The soldiers were relieved to hear that the woman was okay. "Chief, should we take her home?"
They were all wondering the same as they stared at each other.
Then, the woman raised her head and said in a feeble voice, "Wesley Li… I know you."
All eyes were on Wesley at once. His brows knitted tightly.
Wesley was good with faces. He had met this woman before, and Cecelia had once complained about her—Stella.
None of the soldiers wanted to take her home. Since Wesley remained silent, they quickly made excuses for themselves, in case he dumped the woman on them. "Chief, all of us, except you, have to go back to the office. So, you're the only one available to drive her home."
"Right. Off we go."
"Bye, Chief."
They started running as if they were in a race. Within seconds, they had all gotten into the second car and were gone.
For the first time, Wesley was impressed by his soldiers' efficiency.
He looked around. There was nobody else nearby, and Stella looked miserable.
Out of options, he flung the heavily perfumed woman onto his shoulder and carried her to the car. He made her sit in the back seat and drove off.
Past midnight, Blair was woken up by a kiss.
She knew that it was Wesley. He would kiss her every time he got home.
But tonight, something was different. Blair was about to say something when she sensed the strong perfume on him.
'I don't wear perfume. Whose is that?' She was alerted, but hid her anxiety well. "You're back," she said in a relaxed tone.
"Yeah. I'm going to take a shower."
"Okay."
Blair watched the bathroom door close behind him. Then, she went back to sleep with uncomfortable thoughts running in her mind.
The next day, Blair received a call from Joslyn. After chatting for a while, Joslyn started rambling absent-mindedly. Clearly, something was on her mind. She wanted to say something, but wasn't sure if she should. Blair sensed her hesitation. "Joslyn, it's me. If you've got something to say, just say it."
Joslyn was conflicted. After a moment's silence, she began, "But promise me that you won't get upset. We all know Wesley. He is not the type to fool around."
"I know," Blair said confidently.
Joslyn continued, "Last night, someone told Hartwell that they saw Wesley with a woman in a hotel room. Blair, I'm sure it's nothing. Don't overthink it." Joslyn didn't want to tell her about this, but she also felt that Blair deserved to know. She didn't believe that Wesley was having an affair, but what if it was true? At least now Blair could keep an eye on him.
'Wesley was in a hotel with a woman?' Blair's thought drifted to the strange perfume on Wesley last night. "I see. But Joslyn, Wesley won't cheat on me."
Joslyn was relived. "I'm glad to hear that. That's what I think too. Wesley is a decent man. Patty tried so hard to seduce him, and even got to marry him. But he never slept with her. He won't cheat on you this time either."
"You're right."
However, for the next three nights in a row, Wesley came home, carrying the pungent smell of that strong perfume. Blair couldn't stay cool anymore.
She called Joslyn. "Which hotel is that woman staying in? I want to go check her out. Can you ask Hartwell for me?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Blair. You're not fully recovered yet. You shouldn't be moving about. I can ask Hartwell to check her out for you."
"I'm fine. I can get out of bed now. I just want to find out who she is. Don't worry." It took a lot of persuasion before Joslyn finally agreed to get her the hotel's address.
The following night, after the elders and the baby had gone to sleep, Blair put on some light makeup, got dressed and left the house.
The hotel the mystery woman was staying in was cheap; it was not even a four-star.
Blair took the elevator upstairs and rang the doorbell of a room. A woman opened the door, as she expected.
She recognized the face—Stella, the daughter of the CEO of TS Group.
It had been a long time since Blair had last seen her.
And the perfume Stella was wearing was the same as that on Wesley.
"Long time no see, Miss Zhuge." Blair smiled at her.
She still looked pale and sickly, but her presence was more imposing than Stella's.
"What do you want?" Stella asked with an embarrassed expression on her face.
"Can I come in?"
Stella moved aside to let her in, and then closed the door. "I heard you were in a coma. Why are you here?" Stella quickly regained her composure and put on an attitude.
Blair didn't reply. She looked around the room.
"This hotel looks quite crappy. I'm relieved."
Stella's face fell with humiliation.
"That's because your husband has no money. We have to make do."
'We?' Blair didn't miss that word. She sneered, "Wesley doesn't have money? Are you sure about that? Maybe he just doesn't want to spend it on you?"
Blair was wearing the latest fashion of an international brand. The pigeon egg-sized diamond ring on her finger was giving off a glaring shine. Around her neck was a pendant from the same set as the ring.
The Zhuge family had been wealthy before their company was crushed, so there was no doubt that Stella was aware of the value of Blair's outfit.
The designs of her clothes and jewelry were simple, but they were valuable enough to buy the entire hotel Stella was staying in.
Stella paled at Blair's words, but she countered, "So what? He is cheating on you. He has been with me for the past few days."
Blair ignored her and continued, "Wesley would never allow me to stay in a place like this. It's so filthy and insecure."
Stella had nothing to retort.
"My husband is hot, isn't he? Horny women like you always throw themselves at him, but he never gives a damn about any of them."
"Yes, he is hot, and also very good in bed." Stella finally managed to fire back.
She assumed that Blair would flare up, but she was wrong. Blair gave a contemptuous smile and replied, "You can tell that? It's true. He is incredible in bed. But what a shame. You can only guess. I'm the only one who gets to sleep with him."
"You're too naive. I've been sleeping with your husband for three days. Look at you. All pale and sickly. How can you satisfy him? So, of course, he would come to me."
Blair remarked calmly, "You can't stay in a hotel like this for long. Do you want a house? I can ask Wesley to buy one for you."
Stella turned purple. "I don't want a house. I only want Wesley."
"Okay, bye then."
Blair turned to leave. That was when the doorbell rang.
Stella opened the door hastily. Wesley was standing in the hallway, carrying a bag of late supper. Without looking inside the room, he handed her the bag and said, "Here. Bye."