Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 1159

Stella instantly shot Tegan a knowing look, while Susanna waited eagerly for an answer. Under their intense scrutiny, Tegan tensed up.

"What are you guys doing?" she stammered. What was with those looks?

"What do you think the issue is?" Stella asked Susanna.

"She's totally into him," Susanna replied confidently.

Both Stella and Tegan were speechless.

At the words 'into him,' Stella focused solely on Tegan. Tegan visibly shuddered under the stare. "No, wait, what are you guys thinking?" How did this turn into romance? She had barely known Finley for that long.

"You really think Finley is... cute?" Stella asked incredulously. This was the first time anyone had ever used that word to describe Finley. Usually, people just complained about his terrible filter. Yet Tegan actually found him endearing.

Tegan felt a flush creep up her neck. "Stop staring at me."

"Hey, it's fine. If you like him, you like him," Susanna said, waving a hand dismissively.

"You've been stuck next to Uriah all these years. With his controlling psycho behavior, you haven't even had the chance to see what a high-quality guy looks like."

"Now that you've finally dragged yourself out of his toxic swamp, it makes total sense that you find Finley cute. It really shows how awful Uriah was."

Tegan didn't know what to say.

Susanna's mouth kept running. Especially the 'high-quality guy' comment—she made it sound like Tegan had never seen a real man in her life.

Stella nodded in agreement. "Exactly. He couldn't even protect you properly, but he still isolated you from other men. It's ridiculous."

"Although, to be fair, Finley is more like an unpolished gem, not exactly a high-quality catch."

"Maybe he's polished enough for Tegan," Susanna mused. "Or maybe Uriah was just absolute trash."

Finley walked into the room just in time to catch Stella and Susanna comparing him to gems and trash.

"What are you guys talking about? Gems and rough stones?" How did that have anything to do with him?

"Hello," the girl squeaked, clearly intimidated by the crowded room. "I... I don't actually know him."

Seeing the girl's soft, innocent demeanor, Stella raised an eyebrow at Idris. What was going on? The girl was hiding behind him, continuously tugging at his sleeve as she spoke.

She didn't know him, yet she was clinging to him?

Idris pulled his sleeve free, looking slightly annoyed. "I drove Octavius to Kerr City. When I stopped at a gas station on the way back to grab a bottle of water, I returned to the car and found her inside."

Octavius. He was one of Ronald's closest brothers-in-arms. When the Quinn family faced that massive crisis three years ago, Octavius had stepped up to help in a big way. He usually operated out of Aluva.

If Idris had driven him to Kerr City, Octavius must have had business there. But this situation...

"You picked her up at a gas station?" Stella frowned.

Idris nodded. "I didn't 'pick her up'. She got into the wrong car." He certainly didn't have the heart to just go around rescuing strays.