He Never Noticed Me Until I Loved Someone Else novel Chapter 46

Jarrod didn't say a word, nor did he hang up.

Taking the silence as permission, Arthur added, "Boss, Mr. Quinn has been asking around lately to secure a prime retail spot in the mall for his youngest daughter. He hasn't explicitly mentioned that he's your father-in-law, but people know about the connection and have been asking me how you want to handle it."

"Tonight, bringing his youngest daughter along... he probably wanted your wife to put in a good word with you. So, do you want me to give the mall management a heads-up?"

"Are you that bored?" Jarrod asked.

Arthur, "..." He really shouldn't have opened his mouth.

...

Stella sat in the back of the cab, her eyes still rimmed with red.

She never expected to run into George and Seraphina in the hotel lobby.

They must have just come down from one of the restaurants upstairs.

Seraphina had been dutifully massaging George's arm, thanking him for helping her secure a client and whining for more funding to build her brand's reputation.

George had looked at her with a mix of helplessness and overwhelming affection. "Alright, alright. Whatever you want to do, Daddy will always support you!"

"Thank you, Dad! You're the best dad in the whole world!" Seraphina had cheered, pouring on the flattery.

George ate it up, his face breaking into a massive grin.

And right at that moment, George had spotted Stella standing a short distance away.

His smile had vanished instantly. He immediately demanded to know what was going on, accusing her of ignoring his calls and asking if she was here making a fool of herself over Logan again.

Stella couldn't hold back. She fired back that if she ever did something humiliating, she would never admit to being his daughter, just to save his precious reputation.

That hit a nerve. Furious, George accused her of being ungrateful and unfilial, claiming she didn't understand his sacrifices.

Seraphina immediately played the peacemaker, rubbing George's chest to calm him down while throwing Stella a disapproving glare, telling her to stop upsetting their father.

Stella didn't have the stomach for their touching family display. She had simply turned on her heel and stormed out of the lobby.

The neon lights blurred past the car window as Stella closed her eyes.

There was a time when George would lift her high in the air, looking at her with total adoration, telling her, "Stella is Daddy's favorite little princess."

Pulling out her phone, Stella called Hannah, the caretaker looking after her grandmother.

After her mother passed away, Grandma Margaret had collapsed from the grief and was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Even though her grandmother rarely recognized her anymore, she was still the person Stella loved most in the world.

Hannah handed the phone to her grandmother. Hearing the old woman murmur, "My sweet Stella," filled her with an immense sense of warmth.

By the time she hung up, Stella felt a lot better.

After going through her skincare routine, she carefully applied a stunning face of makeup.

No matter how rough things got, she refused to look defeated.

Stella headed downstairs.

She braced herself for more of Mrs. Higgins' sarcastic remarks, but instead, the aroma of breakfast wafted from the dining room.

And sitting at the table was Jarrod.