Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 162: He Listens Most to You, His Sister-in-Law (Bonus - )

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: He Listens Most to You, His Sister-in-Law (Bonus Chapter)

The winter in Riveria carries a clammy chill even in the air.

Stella stood before the grand floor-to-ceiling window of the law firm, gazing at the gray sky outside.

A few days ago, she found out that her brother Aidan hadn’t returned to Crestfall but had gone straight overseas.

—He had leveraged all his overseas connections and resources, sparing no expense to help Elara Forrest against the intricate Capet Family.

The call was made, and it rang for a long time before it was answered.

The background was filled with noisy English conversations and the sound of keyboard typing, with Aidan’s voice showing evident fatigue.

"Brother, what’s going on? I thought you said you wouldn’t help her?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, "Stella, I can’t just ignore her..."

She was the first girl he liked and had been fond of for many years, so much that they almost talked about marriage back then...

If not for The Forrest Family’s vanity back then, he and Elara would have been married with kids...

And now, even though he no longer liked her, he still couldn’t harden his heart and stand idly by.

Stella pressed her lips together, understanding the situation, and instead spoke of business, "Brother, Dad recently invested in that land in Esterlyn, I heard he used high leverage and involved overseas financing, I’m a bit worried..."

Aidan heard her concern and reassured, "Don’t worry, Dad knows what he’s doing with this kind of thing, we don’t need to worry."

"But..."

Aidan interrupted her, "Alright, I have other matters here, let’s talk another day."

With that, before she could respond, the call had already been disconnected from the other side.

Stella held her phone and frowned slightly.

She knew her brother’s temper and character, once he decided on something, even nine oxen couldn’t pull him back.

Especially when it involved Elara Forrest.

...

As the year-end approached, the winter snow in Riveria melted away, and the first signs of spring appeared.

The growth momentum of Serene Law Firm was faster than the warming weather.

In just a few months, the initially compact office space was no longer sufficient, with new lawyer assistants temporarily adding desks in the public area.

Case files piled up like mountains, ranging from cross-border acquisitions to intellectual property protection for cutting-edge technology companies. The scope and quality of business had risen sharply, far beyond the former focus on civil disputes of a small law firm.

Stella sat in her office, finished signing the final document, and rubbed her slightly sore wrist.

Her gaze swept across the busy street scene outside the window, a thought brewing for a long time became clear again—it was time to open a branch.

The first location that leaped into her mind, unsurprisingly, was Crestfall.

That’s her root, The Sterling Family is there, and The Donovan Family’s foundation is there as well.

More importantly, Shane Donovan had now officially taken over The Donovan Group, inevitably shifting the focus towards Crestfall.

For the past few months, he had almost become a frequent flyer, traveling between the two places, often arriving in Riveria late at night and catching the earliest flights to leave before dawn.

She looked at the light blue beneath his eyes, never complaining, but feeling genuine heartache.

If only the branch could be opened in Crestfall...

Once this thought was rooted, it grew rapidly.

She almost immediately began researching, scouting locations, and preliminarily calculating costs.

To surprise him, she kept everything perfectly concealed.

And Old Mr. Donovan’s call came at just the right moment, "Stella, when are you coming back to see Grandpa? The kitchen got some new and exotic items, waiting for you to come back and try!"

Listening to the pure joy in the elder’s voice warmed Stella’s heart, and she agreed readily.

...

Back in Crestfall, Shane Donovan personally came to pick her up.

He was wearing a perfectly tailored dark gray suit, casually draped with a black cashmere coat, standing tall and erect at the bustling arrival gate, still the center of attention.

When he saw Stella, his sharp gaze instantly softened, striding forward, naturally taking the small suitcase from her hand, his other hand already around her waist, pulling her into an embrace.

"Tired?" he asked softly, his nose brushing against her mildly cool nose, his voice deep and magnetic.

"Not tired." Stella looked up at him, with a gentle smile in her eyes, carrying a whisper of delight only she knew.

Returning to the Donovan’s old mansion, it was right at noon.

The mansion still had its grandeur, but the atmosphere was different than before.

After Philip Donovan’s incident, Old Mrs. Donovan seemed much quieter, no longer appearing easily, making the grand mansion further highlight Old Mr. Donovan’s absolute authority.

The lunch was indeed exquisite and lavish, with many dishes even Stella couldn’t name, only knowing they were precious and rare.

Old Mr. Donovan kept asking the servants to serve more dishes, looking at Stella, laughing with joy: "Eat more, look at you, surely you haven’t eaten well in Riveria, Shane this kid wouldn’t care for you."

Shane sat nearby, leisurely peeling succulent shrimp, raising his brows at the words, naturally placing the peeled shrimp into Stella’s bowl, speaking in a mild tone: "Grandpa, you’re biased beyond measure."

The old gentleman snorted, ignoring him, turning back to Stella, chattering about family affairs.

After the meal, they moved to the tea room.

The elegant aroma of tea rose, dispelling the grease of the meal.

Old Mr. Donovan took a sip of tea as if suddenly remembering something, showing a hint of gratification, along with some helplessness: "Speaking of which, that lad Rhys Lennox is doing pretty well at The Donovan Group lately."

Stella’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly, raising her eyes.

"Oh? Is that so?" Shane’s expression remained unchanged, only his fingertips gently rubbing the wall of the Zisha teapot.

"Yes," Old Mr. Donovan sighed, "I always thought of him as careless, with no proper shape, but I didn’t expect he truly settled down to work, his mind is sharp, methods strong, a few old guys even praised him in front of me. Just..."

He paused, his tone carrying a bit of complaint, "His character is getting wilder, disappearing every few days, I almost forgot what he looks like!"

Stella thought of Rhys Lennox’s forever flamboyant blonde hair and defiant eyes, her lips curling into a smile.

It’s a good thing that he can settle down to work at The Donovan Group.

Just then, Butler Alfie came in quietly, whispering: "Old sir, Elder Grant brought his granddaughter Miss Grant, saying they’re here to visit you."

Old Mr. Donovan’s eyes lit up, waving quickly: "Please, please!"

He turned, lowering his voice with a bit of mischievousness like a playful child, "Elder Grant is my old friend for many years, his granddaughter just returned from studying abroad, knowledgeable and well-mannered, looks good too. I think she’s a match for Rhys Lennox! That rascal worked under you, listens most to his sister-in-law, Stella, help me send Rhys a message, see if you can trick him back!"

Stella was momentarily stunned, a bit at a loss: "Grandpa, this..."

Old Mr. Donovan glared, deliberately putting on a stern face: "What? He doesn’t listen to this old man’s words, given the face of the former boss and future sister-in-law, he has to, right?"

Shane watched from the side, leisurely glancing at Stella, a seemingly amused smile playing on his lips, clearly enjoying the situation.

Stella was under the gaze of the old man’s eager eyes and seeing Shane with an expression of expecting a good show, helplessly took out her phone, found Rhys Lennox’s number, and composed a message: 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[Rhys, Grandpa has gotten lots of tasty food, wanna come back and try it?]

The message was sent, sinking like a rock in water with no response for quite a while.

Stella pressed her lips—we’ll see about this.

She sent another message with pressed lips...

[Where are you?]

"..."

[Hey!]

And at this moment, in the independent office next to the president’s office of The Donovan Group.

Two consecutive messages, the screen lit up, reflecting on the neatly cut black hair, Rhys Lennox lit a cigarette, his fingers flicked, gray ashes dropping lightly into the ashtray.

He took a deep drag, only exhaling after a long pause.

"Ding!"

Another message lit up—

Rhys instinctively glanced at it, his pupils suddenly constricting...