Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Jordan replied, “Alright, I promise you.”
Jordan brought Eleanor and Mary to his house and arranged rooms for both of them.
Eleanor smiled and said, “Jordan, you’re so young and already able to buy a place like this. The future is looking bright for you.”
Jordan didn’t try to take all the credit for himself. He said, “It’s really not just my achievement. Stella played a big part too. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet her, I wouldn’t have gotten this far so quickly.”
Eleanor was amused. She said, “What does this have to do with Stella? Stop trying to sweet–talk me.”
Jordan glanced at Stella and then added, “Eleanor, you might not know this, but the credit for our company’s software goes entirely to Stella. I’m not much of a tech guy–I just handle the business side and the sales.”
Eleanor was genuinely surprised and turned to look at Stella.
Jordan continued, “You have no idea how incredible Stella is. She developed the Apple when she was not even fifteen, just messing around with it for fun.
“Then I met her and asked if she could trust me. She just told me to do whatever I wanted with it. So I took her software and step by step, we got to where we are today. Her computer skills are seriously top–tier–world–class.”
Eleanor had heard a thing or two, but she never pictured Stella being this remarkable.
Stella looked at Jordan with a helpless expression. She never realized he was so good at winning over Eleanor. Seeing both shock and pride on Eleanor’s face, she honestly had no idea what to say.
“Stella, come here,” Eleanor called out.
Stella walked over to Eleanor.
Eleanor took her hand and said, “I’ve always hated your parents for letting Anna take your place at Quentiham. You know how hard it is to get
into Quentiham–so few people ever make it.
“When you came back, they said they’d find you a school, but they never followed through. It was all just talk. I wanted to help you, but I didn’t have the connections. I’ve always felt so guilty, thinking they ruined your future.
“That’s why I tried so hard to give you the shares early, so you could take over the company. I knew you had the talent, but I never imagined you’d be this amazing. I couldn’t have predicted it.
“I always wondered where you got all that money from–so it was from this all along. Some things are lost and may never come back, but truly believe your future will be bright.”
Stella hugged Eleanor and said, “Grandma, that’s all I need to hear. Just stay home and enjoy yourself. If you want to go out, let Mary go with you. From now on, let me take care of you.”
Eleanor nodded and said, “Okay.” She thought, ‘Turns out it’s true–gold really does shine no matter what. I am so proud that Stella had already started to shine years ago.
‘It was precisely her intelligence that brought her back safe and sound. How wonderful!‘
Mary stood off to the side, tears of joy streaming down her face. She thought, ‘After all the hardships, things are finally looking up. From now on, life will only get better.’
1/3
Chapter 125
Ever since Eleanor moved in, Jordan had been especially attentive to her. Every day, he would bring her something she liked to eat. At night, before bed, if Eleanor wasn’t taking a bath, Jordan would even wash her feet for her.
Eleanor sang Jordan’s praises every single day.
Stella waited until Eleanor had finally fallen asleep before she went to find Jordan.
Stella had weighed herself today—she was around 80 pounds now. She looked a lot more like her old self, though she still walked with a limp and wasn’t sure if she’d ever fully recover.
“Jordan, you’re really too good to my grandmothe
Stella said.
Jordan replied, “If I’m not good to her, then who would I be good to? I don’t have any family, and she treats me like her own, so of course!
want to be good to her.”
Stella had wanted to ask about his family so many times, but every time, the words just got stuck in her throat.
Jordan said, “Stella, I know what you want to ask. Honestly, I want to tell you everything, too, but now just isn’t the right time. I promise, one day you’ll know it all.”
Stella gave a strong nod.
Right now, Stella’s face had a healthy glow, looking so much better than before. Even her lips looked rosier.
Jordan slowly leaned in toward her.
Stella was startled and instinctively jerked away.
S
Only then did Jordan realize he’d crossed a line, and he tried to say something. He stammered, “I am sorry.”
Stella felt awkward, too. She said, “It’s fine, um, I’ll just go back to my room now.” With that, she stood up and was about to leave.
But suddenly, Jordan reached out and pulled her back, sitting her down right in front of him. He kept his eyes on her, and there was something in his gaze that made her heart skip a beat.
“Stella, if you ever feel like dating someone, I hope you’ll think of me first,” he said.
Stella was stunned.
Jordan said, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re amazing–there’s no one out there better than you. No matter what happened before, you still have a chance to start over.” His voice was softer than ever, and his eyes were just mesmerizing.
Jordan was ridiculously handsome; whenever Stella was near him, her heart raced out of control. And he had always treated her so well.
Jordan would go shirtless around the house from time to time. It felt like he was always teasing Stella, whether he realized it or not,
Stella didn’t answer. She just pushed him away and went straight back to her room.
She curled up on the bed. Her body was clearly recovering–she could move around much more easily now, and everything felt a lot more
natural.
She touched her cheek; it was burning hot, something she’d never felt before. She thought, ‘Jordan is different when he is with her. What did he mean by that? Does he like me?‘
Jordan was right about one thing–it truly wasn’t Stella’s fault, but nobody had ever told her that.
2/3
Chapter 125
When Stella first came back from the kidnapping, the police had checked and confirmed that nothing had happened to her, but her family still refused to believe it.
Max was always the one causing trouble, but Stella always ended up taking the fall for him. During that time, she’d lost hope in everything But now, Jordan told her that it wasn’t her fault. That made her heart flutter.
It was normal, at my age, to want to fall in love like everyone else, to experience all the good things life had to offer. But Stella wondered if she could live like that.
The doctors at the hospital had already chased after Anna five times, warning her that if she didn’t pay up soon, Max and Andrew would be kicked out.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t given her a break–they’d allowed extra time, but Anna just couldn’t scrape together the money.
Anna went back home, hoping to get her things. She couldn’t bear to sell them, but she couldn’t just ignore Max and Andrew either. But when she got there, she found the house had been slapped with a court seal.
She tried to go in and grab her stuff, but someone reported her, and people from the court came over and tossed her right out.
That was when she finally realized Fiona had mortgaged the house and stopped making payments ages ago; the court had already repossessed it.
Anna had never imagined the Hayes family would fall this far. Going from a pampered heiress to having absolutely nothing–she just couldn’t accept it.
Just then, her phone rang–it was a call from one of her suitors.
Normally, Anna wouldn’t even bother to answer, but this time, she answered it. The first thing she said was, “Can you take me away?”
