My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 131: This Sister of Hers, How Incredibly Thoughtful
Stella’s message arrived just as Kiana Sterling had finished lunch with Ethan Rhodes.
The two hadn’t spoken for a few days after a rather unpleasant argument at the hospital.
Kiana had originally been waiting for Ethan to take the initiative and coax her, just like he used to.
But unexpectedly, three days passed without a single message from him.
Kiana was starting to panic.
’I should have built a solid foundation for our relationship.’
’Even if Ethan’s memories are back, he wouldn’t abandon me this quickly.’
She wasn’t particularly obsessed with Ethan as a person.
But the thought that this man she had stolen from Stella was still hung up on her sister was unbearable.
On top of that, Chase Sterling and Madeline Jennings kept nagging her to go see Ethan. Left with no choice, she had to be the one to yield first.
Recalling how troubled Ethan had looked in the hospital room that day made her uneasy.
So, she took the initiative and messaged Ethan, asking if he was feeling any better.
When Ethan saw her message, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
He didn’t play hard to get, readily accepting her olive branch.
They chatted for a bit, and Kiana learned he had returned to work today.
Kiana thought for a moment, then said she was worried about his health and asked him to lunch.
They agreed to meet at a French restaurant near The Kyros Building.
They both tacitly avoided mentioning their recent little squabble, and the entire meal was as pleasant as if they were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship.
After they finished, Ethan offered to drive her home, and Kiana happily agreed.
’See? I knew Ethan couldn’t let me go.’
’As for Stella, Ethan has probably just gotten his memories back, so he’s just dwelling on her a little. That’s all.’
’It’s understandable. Men are like that, and he and Stella had a long, drawn-out history.’
’Time heals all wounds.’
’Isn’t my understanding nature what Ethan likes about me?’
With that thought, much of the anxiety and frustration that had been building up over the past few days dissipated.
In the car, Ethan was checking his messages, but he caught sight of the person beside him staring at him out of the corner of his eye.
He put down his phone and turned to her. "What is it?"
Kiana gazed at him for a moment, her eyes filled with adoration, then easily unbuckled herself from the passenger seat and climbed onto Ethan’s lap.
She pressed her entire body against him and whispered in his ear, "Ethan, I missed you so much."
Her soft, mellow voice seemed to travel from his ear and melt straight into his bones.
Ethan gently pulled the woman pressed against him back a little, only to be met by her sparkling eyes.
Before he could say anything, Kiana took the initiative and kissed him.
Kiana was very forward, kissing him, guiding him.
The suppressed desires within him surged, demanding release.
This was a feeling Stella had never given him, a feeling he had always wanted.
Stella was beautiful, so beautiful that to this day he felt no one could replace her.
Even Kiana, her own sister, paled in comparison.
He had fallen for Stella at first sight at her 18th birthday party and pursued her for two years.
Then they were together for another three years.
Five years.
In all that time, the most intimate they had ever been was a brief, fleeting kiss.
Before they were together, Stella’s cold, distant demeanor had fascinated him.
Once they were dating, he found her aloofness affected.
’We’re already a couple, is it really necessary to be so prim and proper?’
’What kind of girlfriend is so distant after all that time together that even a simple kiss feels like a luxury?!’
’And who am I?’
’I’m Ethan Rhodes.’
’There are countless women throwing themselves at me!’
But Stella was never passionate with him, nor did she ever rely on him.
If he couldn’t see the joy in her otherwise cool, alluring eyes when they met, he would have seriously doubted whether Stella even liked him.
When Stella had just returned to the country, he hadn’t yet graduated from Jandor University.
While he had to stay at school to finish his degree, Stella would spend months at a time away on sketching trips.
He usually couldn’t even see her.
This was completely different from the relationship he had imagined.
But when it came to breaking up, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He never would have thought that this same Stella would end up becoming Owen Rhodes’s wife.
And that she’d been intimate with Owen.
Just thinking about it ignited a nameless fire within him, burning away all his reason.
He vented his frustrations wantonly, holding nothing back.
Kiana had been the one to start this passionate encounter, but she was also the one who couldn’t handle it.
When it was over, Kiana didn’t even want to lift a finger, nestled in Ethan’s arms and gasping for breath.
Her tone was coquettish. "Your injury hasn’t even healed yet..."
The fire in Ethan’s heart had finally subsided a little.
He gently stroked Kiana’s back. "It’s fine. It’s almost healed."
He straightened Kiana’s clothes, carried her to the back seat, and then went to the restroom.
As he walked, he glanced at his phone and saw a notification that the flowers he’d sent had been delivered, which made him feel even better.
Lying lazily in the back seat of the car, Kiana rested for a while before reaching for her phone.
Her phone had vibrated several times earlier, but she had been too preoccupied to check it.
Now, feeling blissful in body and mind, the gloomy mood of the past few days finally cleared up.
The next second—
—the satisfied smile on her face froze at the sight of the photo Stella had sent.
Deep red roses, vibrant and dew-kissed, along with handwriting she recognized.
What was there not to understand?
’Thinking back on the timing...’
’While he was having lunch with me, Ethan actually ordered flowers for Stella?’
’Unbelievable!’
It made her, who had been so happy during their meal, feel like a complete clown.
At the time, she had even thought Stella was pathetic.
For all the years Stella had nurtured her relationship with Ethan, she still couldn’t hold a candle to the six months Kiana had been with him.
But this photo was a merciless slap in the face from reality!
Her fingers, clutching the phone, tightened until her knuckles turned white. The joyful encounter from moments ago now seemed utterly laughable.
’By what right!’
’What is it about Stella that he can’t forget!’
’Doesn’t that idiot Ethan know that Stella is his uncle’s wife now?!’
’And what does Stella mean by sending this picture?’
’To show off?’
’A provocation?’
In a fit of rage, she slammed her phone against the leather seatback.
Again and again, with increasing force.
But even that did nothing to quell her anger.
When Ethan returned, he saw that Kiana’s eyes were red-rimmed, and the look she gave him seemed tinged with anger.
He assumed she was throwing a little tantrum because he hadn’t held back earlier.
Ethan chuckled and pinched her cheek. "Are you mad? I promise I’ll be gentler next time, okay? Don’t be upset, hmm?"
Kiana looked at his nonchalant, sated expression and was speechless.
But she quickly composed herself.
’This is fine, too. If Ethan and Stella don’t get tangled up in some ambiguous mess, how am I supposed to make my move later?’
’Let them get entangled.’
’The more entangled, the better.’
She huffed and turned her head away from him.
This only further convinced Ethan that she was just being petulant.
He smiled and gave her a kiss. "Alright, don’t be mad. I’ll take you home first, and I’ll come see you later."
Kiana murmured her assent and turned to look out the window.
’Perhaps I should create an opportunity for the two of them to meet?’
’If I just wait for Ethan to send flowers like this, who knows how long it will take?’
Feeling agitated, she went back to checking her other unread messages.
Zoe Yates had sent her a message saying that the role of the female lead in Zion Shawcross’s music video was secured, and asked when she would be free to come and sign the contract.
Kiana’s lips twisted into a cold smirk.
’To think that the artist collaborating with Zion Shawcross is actually Stella.’
’So, Stella hasn’t given up painting after all.’
She had just been worrying about how to get Stella into the public eye, and now Stella had served herself up on a platter.
’My dear sister... she’s just so thoughtful.’
