chapter1756

Leonard gave her a meaningful look. "Alright."

A short while later, the doctor came to examine Leonard.

He smiled and said, "Ms. Cameron has taken excellent care of Mr. Lerman. His wounds have indeed healed. However, he should still avoid any strenuous activity."

Neither Stella nor Leonard spoke.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the doctor cleared his throat and made an excuse to leave.

As the doctor left, he couldn't help but wonder. The atmosphere between those two was strange; they didn't seem like a couple at all.

After the doctor was gone, Stella asked, "I've prepared all your gifts. When do you want to celebrate your birthday?"

Leonard was quiet for a few seconds. "Three days from now."

Stella furrowed her brow. She wanted to get his birthday over with tomorrow and leave immediately. But since Leonard had spoken, she didn't want to start an argument over two or three days.

Stella nodded, said "fine," and turned to leave.

Three days later, Stella woke up early to prepare for the birthday celebration.

She was a natural in the kitchen with an eye for detail; baking a birthday cake was second nature to her.

Stella had learned from Leonard that his actual birthday had already passed. This was just a belated celebration.

Stella had no intention of doing a shoddy job.

That was just her personality; once she agreed to something, she saw no point in being half-hearted about it.

Stella treated it like planning any other birthday party. She had the staff decorate the living room.

Of course, it couldn't compare to what she had done for Joshua. The decorations were nothing special.

The gifts for Leonard were placed in the living room, stacked in the shape of a pyramid.

Afraid of miscounting, Stella had even labeled the gifts with numbers from 1 to 30.

Worried that some gifts might get damaged, she had even prepared three extra ones as backups, just in case Leonard tried to use it as an excuse to back out of their deal

Although Stella knew Leonard didn't need an excuse to be shameless the task with

she si approach Shameless

professional diligence, unwilling to leave any room for error.

As Stella bustled about, the sky outside gradually darkened. She asked a staff member to invite Leonard downstairs.

The moment Leonard came downstairs, the first thing he saw wasn't the dazzling decorations or the pile of gifts, but Stella, sitting at the dining table.

The lights in the dining room had been dimmed to a warm, orange-yellow hue. On the table were a birthday cake, candles, red wine, and fresh flowers.

The flickering candlelight cast tiny stars in her eyes, like a swirling galaxy.

The faint fragrance of flowers filled the air. Leonard's heart felt like the surface of a

lake brushed by a spring breeze, sending gentle ripples across it.

The setup was similar to the birthdays Aurora and Simone had thrown for him, and it couldn't-

compare at all to the one for

Joshua Yet, inthis moment

Leonard felt his heart fill with joy.

He knew very well that everything he had now was stolen. And stolen things always had to be returned.

This past month had been like a distant, beautiful dream short-lived and precious. And now, his borrowed time was running out.

He walked toward Stella step by step. Though he was getting physically closer, the distance between them felt like it was growing ever wider.

Leonard sat down opposite Stella. "Thank you for preparing all of this for me."

Stella glanced at him but didn't say anything to spoil the mood. She lit the '30'- shaped candles and pushed the birthday cake toward Leonard.