My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 40: Youโre Not Cut Out for Dirty Work
Ethan Rhodes had been full of anxiety when he went to Owen Rhodesโs office, but when he left, he was beaming. ๐๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐.๐๐ผ๐
โHe felt that maybe he and Owen really did have a great relationship. When he was struggling with what to do, Owen would give him advice. Heโd dropped his work in Veridia on short notice to come back, and Owen hadnโt blamed him for it. Even better, Owen was even planning to give him 3% of the companyโs shares because of his marriage.โ
Ethan Rhodes was so ecstatic he was beside himself, completely forgetting about the conditions he had to meet to get those shares.
The moment he walked out of The Kyros Building, he suddenly stopped short.
For no reason, a few disconnected fragments flashed through his mind.
He was standing in a small room, slamming something that looked like a letter down on the desk in front of him.
The desk was piled neatly with books and materials.
He couldnโt clearly see the person sitting behind the pile of books, but he seemed to say to them, "Help me pick out a gift for her."
โWho was that person?โ
โAnd who was the "her" heโd mentioned?โ
The scene vanished in a flash, too fast for Ethan Rhodes to grasp.
He was lost in thought when a figure in white flew into his arms from a short distance away.
He instinctively caught her. Looking down, he saw it was Kiana.
Kiana smiled, looking up at him from his embrace. "What took you so long? What did your uncle say to you? Did he scold you?"
Ethan Rhodes snapped out of it. "No, we just talked about work."
Ethan thought about the shares he was about to receive and instructed Kiana, "Kiana, at the engagement party tomorrow, if Stella happens to show up, donโt get worked up. Let me handle it. Youโre not well, so donโt let an irrelevant person upset you. A lot of people might be there tomorrow. Your only job is to be beautiful and happy."
Kiana nodded obediently. "Mm, I know. Tomorrow, Iโll only have eyes for you, okay?"
Ethan leaned down and kissed her. "Good girl."
Kiana lowered her head shyly, but the glint that flashed in her eyes was anything but demure.
...
Owen Rhodes must have been incredibly busy. Stella Sterling had thought he would be home for dinner and then free for the rest of the evening.
But unexpectedly, not long after they exchanged rings, he announced he had to go to the office for something.
โIโm a mature Mrs. Rhodes now,โ Stella thought. So she dutifully saw Owen off before returning to her room to rest.
Having a ring on her finger felt... strange.
Stella Sterling had always taken good care of her hands. Her fingers were long and slender, as fair as jade.
A ring would naturally look exquisite on hands like hers.
Lying on the bed, Stella held up her left hand. The light from the spotlight filtered through her fingers, tracing the shadow of the ring.
After staring at it, lost in thought for a while, she finally sat up and took her diary from the nightstand.
She made a check mark, murmuring to herself, "Wear the matching coupleโs rings I designed myself... check."
โWell, she had only slightly modified one of the storeโs original designs, but that still counted as designing it herself, right?โ
She glanced over her still-unfinished "life checklist" and was surprised to find that, without even realizing it, the item "Have my own personally decorated art studio" had also been completed.
โEven though the studio was only half-finished.โ
She blinked at her diary in a daze as something flashed through her mind.
Before she could dwell on it, she got a call from Ariana Grant.
"Stella Sterling, what are you up to?"
Stella answered truthfully, "Writing in my diary."
"Oh. Good, as long as youโre not crying."
Stellaโs mind was wandering, and she didnโt catch Arianaโs meaning. "Why would I be crying?"
"..." Ariana felt she might have spoken out of turn. "Itโs Ethan Rhodes and Kiana Sterlingโs engagement party tomorrow. You havenโt forgotten, have you?"
Stella snapped back to the present, her tone casual. "Oh, that. Nope, havenโt forgotten."
"Thatโs it? Hmm, good. Sounds like youโre really over it."
โAm I over it?โ
Stella didnโt know.
"Maybe. I do feel pretty calm about it right now."
โIn fact, the thought of Ethan and Kianaโs engagement party was causing less of a stir in her heart than the ring on her finger.โ
Perhaps it was because her feelings about Ethan had become so disjointed that, as sheโd been zoning out over the past few days, sheโd come to a vague realization.
โMaybe it wasnโt Ethan himself that she couldnโt let go of.โ
โThen what was it?โ
She hadnโt figured it out yet.
"Even better. That scumbag and that bitch arenโt worth your emotional energy. But you said before you were going to crash their engagement party. Whatโs your plan?"
Stella closed her diary and slid it back into the nightstand.
"I did think about how Iโd do it, but Ariana Grant, I couldnโt come up with anything."
Ariana pressed her lips together. "...Stella Sterling, you really arenโt cut out for being a villain."
But Stellaโs thoughts were clear. "I just think, weโve already broken up, and not many people in Jandor even know about me and Ethan. Plus, Iโm married to Owen now. I should conduct myself with dignity. If I do something, it would just drag Owen and me through the mud. Itโs not worth it."
She didnโt care for her own sake, but she didnโt want to drag Owen into it.
Ariana was indignant. "So weโre just supposed to watch them be all lovey-dovey?"
Stella let out a soft laugh. "You think that just because I donโt do anything, Kiana will just behave herself? Ariana Grant, believe me, all I have to do is show up at the engagement party, and Kiana herself wonโt be able to sit still."
โThe whole situation between her, Ethan, and Kiana came down to one thing: who cared more.โ
โThe first person to lose their composure would be utterly defeated.โ
โAs long as she acted like she didnโt care and insisted she had nothing to do with Ethan, no one could touch her.โ
It took a moment for Arianaโs mind to process it, but then she understood Stellaโs point.
"Stella Sterling, I take back what I said about you not being cut out for being a villain." Arianaโs tone was suddenly much lighter. "Got your battle armor ready for tomorrow? Donโt worry, your big sister is coming to back you up."
Stella laughed. "Then thank you, sis~"
After hanging up with Ariana, Stella got up to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Since it was the first day she had the ring, Stella took it off and placed it on a corner cabinet before going into the bathroom.
It was a new accessory, after all, and Stella forgot all about it the moment she took it off.
Later, when Owen came home and went to wash up, Stella suddenly remembered he had told her not to take the ring off casually.
โTomorrow is Ethan and Kianaโs engagement party. On such an important day, how could I not wear my wedding ring out and show it off a little?โ
When she went back to get her ring, she found that Owenโs ring was now placed together with hers.
Her small ring was nestled perfectly inside his larger one.
