A week had passed since Remington had last shown his face to Lizetta.
Lizetta herself had been laying low, only sharing a couple of songs she had composed while in Luminesia online, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.
Barbara's funeral had been carried out with little fanfare.
On the day of the funeral, Stella and Martin had tried calling Remington several times, but he never picked up.
He missed the funeral, but Nathan and Hanna were there, supporting each other. A few photos from the funeral had leaked online.
In one of them, Hanna was holding Stella, gently patting her back in comfort, while Nathan and Martin looked on, grief-stricken.
The bond between the Dashiell and West families seemed unshaken.
The media had even speculated that the two families had already joined forces through marriage.
After Barbara's first week memorial, Stella headed to the Starlight Group office early in the morning.
She was dressed in a black dress, her right hand covered with a specially designed glove, her arm adorned with a black mourning band, and a small white chrysanthemum clip in her hair, which made her look even more delicate and pitiable.
She was followed by a servant, carrying two large bags of stuff.
Upon arriving at the CEO's office, she was immediately surrounded by colleagues offering their condolences.
"Miss West, please accept our deepest sympathies. You've lost weight."
"Why are you back at work so soon? You're so dedicated. Mr. Dashiell should really take care of you."
"Miss West, please take a seat. I'll go warm up some milk for you."
Stella had been working at the CEO's office for over a month and had made sure everyone knew she was the heiress of the West family and Remington's childhood sweetheart.
Once, while trying to make coffee in the break room, she clumsily burned her hand and had to remove her glove, revealing a missing finger.
Her heroic tale of saving Remington when they were kids and their life-and-death bond quickly became the talk of the town at Starlight Group.
Since Stella had never mentioned she was only recently reconnected with the West family, everyone assumed she was actually Remington's secret wife. They believed Remington had kept their marriage under wraps to protect Stella, given her traumatic past, safeguarding Mrs. Dashiell.
As Stella stood there surrounded, trying to hold back tears yet smiling bravely, she began to speak.
"Thank you all for your concern, I'm here today to..."
Before she could finish, a cough from the back of the crowd caught everyone's attention.
Turning around, they saw Remington, his handsome face set in a cold expression, walking towards them with his hand in his pocket.
Behind him, Cedric, who had coughed to signal the danger, was now frowning, trying to convey to his colleagues they should scatter and save themselves. But the employees, clustered around Stella, didn't think Mr. Dashiell would be upset.
After all, Stella was Mr. Dashiell's secret wife, and her mother-in-law had just passed away. If anything, they thought Mr. Dashiell would be too heartbroken to be angry.
They even fancied they might get a bonus for comforting his wife during work hours.
They stayed put around Stella, who turned to face Remington with tears welling up in her eyes, looking slightly anxious.
She softly said, "Mr. Dashiell, I came to thank everyone for attending my mother's funeral."
Everyone exchanged knowing glances, understanding the need for secrecy in their boss's marriage. It was all about keeping a low profile.
However, their shared
understanding shattered when
Remington, with an icy demeanor, commanded, "Gathering and
chatting during work hours net
will be
noted. Expect a deduction from this month's bonus."
Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report
