Ronald pulled the blanket off Stella's head and playfully pinched her cheek.

Stella looked at him with a pout. "Didn't the doctor say I should..."

"Yeah."

"Then why are you..."

Stella trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Ronald hadn't really done anything, but the way he looked at her, like he could devour her at any moment, was enough to make her nervous.

Before, there had been this unspoken tension between them, and she had all kinds of expectations, even a sort of uncertainty about the future. But now that they were together, Stella realized just how wild Ronald could be. "What are you thinking about?" Ronald asked.

"Just thinking that you're really bad," Stella huffed.

"Oh, but you like it," Ronald chuckled softly.

Stella was taken aback. This guy! When a gentleman started to lose his shame, he was even harder to handle. She found herself a bit at a loss with Ronald acting this way.

Just as they were about to continue their banter, Ronald's phone buzzed. It was Idris calling.

Ronald answered with a curt, "Speak."

"He's shown up, sir."

The mere mention of "he" made Ronald's demeanor shift from gentle to sharply focused. He ended the call with a simple "Alright" before turning back to Stella. He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "Stay put and sleep. I'll be back soon."

"You're going out?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back in two hours."

At the moment, the way how he reassured her, like a husband informing his wife of his whereabouts made Stella feel warm inside.

With that, Ronald left.noveldrama

Alone, Stella's phone started buzzing. It was Susanna on the line.

Stella picked up. "Susie, you still have the energy to keep up with the drama?"

With so much happening in such a short time, Stella thought Susanna would've been overwhelmed. Hull had mentioned Susanna fainting from all the excitement, yet here she was calling from Ferrowland, eager to hear about the chaos in Rortis City.

"Oh, I'm about to lose my mind over here! I need some juicy gossip to

"Let's not talk about all those

calm my nerves," Susanna et

troubles around me. Come on, talk

about some juicy stuff, shall we?"

Alright. It was nice that Susanna could adjust her state by gossiping.

"You wouldn't believe how terrifying Hull is. I mean, really... Let's not talk about him, or I might faint again."

At the mere thought of Hull involving her in the drastic scene, Susanna would shiver. In brief, it was horrifying.

Stella comforted in a gentle tone, "Okay okay, no more talk about him then."

As learning from Ronald that Hull had brought Susanna in the intense situation with the Doyne family, Stella understood it was probably a lot scarier than the chaos at Portis City airport.

Still, Stella admired Susanna. She was capable of managing herself even after the collapse out of dread, which spoke volumes for her resilience. "Hey, did you hear about Lola taking on the entire Larkin family? She's quite something else," Susanna shifted the conversation. "Yeah, she's really something," Stella agreed.

The entire Larkin family sided with Ursula, while Lola was going head-to-head with them because of it, which was like a one-woman crusade.

Susanna laughed, clearly entertained. "Man, I kind of admire her guts, what do you think the reason she pulled the stunt today? Even dragging her kid into it is.

I'm not approving of her making the scene with the baby. But with the Larkins, sometimes you have to go big or go home.

In my opinion, they're bullies who back down when someone stands up to them. Lola's really giving them a run for their money, look how the Larkins have become right now, a general turmoil."

Talking about the Larkin family

always got Susanna worked up. Even though Stella hadn't been suffer when with them, they still got their comeuppance. After she managed to extricate herself from that mess, the Larkins still were in extreme misery. It was karma at its finest.

Everything was better now. Watching Lola tear through the Larkin family with such ferocity, Susanna couldn't help but feel a little triumphant.