Chapter 577

As soon as she finished speaking, Lorenzo grabbed her chin, lifting it up. In that forced eye contact, Ella wanted to dodge his gaze, but she just couldn’t. “L–Let go of me.”

Lorenzo said, “Are you avoiding me?”

Ella wanted to say yes but she didn’t dare. She stammered, “N–No, I’m not.” Even though she was terrified, she didn’t dare to directly admit it.

Hearing that, he gave a slight smile. “If that’s not it, then why aren’t you eating?”

“I’m really not—”

“Really?”

Truthfully, she was quite hungry. But she always ended up in trouble in front of Lorenzo, like tugging at his belt buckle or his towel. She even almost pulled down his pants—thankfully, they were elastic. Fortunately, she didn’t succeed, or else…

If this kept happening, she didn’t know what would happen next time.

“I just feel like I’m kind of bad luck for you.” If she couldn’t deny it, she might as well admit she’s his bad luck charm. Hopefully, this would make him keep his distance a bit.

When Lorenzo heard her explanation, he was momentarily surprised. Even someone who always hid his emotions like him couldn’t help but show a slight smile. What a perfect excuse.

He picked her up out of the room, and Ella struggled frantically. “I–I–I’m really not hungry!” In her chaotic attempts to resist, there was a tearing sound. His quick steps down the stairs came to an abrupt stop.

Ella’s mind went blank for a moment. She looked at what she had torn from Lorenzo’s shirt, and then at the big opening that showed his abs clearly in front of her.

Ella was speechless. This must be the feeling of total breakdown. In that moment, she really wanted to ask, “What kind of fabric is this shirt made of? How much strength did I use? Really…?”

With a pained expression, she met Lorenzo’s eyes. “Sorry, I’ll pay for it.”

She’s caused trouble now by tearing his shirt. If she kept going like this, she might end up pulling down his pants next time.

Meanwhile, after breakfast, Stephanie got up and said, “Ah, I’m so full.”

Sebastian’s expression changed slightly. He pinched her cheek playfully. “I told you not to eat too much, but you still did.”

Lottie was startled to hear that. “Oh? Feeling a bit stuffed? Then take a break, and I’ll take you for a walk.” Pregnant women were like that—when they wanted to eat, they ate, but it could make them feel uncomfortable.

Sebastian said, “I’ll take her.” With that, he got up and picked up Stephanie’s coat from the side, helping her put it on.

Lottie said, “If you’re busy, go ahead. The wedding dress will be delivered soon, and I’ll stay at home with Stefi to try it on.” Lottie wanted to spend more time with Stephanie. She had just returned yesterday when an urgent matter came up, preventing them from spending even an hour together.

When she heard the words “the wedding dress,” Stephanie’s eyes flickered. Especially when Sebastian looked at her, she felt a bit guilty. She coughed lightly. “Um, the one Sofia made is already pretty good; there’s no need to try others.”

Talking about Sofia, Stephanie also wanted to remind Sebastian why she went to try on wedding dresses in Long Harbor; it was because she knew the dress was designed by Sofia. Stephanie didn’t know why the wedding dress ended up in Long Harbor. But she could swear the reason she tried it on had absolutely nothing to do with Chris.

Lottie said, “A girl only gets married once; she should choose her favorite. Try them all on?” Lottie thought Sofia always had short-lived interests, never staying with anything long enough to make something great. She didn’t want Stephanie’s wedding to be filled with regrets.

Since Lottie had spoken, Stephanie chose to agree. Thinking about what Lottie had asked the butler to handle earlier, Stephanie felt a wave of emotion.

Lottie wanted to make sure no one could criticize Stephanie. She wanted everyone in Fiorenza to know that she raised Stephanie as her daughter-in-law, not as her own child. That way, Stephanie being with Sebastian felt natural.

Sebastian didn’t want to leave. “I’ll help her try it on.”

Lottie said, “No need, the Dohrn family has been unsettled lately. Handle it.”

“I’ve sent someone to deal with it.” Anyway, he was not going out.

Lottie looked at him with a pout.

Stephanie thought Sebastian would be really busy after just getting back to Fiorenza. She said, “I’ll take pictures of all the outfits I try on, and you can pick when you get back, okay?”

Lottie huffed, “Typical.”

Sebastian gently pulled Stephanie into his arms. “Okay.”

Stephanie said, “Then you go ahead and take care of your work.” Earlier, his phone kept ringing during breakfast, suggesting he should leave, but he didn’t want to.

Seeing Sebastian being so clingy, Lottie felt she couldn’t bear to watch. She quickly left. When the servants saw she had gone, they wisely made themselves scarce too.

With only Stephanie and Sebastian left, Stephanie instinctively tried to rise from Sebastian’s embrace. However, his hand on her waist pulled her closer. “Where are you going? Hmm?”

Stephanie said, “Lottie was just here.” Her face turned red, knowing she needed to act properly in front of her elders.

Sebastian chuckled and leaned his face closer to hers.

Stephanie caught on instantly and quickly gave Sebastian a kiss on the cheek. She tried to pull back, but in the next moment, his warm hand held the back of her neck.

“Mmm…” His kiss swallowed all the words she was about to say. Stephanie only struggled for a moment before she complied with his wishes.

His heavy breathing and fiery breath seemed to completely envelop Stephanie.

About ten minutes later, when Stephanie was out of breath, she tried to pull away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sofia’s voice came. “Ah…”

Stephanie was startled as Sebastian let go of her, almost making her fall. But quick as a flash, Sebastian caught her and pulled her back into his arms. “Still so clumsy?”

Sofia stood at the door, covering her eyes and apologizing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

Stephanie’s face turned as red as a tomato as she buried herself in Sebastian’s arms, unwilling to come out.

Sensing her embarrassment, Sebastian gave Sofia a cold look. “Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

Sofia said, “Oh, I’m going, I’m leaving right now… Wait, it’s fine if you guys do this in your room, but why here? Am I not supposed to notice?”