"I am so glad that I am finally able to see you safe and sound with my own eyes Stella." Liam continued. "If you ever need anything, like anything at all, ask me right away without any hesitation."
Stella nodded and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you."
"Hey, but that's my job. She won't be asking you if she needs anything." Adam interrupted them with an annoyed look on his face. "I am the one she will be asking to."
"And why is that?" Liam asked Adam as he narrowed his eyes at him.
"Because I am the boyfriend." Adam replied smugly.
"And I am the god-father." Liam added with a smirk. "Can you beat that?" He asked him haughtily.
"No." Adam murmured under his breath as he pursed his lips in annoyance.
"Calm down, both of you." Stella interrupted their childish banter. "If I need anything, I will just ask both of you." She continued after getting their attention making them smile in return.
Just as Liam was about to continue, Rachel entered the dining room. "I am not done talking to you kid. We will continue this talk later." He spoke softly to which Adam and Stella nodded.
He knew that his daughter didn't like Stella for some reason. He had seen the look in her eyes when she had noticed Stella standing in the living room earlier, and the way she had stormed out of the room when Adam had introduced her to him. He had a hunch that telling Rachel about Stella being his god-daughter wouldn't do any good. So, he decided to keep the news to himself.
Rachel sat down on the empty chair, next to her father and opposite to Adam.
"So, how are you Adam?" She asked looking at Adam.
"I am fine. How are you?" Adam politely replied.
"I am alright too. I am sorry that I didn't meet you after that day, I have had a busy routine these past days." She started talking to him, ignoring Stella completely. "Though I am not taking any projects that involves me going out of the country, there are still quite a lot here that I need to deal with. You know being an A-list celebrity isn't an easy job." She continued with a smug expression on her face.
Even Stella could tell that she was ignoring her and looking down on her deliberately, not that she cared.
Soon the butler came in, followed by a number of maids, each holding a dish. After putting down the dishes on the dining table, they quietly left the room except for the old butler. He poured some wine I'm everyone's glass before leaving the room.
They quietly ate their food except for Rachel who tried to make a small chat with Adam every now and then only to get a few nods in reply.
Adam somehow knew what she was up to after the little stunt that she had pulled off in his office the last time she came, so he didn't bother paying her much of his attention. More importantly, he didn't want Stella to misunderstand him once again, especially not when their relationship was going so smoothly.
After dinner they went back to the living room and chatted for a while. Well, Liam and Adam talked about some business as Stella sat quietly next to Adam with her head leaning against his shoulder. She would nod once in a while listening to their conversation. Whereas, Rachel sat next to her father, sending death glares at Stella, which were completely ignored by the latter.
A yawn escaped Stella's mouth which she tried to hide behind her palm but Adam still noticed it.
"We should go now." Adam spoke up looking at his watch. "Thank you so much for dinner." He continued.
"It's alright boy. The pleasure was actually mine. You know what I mean." Liam replied looking at the couple. "You kids are always welcome here." He added, hinting Stella that she could always come here.
"We know that." Adam said as he stood up followed by Stella.
Liam walked them to the car that was parked in the driveway. He hugged Stella. "Look after yourself kid. And if he ever bullies you, just let me. I will kick his ass for you." He whispered softly next to her ear, but Adam still heard it and scoffed.
"I need to have a word with Adam, you should get inside." He asked Stella as he let her go. Stella nodded and sat inside the car.
"You need to look after her boy. If your Dad and I weren't able to track her parents for almost fifteen years, then it's not that simple as it seems. Take good care of her." Liam spoke up, keeping his voice low so that only Adam could hear him.
Adam nodded in response. "I surely will. We'll talk about it in detail later on."
Liam patted his shoulder as he nodded his head.
"Good night Adam. Take care of yourself." Rachel spoke up as she saw Adam going around the car to the driver's side.
"Same to you Rachel." He replied politely with a poker face.
Adam sat in the driver's seat and drove away after after turning on the ignition.