Listening to Finley's infectious laughter and his words, Stella was completely taken aback. She looked at Ronald, sniffled a bit, and stammered, "You, you, you..."

Ronald, seeing her pouty and wronged expression, leaned down to peck her softly on the lips. "What's wrong? Are you upset?"

Stella wriggled a bit in his arms, showing her displeasure.

Ronald chuckled softly. "There, there."

Stella huffed indignantly. She had honestly thought she was making a cool seven hundred grand a year through her own efforts, but what a joke! Turns out, it was nothing like that at all. "So, StarRiver Corp. is..." she asked.

Finley chimed in, "It's your brother's."

"Don't you speak! I wasn't asking you," Stella snapped, clearly annoyed.

At this point, not only did Ronald want to throttle Finley, but Stella was also tempted to do the same.

"You tell me," she insisted.

Ronald nodded, confirming her suspicions.

Stella snuggled deeper into his embrace, and Ronald gazed down at her tousled head. Her sunhat had been knocked askew from all her wriggling.

Seeing her all puffed up and sulking, Ronald felt a sudden wave of affection, mixed with a hint of helplessness.

This little rascal, always so infuriatingly adorable.

"Alright, alright, don't be mad, okay?"

Stella's voice was filled with unprecedented grievance. "I've been working so hard to support myself."

When she first opened her studio, she had slowly started getting orders, even if the fees weren't that high. But it was enough to keep her afloat.

And StarRiver Corp. had paid her such a high design fee, without her suspecting a thing.

She had genuinely believed it was because the boss admired her work. But in the end, it was all just smoke and mirrors.

Ronald reassured her, "You've done well. It's impressive you sought your own way."

When Ronald first learned about Stella's studio, he already had a pretty good idea about her financial situation within the Larkin family.

So, when she suddenly used the black card he had given her, Ronald's heart skipped a beat. He thought she was in some kind of trouble. Despite having a lot on his plate, Ronald couldn't ignore it. Finley added, "Yep, our little princess here is pretty awesome, knowing how to earn her keep."

Stella shot him a glare. "You keep quiet."

Ronald echoed her sentiment, "Zip it."

Both spoke in unison, leaving Finley speechless.

Great, he's the bad guy again.noveldrama

Stella continued to grumble in Ronald's arms, while he listened patiently.

As they passed by a supermarket, Ronald said to Idris, "Go grab some snacks." "On it," Idris replied.

It was obvious who the snacks were for - Stella.

She hadn't eaten much on the plane, and

Several hours gone &

was probably starving.

s to en.kikistorie she

Idris got still

Yo Sittiut of the car. Seeing F

there, he asked, "Mr..

Sley

want to pick up some 1 favorites?"

Finley shook his head. "Nah, I'm a grown man. I don't need snacks."

His stomach was still aching from laughing so hard earlier.

"Hopeless." Idris simply sighed. Eventually, he went off by himself.

Finley suddenly realized how out of place he was.

"Guess I'll go see what I can eat," he said, quickly getting out of the car.

This left just Stella and Ronald.

The man looked down at the little one still nestled in his arms.

"Are you really angry?"

Stella confessed, "I always thought I was pretty accomplished."

Ronald nodded. "You are accomplished, even knowing how to keep yourself hidden."

But honestly, what difference did it make whether she hid or not?

Stella lifted her head to look at him.

"Why didn't you come for me sooner?" she asked.

"Things weren't settled," Ronald replied.

Xander had forced her out of Ferrowland in such a way, it was a stark reminder to Ronald. Without their father, the Quinn family was in a precarious position, with many cireling like vultures.