Bella sensed some tension between Stella and Matthew, but the busy restaurant wasn’t the place to delve into it. She decided to wait and talk to Stella privately on the drive home.
As they left the restaurant, Doreen lingered behind, her eyes sweeping the area for any sign of Dexter. Despite her hopefulness, he was nowhere to be seen, and her disappointment was palpable.
“Doreen, give it up. He’s already left. Seems like today’s not the day for romance,” Carly teased.
“I was just looking around, nothing more!” Doreen quickly retorted, blushing.
The two laughed and parted ways with Stella and the others.
“Meet me at the entrance. I’ll get the car,” Stella told Bella and Alissa.
“Sure, go ahead,” Bella responded with a smile.
As Bella turned to chat with Alissa, she saw a familiar figure emerging from the restaurant next door.
“Stella, isn’t that Matthew?” Bella instinctively called out, pointing at him.
Stella halted, following Bella’s pointed finger. It really was Matthew, and he wasn’t alone. Lindsay and Robin were at his side.
A sharp pang of hurt gripped Stella, seeing him so close to the Wheeler family.
Matthew had not only helped Robin get out of the police station but was now sharing a meal with them. What was she to him now?
Seeing this, Bella was even more convinced that something was wrong between Stella and Matthew. She knew Stella wasn’t one to fabricate stories and remembered her mentioning Lindsay, the woman who had once saved Matthew before.
Bella’s thoughts raced, piecing together that the tension between Stella and Matthew might involve Lindsay and the young man beside Matthew.
At that moment, Stella felt a profound sorrow. She had no desire to confront Matthew in front of the Wheeler family, fearing it would only add to her embarrassment.
She masked her distress and decided to pretend as if she hadn’t seen Matthew. “Let’s go to the parking lot together. It isn’t far,” she said to Bella.
Bella looked concerned for a moment. Then, she nodded, and they started to walk away.
Just then, Matthew noticed Stella out of the corner of his eye. He froze, and the motion of pushing Lindsay’s wheelchair halted abruptly.
Lindsay, perceiving the sudden change, looked up and spotted Stella too.
“Hey, isn’t that Stella? Should we say hello?” Lindsay asked softly.
“No, let’s not,” Matthew responded after a moment of hesitation.
Robin overheard the exchange and felt a rush of anger, remembering his police station ordeal linked to Stella.
“Looks like Stella can’t face me. What’s she guilty of?” he sneered in a loud voice meant to provoke.
Bella’s frown deepened at Robin’s words, and she turned to Stella in confusion. “Stella, why would he say that? Is there something I should know?” she asked.