Chapter 237 A puppet
Eve stared at her friend, incredulously.
Everyone else knows about you, and all the relationships are clear, only they don’t know about you.
You’ve kept it pretty well hidden.
Eve said with a straight face, “Sis, don’t you feel like you’re playing a game of ‘I’m the Mole,’ manipulating everyone else like a puppet?”
Alana blinked.
Eve patted Alana on the shoulder,
speaking earnestly, “This is a high-stakes game. Make sure you play your cards, right?”
Eve asked again, “So, what do you plan to do? Your mother-in-law doesn’t know your position yet, and there’s a fierce rival eyeing your boyfriend. How are you going to break this deadlock?”
Alana shook her head. “I haven’t thought about it. I’ll just take it one step at a time.”
“Girl, you’re so laid-back.”
Alana smiled, unfazed. “Never mind. I’m heading back to work.”
Camila had dragged her out this morning, and since she didn’t have her phone with her, she hadn’t even had time to call in sick.
“You really are a model worker!”
With the situation so urgent, she still has the energy to go to work.
Still, Eve dutifully walked Alana all the way to the entrance of her office.
**************
In the evening, Stephan arrived right on time to pick up Alana after work.
He ruffled Alana’s hair with a half-smile. “Sweetheart, nothing happened at the office today, did it?”
Alana blinked. “No, nothing happened at work.”
“Oh, so that homewrecker Cole didn’t bother you?”
He was getting more and more comfortable using the term “home-wrecker Cole.”
It was as if she and Stephan were already married.
“He was in a car accident today. He’s not at the office.”
“Oh?” Stephan raised an eyebrow, his tone rising slightly. “A car accident? Is he...dead?”
Alana eyed him.
Why did she feel Stephan wanted Cole dead?
No. Her boyfriend couldn’t be that evil.
She twitched her lips. “He’s not but he’s still at the hospital so he didn’t bother me today.”
“Tsk!” A smile played at Stephan’s lips. “I told you there’s no good end to being a man’s mistress. See? He got into a car accident right away. Karma!”
Alana blinked.
She was at a loss for words.
Stephan continued. “Was the crash serious? Did he die, or is he paralyzed from the waist down, missing an arm or a leg?”
Alana thought for a moment. “I don’t know, but he has a cast on both his arm and leg, so it must be... pretty serious.”
Stephan was about to laugh out loud.
But soon, he sensed something was off.
He glanced at Alana. “How do you know all this? Did you go see him?”
Alana swallowed, it was a shame this man wasn’t a detective, his insight and sharpness would be terrifying to anyone.
She explained helplessly, “It wasn’t my choice. His sister, Camila, came to see me, claiming I caused her brother’s car accident. She insisted I come see him, so that’s how I found out.”
Stephan frowned. “What does his car accident have to do with you?”
“It has nothing to do with me, but she thinks I was the one who met up with him last night and said something to provoke him, which is why he got into the accident.”
Stephan’s lips twitched slightly, his expression turning terrifyingly stern.
“I was the one who asked him to meet up, and I was the one who provoked him. If his sister has a problem with that, she should come talk to me directly.”
Alana was taken aback. “Are you saying you really said something to provoke Cole?”
“I only called him a homewrecker, the other man...a male mistress. He’s emotionally fragile, if he can’t handle that, what can I do?”
Alana felt even more perplexed.
Stephan glanced at her and said sternly,
“If they give you any more trouble in the
future, just tell me. I’ll take care of it for you.”
Alana nodded. “I know, but they won’t pursue this matter, after all, it doesn’t directly involve us.”
Stephan chuckled. If they really did pursue it, he wasn’t the type to shy away from a fight.
Alana remembered something. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, “By the way, I ran into someone while I was out eating today.”
She deliberately kept him in suspense. “Guess who I ran into?”
Stephan shot her a sidelong glance, his smile forced. “It’s not another one of your old flames, is it?”
Alana immediately glared at him. “What are you talking about? I don’t have that many exes! Just one!”
Stephan sighed: “Then who was it?”
“I ran into your mom!”
The moment he heard that, Stephan slammed on the brakes. He turned to look at her. “You ran into my mom?”
She nodded.
He pressed her, “And then?”
Alana felt a bit embarrassed to describe the process.
She couldn’t very well tell him that she’d called his mother “Mom,” could she?
It made it sound like she was dying to become her daughter-in-law.
Alana blushed. “I just... saw your mom, and she was with Darla.”
Stephan asked, “You saw them, and that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Stephan gave her a half-smile. “Alright, I overestimated you. I thought you’d actually gone up to say hello to her and introduced yourself as my girlfriend.”
Alana’s eyes dilated.
The car behind them was honking.
Stephan had no choice but to start the car again.
He drove on, staring straight ahead, his voice low as he explained, “I’ve told you before, I have no interest in Darla. Even if my mom is trying to set us up, I wouldn’t be with her, let alone marry her. So don’t let the fact that my mom was with her make you feel uneasy. Don’t get hung up on the idea that there will be something between Darla and I in the future, that’s not going to happen.”
Hearing this, Alana felt much more at ease.
Seeing Darla with his mother had indeed caused her some worry.
She feared that Darla and his mother might become too close, and that his mother would then do everything in her power to bring them together.
She also feared that if Darla and his mother discovered she was with him, they
might try to break them up.
But he seemed to know what she was worried about, so he reassured her time and again, giving her a sense of security.
Alana’s lips curved upward. “Okay, I understand.”
***********
After the accident, Cole needed to stay in the hospital for a while.
During this time, he didn’t shown up at the company, so Alana was happy to have some time to herself.
She stopped pressing him about resigning.
After all, with Cole away from the office, there was no one pestering her.
Meanwhile, Luca had also returned from his business trip.
He immediately transferred 20,000 dollars of her salary to Alana.
To thank her for taking care of his two pets during his absence, he also planned to treat her to a meal.
But Alana declined.
Luca didn’t need to ask to know who she was thinking of when she turned him down.
He sighed. “I never thought I’d be too late after all. If only I’d met you sooner.”
It was rare to meet a girl he liked so much, but the moment he was about to confess his feelings, it all came to an end.
Alana comforted him earnestly, “Luca, you’re a good man. You’re bound to meet a good woman who’s right for you.”