My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 143: Mrs. Rhodes, You’re Amazing

Stella Sterling was taken aback.

Perhaps she saw Owen Rhodes through a filter that was simply too thick.

In her eyes, Owen Rhodes was the type of man who had everything under control and never made a mistake.

She simply couldn’t imagine him during his younger, less experienced days.

It was as if he were born to be a leader.

’Wearing a sweatshirt backward?’

She thought that this kind of mistake, something an "ordinary person" might make, could never happen to Owen Rhodes.

Owen Rhodes glanced down and saw Stella Sterling staring wide-eyed, her expression a mask of disbelief.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

"Is it that surprising?"

Stella nodded honestly.

Owen continued, "Back then, I had just graduated from college and hadn’t joined Kyros yet. I’d found a job at a company on my own. I was nervous about my first important project, so I didn’t even notice I’d put my sweatshirt on backward before I left. It wasn’t until after we finished the meeting that I mentioned to a colleague that my shirt felt like it was choking me, and I finally realized what I’d done."

Of course, Owen didn’t tell her the whole story.

He didn’t tell Stella that wearing the sweatshirt that day had actually been a calculated move.

He had done his research on the potential partner for a long time, so he already knew their boss was also self-made.

The man had revealed in an interview that during his most difficult period, he had worn the same sweatshirt for an entire winter.

Back then, Owen was new to the company. To project an image of being young and hardworking, he had specifically swapped his white dress shirt for a pullover sweatshirt that day, worn under a slightly ill-fitting suit jacket.

It had to be said, his little ploy worked to some extent.

At the very least, the client’s boss took special notice and asked him a few questions.

Of course, Stella didn’t need to know these details.

After all, the fact remained that he had worn the sweatshirt backward that day.

The main reason was that he didn’t usually pay much attention to his clothes. That sweatshirt had a cross-stitched logo on the front.

He had naturally assumed it was on the back, and as a result, he’d put it on backward.

But for Stella right now, what was more important was the fact that even someone like him could make mistakes when he was nervous.

Sure enough, after accepting that even Owen could make mistakes out of nervousness, Stella relaxed considerably.

Owen had originally wanted to accompany Stella to the shoot, but he gave up on the idea because she was so strongly against it.

As it happened, he had a project in a neighboring city he had to attend to. And so, the couple went about their separate business.

Before they went to bed, Owen said, "There’s nothing to worry about. If you get really nervous, just try to imagine what you’d do if I were there at the shoot. I really do want to be there with you, but this business trip came up... How about I cancel it and come with you tomorrow?"

Stella’s expression immediately turned serious. "No!"

Owen’s words proved effective once Stella was actually standing in front of the camera.

Stella had expected the set to be crowded, but it wasn’t.

The photographer was Maurice Ford, and the on-set assistant was Sutton—both familiar faces.

There was also a lighting technician, who was good-natured and quiet. All in all, Stella felt completely at ease throughout the entire shoot.

The shoot took place in the villa that housed her art studio.

A new set had been constructed where her easel used to be, with a huge, blank canvas at its center.

After shooting a few specific emotional scenes, Maurice let her improvise for the rest, telling her to express her emotions on the canvas.

Since it was for a rock song, Stella’s performance throughout the music video was wild and unrestrained.

Mixed colors from paint buckets were splashed wantonly onto the canvas. Stella smeared them with her hands until, finally, her clean white dress was also covered in paint.

The video ended with Stella slowly walking into the canvas, eventually merging with it until only her evocative side profile remained.

After several hours of filming, the music video shoot concluded smoothly.

When Maurice finally yelled, "Cut!" the studio filled with applause.

It was both a sign of recognition for Stella and a gesture of encouragement.

Maurice said, "That was really great! I was worried that your lack of experience would make the performance look stiff, but my fears were completely unfounded. The rest is up to us in editing. Don’t worry. When you see the final product, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"

Stella finally let out a breath she’d been holding.

While the crew packed up the equipment, Stella stood by the window.

The scenery here was strikingly similar to the views in Lumina.

Belsar Lake sparkled in the sunlight, exuding a reassuring tranquility.

Stella dialed Owen’s number.

Owen answered right away. "All done?"

"Mhm! Owen, Maurice said I did a great job."

Owen wasn’t the least bit surprised.

"I knew you would. When can I see the final cut?"

Stella hadn’t thought to ask. Since Owen had brought it up, she decided she would tell Sutton to send it to her for a look once the editing was done.

"I’m not sure. I’ll go ask Sutton in a bit. Oh, by the way, have you arrived yet?"

Owen was on a business trip today. He had left the house with her that morning but only departed for his destination after dropping her off at the studio.

"I’m here."

Owen’s destination was over a three-hour drive from Jandor.

"Are you about to start working? Make sure to get some rest."

Then, Stella asked, "Have you had lunch?"

"I have. What about you? You must have been so busy you haven’t eaten yet, right? I ordered some food to be delivered to the studio. It’s in the break room, so go have a bite."

Stella was taken aback. She hadn’t expected that Owen would think to order food for her even while he was away on a business trip.

In comparison, her simple questions—’Make sure to get some rest’ and ’Have you had lunch?’—seemed so superficial.

Stella replied, "Okay," and then Owen, having something to attend to, hung up.

The equipment was almost packed up, so Stella headed to the break room.

As she passed the dining area, she saw Ken and Faye Rhodes.

Faye Rhodes quickly said, "Stella, Uncle Owen had food sent to the break room. Go get some rest!"

Stella nodded, but it was hard to ignore Ken, who was standing to the side waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ken, what’s wrong with you? Is something in your eye?"

Faye Rhodes reached out and yanked Ken behind her. "It’s nothing, he’s just acting up. You should go on, Stella."

Stella was confused but didn’t press the issue.

’Ken and Faye Rhodes are about the same age,’ she thought. ’Maybe they just have more to talk about with each other.’

Until—

She pushed open the door to the break room and saw the man sitting inside.

She instantly understood what Ken’s suggestive look had been about.

Pleasantly surprised, she walked over to Owen. "Didn’t you have a business trip?"

"Mhm, I do. But I looked at my schedule, and it’s fine if I go a little later. You’re more important."

A thought occurred to Stella. "You haven’t been sitting here waiting for me this whole time, have you?"

Owen gestured to the laptop in front of him. "I’ve been working, too."

Owen took her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him, then started opening the takeout containers on the table.

"I arrived midway through the shoot. I was going to come and see you, but you seemed to be in the zone. I thought I might make you nervous if I interrupted, so I waited here for you. Mrs. Rhodes, you were amazing."