"Stella's point of view,"
"Did your avaricious uncle finally agree to help you out?" As I walked down the hall, Avery greeted me with a question.
"Are you up at this hour of the night to ask me this question?" While throwing my bag on the couch, I questioned,
"Of course, what did you expect from me—that I would be sound asleep in your room when you got home late at night?" She made fun of me.
"Please, Avery, not now; I am already exhausted, and I have no courage to quarrel with you," I stated while inhaling deeply.
"No, not at all. If you believe that using your sleepiness as an excuse will allow you to avoid answering my questions, you are mistaken. For you, I've already brewed coffee." Said as she nudged the coffee cup across the table towards me.
She has no right to exert such pressure on me; this is my problem, and I can find a satisfactory solution to it in my manner.
Oh my god, what the hell am I thinking? Since nothing that happened to me today was Avery's fault, why am I considering taking my aggravation out on her when these issues stem from one cause?
Ethan Woods.
My body burns with rage whenever I think of him.
"Stella, please don't try my patience and let me know right now if your greedy uncle would assist you or not." Avery's eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Yes, Lily Aunty will assist me, but..." As I sipped my coffee, I said,
"But what?
Your lovely aunt must have asked you for something precious in exchange for your help. Tell me quickly what Lily Pinto said to you—did she ask you for your land for your help? You describe everything to me regarding what transpired there. If I had known you would reveal things to me in pieces like this, I would not have allowed you to leave me alone. This suspense of yours is killing me."
"Avery, oh my God, Please calm down; you aren't even giving me a chance to speak and are making up a story without fully hearing what I have to say," I spoke in a grating manner.
"Okay, please tell me what your aunt said." She sat down on the couch with her legs folded. I could tell she would not let me sleep without learning all the information about me by the way she was sitting on the couch.
"Aunt Lily is insisting that I marry her son David if I want to keep my business afloat."
"What?" The coffee that had been in her mouth for a while suddenly came out as she was listening to me.
"You've got to be kidding, right?" She gave me a disbelieving expression as she stared at me.
"Do you think I'm making a joke right now?" I asked, and my brow furrowed.
"Well, judging by your expression, I don't feel this way, but after hearing what you said, I get the impression that you are making a joke about it." She muttered while pouting.
"I wish Aunty was joking, but she wants David and me to get married," I said in a dejected tone.
"And you agreed to your aunt's condition?" She fixed a cold, calculated gaze on my face.
"There isn't even anything else I can do," I replied as I set the coffee mug down on the table.
"What do you mean when you say that to save your business, you would marry a man like David?" With a yell of anger, she asked the question.
"Yes, I must do everything it takes to protect my business from that monster."
"And David?
Is he ready to get married to you?" I'm starting to hate her inquiries right now. After all, why is she interrogating me so extensively, like a lawyer, when she should have immediately understood that I will do whatever it takes at this moment to save my business?
"I'm feeling drowsy, Avery; we'll discuss it later." I yawned as I spoke.
"Stella, until I receive all the information I need, I won't let you go." She forced me to sit down on the couch once more by grabbing my shoulders.
"David has always wished that I might somehow be his." I reacted while fidgeting with my fingers.
"Are you not aware of what that man wants? You must know how poorly that man thinks about women. What made you finally give in and marry that creep, anyway?" Her inquiries strike at my heart like arrows.
"You tell me, Avery, what I should do. You know I can never trust a guy again after having been duped once in love. I do not want to wed myself, but I have no other options." I said while wiping my eyes,
"Will you make such a significant sacrifice just to appease your ego?" In contrast to how she usually looks at me, she was staring at me as if I had committed a serious crime.
"What do you mean? What you're referring to as my ego is my self-esteem." I attempted to keep a neutral expression on my face.
"Tell me how your self-respect allows you to marry David if it won't enable you to accept Mr. Woods' conditions.
"What do you want me to say to that conceited Ethan Woods about making amends for something that is not my fault?" I asked fiercely, hurling the couch cushion in her direction.
"No, I am not at all telling you this, but if you had already sold your land to him, he would not have presented you with such a condition. You intentionally frayed his nerves, but he is not as bad as you perceive him to be. The poor man wanted to purchase land from you directly, but you only pressurized him." I threw some cushions at her, and she answered by catching them.
"Oh, that shows that you are head over heels for that arrogant dude." I made the statement while keeping my hand on my hip.
"Stop your nonsense; yes, I think Mr. Woods is incredibly attractive, but I do not adore him in a romantic sense." She yelled fiercely as she threw the cushion in my direction.
"So why do you so frequently support that egotistical man?" As I adjusted the couch cushion, I wondered.
"I'm not siding with him, but I am presenting you with the truth. Stella, I hope you get my point. If you do whatever it takes to keep your company alive, why not sell Mr. Woods the land?"
"Even if I have done nothing wrong, I still won't apologize to him since I don't know what I should be sorry for." Some of Avery's statements made sense to me.
"Okay, don't say you're sorry for him; instead, I'd like you to offer to sell him the land once. I don't think it will significantly harm your business to say you're sorry, and once you've gained the land, he will stop harassing you." She motioned for me to call Ethan while holding my phone in my hand.
"Okay, I'll agree with you, but don't hold it against me if he acts badly around me again. I warned her about the repercussions in advance since I knew that talking to that man would cause me to hit my head against a brick wall."
Avery yelled at me, "Stella, quit your bullshit and talk to him like a professional business owner."
"Okay," I accepted Avery's suggestion and called Ethan Woods at last.