the topic at hand. “So, how did your blind date with her go?”
Rowan raised an eyebrow “One meeting and you call it a blind date?”
He sighed. “My grandmother asked me to meet her, but I didn’t know who I was meeting until I got to the restaurant. By then, I had already turned her down.”
This explanation was similar to what he had told her in the past.
Stella furrowed her brow, “What about your family?”
He rejected her, but she wondered if his family had agreed with his decision.
Rowan replied, “They naturally respected my wishes.”
The truth was, the Mansfield family didn’t need a marriage alliance. In the end, his parents valued his feelings above all else.
Towan explained that it was his grandmother, Mary Evans, who had arranged the meeting with Diana.
Mary and Diana’s grandmother, Simona Horton, had been close friends when they were young, though they had grown distant over the years. However, when Simonu reached out, Mary agreed to let them meet
It wasn’t exactly a formal, arranged marriage.
“is that so?” Stella lowered her gaze, deep in thought
It was relief forher to realize they had no connection, and it settled her nerves.
However, there was still the matter of Celina using Diana’s post to stir things up, and that had to be handled carefully. But she didn’t know how to handle it.
As she was deep in thought, Rowan couldn’t help but watch her, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Stella’s behavior felt increasingly strange to him. Although he was certain it was her, something about her seemned off,
He glanced at the car curled up beside them, its round eyes fixed on him and Stella. Or more specifically, on Stella, with an unsettling gaze that wasn’t very friendly.
Rowan briefly lowered his eyes before looking back at Stella. “That was a long time ago. You saw me then and glared at me as if you hadn’t noticed me. So, why bring it up now?”
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze darkening “is this your excuse to avoid kissing me? Trying to brush me off with some old story?”
He lifted her chin gently to make her meet his eyes, a sly smile curling his lips. “You can’t keep up the act anymore, can you?
Stella frowned. “I’m not pretending.”
“Then prove it,” he said, his voice lowering as he leaned closer. “Let me kiss you.”
If she wasn’t willing to kiss him, he would take the lead. He couldn’t hold back anymore, aul–frankly, he didn’t want to.
After all, she was the one who kept drawing him in.
Mella’s lashes fluttered he leaned closer. His breath was hot on her tips, making her heart race
She was glent to say something, but before slse could open her mouth, his lips met hers. Soft and warm, they gently pressed against hers, the kiss tender yet qronistakable.
