Chapter 197 Deeply moved
His slender fingers moved gently through the soft strands of her hair.
Alana bit her lip, savoring the man’s thoughtful care. Her expression seemed calm, but inside, she was deeply moved.
She loved how much he cared about her. When she was very young, her parents divorced, and she was left to fend for herself.
Many of her childhood memories had grown hazy; she didn’t know if her parents had ever truly cared for her or looked after her.
Most of what remained in her memory was her parents arguing and ignoring her. She never felt warmth or affection from her parents.
But she found them in Stephan.
He truly gave her so much, the care and attention she had never felt before.
If Cole was once a ray of light in her life, Stephan, on the other hand, gave her a sense of a solid, warm, safe, and reliable haven.
Light was visible but untouchable, far out of reach, but a safe haven is a place where she can dock and find the support she craves. Stephan was her safe haven.
Her hair was dry, and the sound of the hair dryer faded away.
Alana couldn’t help herself; she opened her arms and embraced the man standing before her.
Stephan lowered his gaze, looking at the girl nestled against his lower abdomen.
“What’s wrong?”
Alana buried her little face against his abs, rubbing against them softly, her voice sweet and gentle.
“Stephan, I’ve realized... I think I like you even more now...”
It seemed that since being with him, she had become increasingly able to express herself. And little by little, she was opening up her heart to him.
She thought that soon, she would reveal everything about herself to him.
As Stephan listened to the girl’s confession, his brow twitched slightly. It felt as though something had gently tapped his heart, silent, yet resonating.
He couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth turn up. “Me too.”
Alana smiled faintly.
Suddenly, she felt that this moment was so blissful.
If only things could stay this way forever.
Stephan let her hold him, his large hand gently stroking her soft hair. “Lana, you’ve
been staying here for so many days now. When are you going to move your things over from your apartment so we can officially live together?”
Alana paused for a moment, clenched her fist, and gave him a light tap. “It’s all your fault. You always drag me back and won’t let me leave. I haven’t been back to my place in days.”
Stephan said, “Then move in. Let’s live together.”
“No rush. My lease isn’t up yet. I’ll move when it expires.”
Besides, she had her own plans: if she ever got into a fight with him, she’d go back to her own rented apartment, so she couldn’t move out lightly.
What if Stephen had a fight with her and wouldn’t let her stay in his apartment? Wouldn’t she end up staying in a hotel or sleeping on the streets?!
Hmm, a girl must never lose her head.
Stephan had no idea what was going through the girl’s mind. All he could think about was how to lure her to his home for life to be his wife, how could he possibly bear to upset her or argue with her?
Besides, he believed having a fight with a girl was extremely ungentlemanly and uncivilized. Especially with his own woman, if he can coax her, he’ll never argue!
The man leaned down and kissed her.
“Sweetheart, if you’re not worried, I am. I just want to hold you in my arms every night and sleep soundly.”
Alana eyed him.
What kind of sleep was he talking about, exactly?
She didn’t even have to think about it, she knew exactly what he meant.
***********
The next day, after Stephan and Alana finished breakfast, he drove her to work as usual.
Sitting in the car, Alana kept glancing at the man driving intently. Stephan glanced over casually. “What?”
“You can’t stop looking at me, do you think I look especially handsome today?”
Alana blinked, her gaze falling on the red tie at his collar. “Stephan, I noticed you’ve been wearing this red tie a lot lately, haven’t you?”
Stephan chuckled. “It’s your fault for only giving me one. I don’t have any others to switch to, so I have to wear it a few more times.”
Alana gasped. “But... don’t you have plenty of ties in your closet? It’s not like this is the only one you have.”
“Those weren’t gifts from you. I only want to wear the one you gave me, it feels comfortable.”
Alana blinked.
Was that for real?
The tie she gave him wasn’t that expensive, could it really be more comfortable than the
designer ones in his closet?
Or was it because she gave it to him that he treasured it so much?
Alana couldn’t help but recall that she had once given Cole many gifts, yet she had never seen him wear any of them.
It wasn’t until a couple of days ago that she noticed he was wearing a sandalwood bead she’d given him.
That sandalwood bead was still brand new, which meant its owner didn’t wear it very often.
But Stephan... he wore the tie she gave him every single day, as if he wanted the whole world to know how much he treasured her gifts.
So, this was the difference between being in a one-sided relationship and being in a relationship where your feelings were reciprocated.
Alana couldn’t help but smile. “Once I get paid, I’ll buy you a few more.”
Stephan found it amusing. “If you want to buy them, just use the card I gave you. You
don’t need to spend your own money on that.”
Alana shook her head, standing her ground. “No way! It shows more sincerity if I buy them for you with my own money.”
Stephan curved his lips. “Fine, whatever you want.”
“You’re not allowed to look down on them!”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
Alana’s eyes crinkled into a smile.
The car pulled up near the company.
Alana kissed him goodbye, then got out of the car and walked toward the office.
Stephan then drove away.
But after walking just a short distance, he realized Alana hadn’t brought the brown sugar ginger tea he’d prepared for her.
Stephan chuckled, “That little bunny is so scatterbrained.” He had no choice but to reverse and go back.
Just as Alana was about to enter the company, she ran right into Camila. Or rather, Camila had been waiting for her on purpose.
Camila blocked Alana’s path, preventing her from leaving.
Alana didn’t want to deal with her and tried to walk around her to the left.
But Camila moved to the left to block her.
When she went right, Camila went right. It was clear she wasn’t going to let her leave.
What was particularly annoying was Camila’s haughty, aloof attitude, as if she were above everyone else and did whatever she pleased.
Alana frowned. “Camila, are you trying to annoy me this early in the morning?”
Camila said bluntly, “Lana, I need to talk to you. Can we step aside for a moment?”
Alana refused, “Sorry, I have to go to work. I don’t have time to waste on you.”
Camila sneered at her, “What’s the matter? Afraid to face me alone?”
Alana was exasperated. “You’re reading too much into it. Right now, in my eyes, you’re nothing more than a clown, funny, not scary. Got it?”
“You!” Camila glared at her. “Who are you calling a clown?”
“Whoever’s making the most of a fuss is the clown.”
Camila laughed bitterly. “Lana, I’m done wasting my breath on you. Get out of this
company right now, and stop bothering my brother!”
Alana frowned. “You tell me to get out, and I’ll just leave? Camila , you really think too highly of yourself.”
Does she really think she was the Emperor of Heaven, that everyone has to listen to her? How ridiculous!
“You won’t leave?” Camila sneered, “Or do you want to stay here and keep trying to seduce my brother?”
“Alana, it’s bad enough that you shamelessly seduced the guy I liked back in middle school, but now you’re trying to steal my older brother too? How low can you go? Do you just love stealing other people’s men?”
Alana frowned; she really couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Camila, do you have some kind of persecution complex? When did I ever steal the man you liked? Or even try to steal your older brother? I know you look down on me, but please don’t falsely accuse someone for no reason. That’s despicable and shameless!”