Chapter 418
Chapter 418
“Are you telling me…” began, my forehead crinkling with worry, “that you’re certain he’s seeing someone else?”
Stella paused, inhaling deeply before she spoke, “Not exactly certain. Just…there’s this woman. I saw their chats on Mitch’s phone.”
It felt like a punch to the gut. The last person I would have expected to stray was Mitch. He’d always claimed he was done playing the field, that no woman could lure him away.
I’d always thought Stella had found the perfect partner in him.
But now, it seemed like every marriage had its own set of troubles, and none were as perfect as they seemed on the outside.
Stella relayed the contents of the chats between Mitch and the other woman. They seemed harmless, with no obvious flirtation. But something about them felt off.
And what really got me was that the woman in question was older than Stella, divorced, with two kids.
What kind of mess was that?
“She’s on Mitch’s project team?” I asked, my brows knitting together in confusion, “Have you met her?”
“No, but she’s likely to show up soon,” Stella replied, shaking her head.
I felt like I was going to explode.
Was Mitch really going to throw everything away?
Good thing I was here today. I was curious to see what kind of woman could have possibly stolen Mitch’s attention.
Just then, Serena started crying from her stroller. It sounded like she was hungry, so l’hurried off to prepare a bottle of formula.
Inside, Mitch sat in silence while Neil smoked by the doorway. I wondered if they had had a chance to talk.
Neil wasn’t the type to approve of Mitch’s actions, was he?
“Need a hand?” Mitch offered as I stepped out of the room.
“Where’s the water?” I asked.
Mitch got up and led me to the kitchen. Usually a cheerful guy, he seemed unusually solemn at that time. He turned to me, “How is she? Is she crying?”
There was regret in Mitch’s voice, a hint of remorse.
I could tell he still cared for Stella.
“What do you think?” I scoffed, skillfully mixing the formula, “Stella can be bossy, I know that much as her friend. But right now, her whole world revolves around you and the kids. After the way you snapped at her, how do you think she feels?”
Mitch’s face turned a shade darker. He sighed, “Look, I didn’t mean to. She just got on my nerves. I invited my colleagues over for a work-related discussion and chose to do it at home so Stella wouldn’t worry. But we still ended up fighting…”
“So, Ariana’s coming too?” I asked bluntly.
At the mention of Ariana, Mitch froze, a flicker of guilt flashing across his face before he regained his composure. “Yes. Stella just misunderstood our relationship.” “I don’t think it’s a misunderstanding. I can’t make sense of it either.” I said, taking the bottles of formula and heading back to the living room to feed Serena.
Mitch followed me, insisting, “It’s really just a professional relationship!”
“Men lie as easily as they breathe,” I retorted, “If you really saw her as just a colleague, why did you offer her a ride home after the office party?”
“She was drunk!” Mitch blurted out.
“Were you the only one with a car? The only one sober?” I countered, “It was a team gathering, wasn’t it? Neil was there, too, right? Why didn’t you ask him to take her home? You’re a married man, after all.”
I pointed at Neil.
Neil, who was silently observing the exchange, looked taken aback at being dragged into the conversation.
“What’s this got to do with me?” he grumbled.
I wouldn’t normally engage with Neil, but this was about Stella.
“Can’t you say something to him? Aren’t you guys friends? Don’t you care about your friend’s happiness?” I pressed on.
Neil scowled, “How would you know…”
He trailed off, glancing at Mitch, whose face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, betraying his guilt and unease.
Ifinally understood why Stella was so upset. If I were in her shoes, I would have felt the same way.
“Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it.” Neil gave up, reaching for another cigarette.
I stopped him, “Either go outside or don’t smoke. There are kids in the house.”
Neil put the cigarette back, choosing to sit down on the couch instead.
Suddenly, Brandon started coughing in his stroller. He’d choked on his milk, his face turning a scary shade of red.
“Brandon!” I scooped him up, patting his back to help him breathe.
Neil took Brandon from me, gently patting his back while holding his belly down on his arm.
Soon, Brandon spat up, some of it landing on Neil’s pants.
“Wipe his mouth.” Neil instructed.
I quickly got some wipes and cleaned the milk off Brandon’s mouth.
Once he’d spat it all out, Brandon seemed to feel better.
I held him, softly cooing to him. The incident scared me.
That was the first time either of Serena and Brandon had choked on their milk.
I’d read up on parenting, but in the heat of the moment, I’d panicked.
Neil had really helped out this time.
I muttered a small “Thanks.”
Neil didn’t respond, simply cleaning his dirty pants with a tissue.
I handed him a wet wipe, “Use this. It’ll clean it better.”
“Okay.” Neil took the wipe, continuing to clean his pants.
At that moment, Stella emerged from the house, probably hearing Brandon’s cries of
She was holding the baby, her eyes red-rimmed with worry.
Upon seeing that, Mitch immediately went over, reaching out to take the baby.
But Stella skillfully dodged his attempt without a second thought.
The atmosphere became incredibly awkward.
“Mitch, we’ve arrived!” A woman’s gentle voice echoed.
I turned around and saw her, the legendary Ariana.
