Stella paused to think. The “acquaintance” Mr. Smith had mentioned could only be Yvonne.
“I didn’t expect you to have such a good relationship with Yvonne…” she said, her voice betraying a hint of surprise.
At the mention of Yvonne’s name, Mr. Smith’s thick brows furrowed, as though the mere thought reminded him of something unpleasant. “Didn’t I get the wrong address last time? She grumbled about it on the phone for quite a while, you know. If someone hadn’t told me you were very competent, I might have called it off right then.”
Stella’s eyes widened in realization.
“So, it wasn’t Yvonne…” she murmured, trying to piece it together.
Before she could ask further, footsteps sounded from the second floor, followed by a man’s voice. “Mr. Smith, the lesson today has ended.”
Behind him, a little girl peeked out from the stairs. “Father, can I go out and play now?”
Mr. Smith adopted a stern expression. “You still have your dance lesson today. Come here and meet your new teacher!”
He pointed to Stella. “This is Miss Steele, the one I told you about.”
The little girl dropped her gaze, greeting Stella wearily, “Miss Steele.”
Stella smiled at her, but her gaze quickly shifted to the man beside her. Justin met her eyes, offering a smile in return.
Though his face was still bruised, it looked better than before. The swelling had gone down, but his cheek remained purplish.
A pang of discomfort pricked Stella’s heart. The bruise reminded her of the day Weston had beaten Justin.
She felt the guilt rush in again but quickly suppressed it, forcing herself to pretend nothing had happened. She looked away, trying to act like strangers.
But Justin didn’t seem to share the same sentiment. He walked toward her, his tone casual. “Oh, you came here by yourself. How long is your lesson?”
Stella was taken off guard. “One hour,” she replied quickly.
Justin nodded, settling onto the sofa with a relaxed posture. “That works out perfectly. I need to discuss something with Mr. Smith. When you’re done, we can leave together.”
Stella glanced at Mr. Smith, who sat beside Justin without any hint of surprise, as if it were completely normal for them to know each other.
Her mind raced. Was it Justin who had changed Mr. Smith’s mind about her? She had thought it was Yvonne all along.
Seeing Stella stand still, Justin tilted his head and raised his voice gently, as if nothing had happened between them. “Ruby is still waiting for you. You can go on with your lesson.”
It was only then that Stella snapped back to reality. She gave the little girl a warm smile. “Let’s go to the dance studio, then.”
Ruby, though slightly reluctant, was polite enough to greet Stella and follow her to the studio.
Stella began the lesson with an icebreaker session, getting a feel for Ruby’s dance skills. Afterward, she presented her teaching plan, but Ruby seemed uninterested. Without missing a beat, Stella demonstrated the steps while explaining, keeping things dynamic.
Ruby was soon engaged, clearly satisfied with Stella’s approach. The hour passed by quickly. As they finished, Ruby asked when Stella would return for their next lesson.
When they headed downstairs, the two men stood up immediately upon seeing them. Justin looked at Stella with a slight smirk. “I told you Miss Steele wouldn’t disappoint.”
Mr. Smith, clearly pleased, chatted briefly with Stella before escorting her and Justin to the door. He insisted on sending them with a car, but Justin politely declined the offer.
It was then that Mr. Smith seemed to make a connection, glancing between the two of them. He raised his eyebrows knowingly.
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