Chapter 644
"Cat, is that you?" Stella, hearing the footsteps and voices outside the door, hurried out of the kitchen, she was wearing an apron, and the sweat on her face proved how long she had been working in the kitchen, which surprised Catelyn. After all, Stella was never a housewife that enjoyed doing chores.
She glanced back and forth between Stella and the strange woman before her.
The woman remained quiet while biting her lip.
stelle smiled sheepishly as she took Quinn’s hand and explained, " This is Quinn, and she's my...niece. Her dad just passed away, and since she has no one else in Sapphire city, I want her to stay with me here. You don't mind, do you, Cat?"
The apartment was under Catelyn's name and she was the one paying off the loan, so Stella would have to seek her permission.
Catelyn did not mind this, though she was nonetheless confused. " Niece? Why haven’t I heard of her before?"
"Auntie was on bad terms with my dad, so there's no point in mentioning me in front of others!" Quinn's eyes reddened as she turned to glare coldly at Stella. "Right, Auntie?"
Stella was deeply stung by the word 'auntie'. Quinn was not her niece, truth be told...but she could not tell the truth.
She had been married before marrying Ezekiel, but she had lied and told him that she had no living family. In truth, she had just given birth to a daughter and had a husband in her hometown, she met Ezekiel when she came to Sapphire City alone to work.
At the time, Ezekiel was devastated by the loss of Catelyn's mother.
She rescued Ezekiel when he got drunk, and he forced himself on her while calling her 'Summer'. After that, she abandoned her daughter and husband out of greed to marry Ezekiel and became Missus Clark.
Ezekiel did not look down on her background and simply asked that she cared for Catelyn.
To Stella's surprise, Quinn found her many years later, telling Stella that her father had waited over 20 years for her and had passed away a month ago.
Stella lowered her gaze guiltily.
"Since you're already here, cousin, consider this your home. Feel free to stay as long as you want." Nonetheless, Catelyn noticed the tension between Stella and Quinn.
"I'm not your cousin!" Quinn raised her voice. "My mom and everyone else are dead!"
Cedrick's gaze grew darker as he glared at Quinn. "If you don't want to stay here, scram."
Sensing the fearful aura oozing off Cedrick, Quinn bit her lower lip until she drew blood.
"Cedrick, please don't throw Quinn out." Stella's eyes reddened as she moved to shield Quinn from him. "She's just a country wench who knows no manners. I apologize on her behalf."
Cedrick was willing to compromise for Stella's sake, but his tone remained cold as he warned, "Catelyn came back to see you because she cares for you, not so that she can be your niece's punching bag."
"I'm sorry..." Stella apologized before turning to console Quinn.
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