Elaine stole a glance at the living room and kept down her voice, “I gradually find that he’s quite
annoying, indifferent and sharp-toned. How could you endure him and fall in love with him?”
Stella raised her brows. She didn’t expect that Elaine would have such a comment on Clarence.
She took out a plate while asking with a smile, “You like him, don’t you?”
Elaine regained her senses and realized what she had said, “Yeah, I once said that I like him.”
Stella said, “All right. Go out and take a seat. The lunch will be ready soon.”
Although she had known Elaine for a long time, she thought Elaine was an interesting and cute girl.
Even Elaine didn’t realize that her feeling towards Clarence was not love.
Elaine didn’t want to marry Darnell and when she felt so hopeless because all her efforts of fighting
against the marriage became in vain, Clarence appeared.
He was comparable to Darnell in family background, social status and appearance.
And those people in Riverside also didn’t dare to offend him.
He was like a glamorous saviour in Elaine’s eyes.
Therefore, she kept telling them that she liked her, hoping that he could help her escape from this
marriage.
Apparently, Darnell had perceived this and he took the advantage to send Elaine to City N.
In this way, Elaine could stay in City N and stay by Clarence’s side, and this triggered emotions like
fear, hatred and nervousness in the James.
When having lunch, Elaine sat next to Stella and focused on the rice in her bowl. Apparently, she was
very hungry.
Clarence asked, “When will you go to the studio?”
Stella replied, “After the lunch. When will you go to the company?”
“Almost the same time. I will give you a ride.”
Elaine lifted her head when she heard the conversation. With her cheeks puffed up and down, she
asked in a low voice, “Where are you going? Can you bring me with you?”
Clarence took a glance at her and replied in a flat tone, “Nope.”
Elaine immediately became anxious, “Didn’t you ask me to seek a job? I’m not familiar with this city and
the people here. I don’t know what I can do.”
“Didn’t you see it when we were in the shop? They’re looking for a cashier.”
Elaine was lost for words.
Stella suppressed her laughter, “I will take her to my studio. We’re in short of manpower two.”
Elaine made a face at Clarence and then smiled brightly at Stella, “Thank you, Stella. You’re not only
beautiful but also kind-hearted. You’re totally different from someone who’s so hypocritical.”
Clarence was rendered speechless.
After lunch, Stella stood up, preparing to take the dishes into the kitchen. Elaine spotted Clarence’s
glance and immediately put down her bowl, “Leave it to me. Stella, it’s hard to make a meal, so just let
me wash the dishes.”
Fearing that Stella would insist on washing the dishes, Elaine hurriedly took the dishes into the kitchen.
Stella recalled what Clarence had said to her when seeing that Elaine was so active and decided to
leave it to her.
Unexpectedly, just when Stella sat down on the sofa, she heard a string of sounds of dishes breaking
from the kitchen.
Stella was rendered speechless.
She stiffly turned her head and took a glance at Clarence who sat next to her.
Noticing her gaze, Clarence slightly looked up, “Let her compensate for it.”
Stella said, “I’m pondering about the other matter.”
Clarence kept down his voice, “What’s that?”
“Is kitchen killer a matter of probability, or is it decided by genes? What do you think of it?”
Clarence was lost for words.
Stella thought of it carefully and concluded that it was not decided by genes because at least Dolores
never broke any dishes.
But at a second thought, she doubted her conclusion.
After all, she didn’t know how Dolores was like when she was young.
Alas…
Stella stood up and walked into the kitchen.
…
After cleaning the messy kitchen, Stella changed her clothes, preparing to go out.
She said, “You don’t need to send me there. I and Elaine will walk to the studio so that she can get
familiar with the surroundings.”
Clarence moved his thin lips trying to say something, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He simply
replied, “Okay.”
Elaine, who stood at the side, had been lowering her head as if she had realized that she had made
some mistakes.
Stella picked up her bag and said, “Let’s go.”
After getting into the lift, Elaine broke the silence hesitantly, “Hmm… Stella… I’m sorry. I broke your
bowls today. I will buy you a new set of dishes when I earn some money.”
Stella replied, “It doesn’t matter. I’ve been accustomed to it.”
“What?”
Stella chuckled, “Nothing. You just need to pay more attention in the future.”
Elaine clenched her fists to brace herself, “It’s just an accident. I can do it!”
It would take almost half an hour for them to walk to the studio. The sunlight was so dazzling at noon
and it was a bit hot.
Walking next to Stella, Elaine looked around curiously, feeling everything interesting and novel.
Stella asked when she noticed this, “Did you grow up in Riverside.”
Elaine immediately nodded her head, “There’s a strange rule in my family – they don’t allow us to leave
Riverside. I’ve been yearning for going out for fun, but my dad didn’t allow me to do so. What’s more,
he even scolded me. I can’t understand what they’re thinking. The world outside is so wonderful.”
“Aren’t you afraid that they will get angry since you left Riverside without informing them?”
“I’m afraid of it, but I’m more afraid of marrying Darnell.”
Stella subconsciously blurted out the question, “Why?”
Elaine knitted her brows, “Although I didn’t have too many chances to meet him, I’d been calling him
uncle since childhood. But now they require me to marry him and I feel very weird and uncomfortable.
Moreover…”
Elaine kept down her voice as if they were talking about a mysterious thing, “He’s very horrifying. I
heard from others that the red wines in his cellar were all made of human’s blood. And he usually eats
human’s flesh. The key is that he likes raw meat! What if I anger him after marriage and he eats me!”
Stella was rendered speechless.
Before going to Riverside, she also heard of similar rumours about Darnell.
She thought it was a lie for kids, but she didn’t expect that some members of the James family had a
firmer belief in this lie than her.
No wonder that Elaine reacted violently in the ancestral hall back then. She was even slapped by his
father regardless of those people’s presence and was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, yet she
still refused to marry Darnell.
Elaine continued, “Anyway, I’ve been afraid of him since childhood. My legs would tremble whenever I
see him. Forcing me to marry him is like sending a tied-up sheep to his mouth. Moreover, I don’t like
him, so I don’t want to marry him for those ridiculous reasons like he’s the patriarch of James family
just as they said.”
Stella chuckled, “You’re right.”
Elaine continued, “Stella, do you like Clarence?”
Stella paused and they replied slowly, “Yep, I like him.”
“Now that this is the case, I won’t compete with you. I will fall in love with the other man.” Elaine looked
around while walking and kept murmuring to herself, “It can be any man other than Darnell.”
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