Chapter 79 You Can''t Call Me Sten


    Gtea was taken aback by the nickname. She stood frozen for a few seconds before finding an excuse to leave the room. "Stay here and rest up. I''ll go get you a ss of water." Once she stepped out, ric shook his head again, trying to clear it.


    "Mr. Knight." It was then that Mia gently pushed the door open and walked in.


    ric jumped to his feet, greeting her politely, "Mia."


    He hadpletely forgotten that Mia was there, and the thought of having passed out drunk was quite embarrassing.


    "It''s getting dark. Why don''t you stay for dinner before leaving?" Mia offered warmly. "My cooking may not rival that of professional chefs, but after so many years, it''s quite good. Mr. Knight, you could give it a try." "That''s very kind of you, Mia. I''m sorry for any inconvenience," ric responded.


    After he spoke, Mia smiled gently. This man indeed had manners.


    Mia nced at Gtea, who was still in the living room, then turned back to ric with a direct question. "Mr. Knight, are you nning on marrying our Sten?"


    That question...


    How could ric respond? Could he admit he had already been rejected?


    Seeing the troubled look on his face, Mia smiled again and said, "If you''re really into her, you should genuinely pursue her, and I''m not just singing my family''s praises-our Sten really is a treasure. You''d be incredibly lucky to marry her. "Sten is a natural beauty, smart since she was young, and has a heart of gold; there are plenty of people falling over themselves to chase her."


    ric believed this to be true, and from Mia''s reference, he gathered some information and asked, "I hear you calling her Sten? Is that a pet name?"


    Caught off guard by the question, Mia paused briefly. Gtea''s birth name was Sten Storm, and Mia had grown ustomed to calling her Sten from childhood. Even after the name change, she continued to use it.


    "Right," Mia replied, needing to keep up the facade since they hadn''t had an open discussion about it, "Pet name."


    At that moment, Gtea came in with a cup of warm water in her hands.


    Mia quickly told her, "Sten, you take care of Mr. Knight for a bit. I''m going to make dinner, and I''ll call you both to eat when it''s ready."


    With that, Mia went to the kitchen to busy herself with cooking.


    "Mia insisted on having me stay for dinner," ric quickly exined.


    "Well, consider yourself fortunate. Mia''s cooking skills far surpass those of your chefs," Gtea said as she handed him the water.


    ric took a sip, then looked at her and said, "Sten."


    Hearing the name, Gtea was visibly shaken and looked at him with astonishment.


    Aside from her father and Mia, only Ambrose called her Sten.


    "What did you just call me?"


    "Sten, I just heard Mia say it. It''s your pet name."


    Upon hearing this, Gtea took a sharp intake of breath out of a momentary shock.ric said, "Sten? It does have a nice ring to it. I''ll call you that from now on."


    "Don''t!" Gtea quickly objected, her reaction more intense than she intended. She didn''t want to hear another man calling her by that name.


    She realized her impulsive response when she saw the bewildered expression on ric''s face and tried to cover it with augh. "Just call me Gtea, please."


    ric was puzzled by her strong reaction. His intuition told him it was definitely moreplicated than it seemed.


    "Oh, by the way, Cormac Nash came to see me today," Gtea quickly changed the subject, "He showed me Ravenna Nash''s medical report. She has mid-stage stomach cancer."


    "Is it really cancer?"


    "Yes." Gtea nodded. "But there''s still a chance for recovery. It''s just that the subsequent chemotherapy is going to be tough."


    ric sighed lightly, having hoped it was just a scare and nothing serious.


    "Cormac is a doctor; he must know a lot of specialists in the field. I''m sure he''ll find a way to cure her," Gtea mused. "Let''s hope so."


    Mia called out from outside, "You twoe out and eat."


    Gtea promptly responded, "Okay,ing Mia."


    "Let''s go have dinner first."


    Mia had prepared a spread of dishes. Upon seeing that they were seated, she said, "You two eat up, I''ll go out for a walk."


    "Mia, you haven''t eaten yet," Gtea said.


    "I had too much for lunch; my stomach is still full. I''ll walk it off. You two enjoy your meal." And with that, Mia changed her shoes and went out. How did Mia get so "observant"?


    Once Mia left, only the two of them remained.


    Looking at the dishes, Gtea said, "Today''s your lucky day. These dishes Mia makes are delicious."


    As a guest, ric was offered food by Gtea.


    "I''ve always been curious about your rtionship with Mia," ric asked while eating.


    "Mia has been working at my family''s house since she was young. To call her a nanny is more urate; she practically raised me."


    A nanny?


    Remembering how professionally she ordered at the Western restaurant, ric suddenly realized something. "Was your family wealthy before?"


    ric had met her when she lived in a modest apartment and knew her parents were deceased, so he had assumed Gtea came from a poor background. But now, it seemed that wasn''t the case.


    "You could say that," Gtea answered nomittally.


    "In that case, even with your parents gone, they must have left you a considerable inheritance."


    Hearing that, Gtea suddenly lost her appetite. She looked at him and said, "ric, are you doing this on purpose? Going from wealth to poverty obviously means the family fell on hard times. It''s not a difficult guess. You seem to enjoy rubbing salt in other people''s wounds."


    "I''m just genuinely curious; there''s really nothing to it." ric couldn''t help butugh as he saw Gtea''s indignant expression.


    The dining atmosphere at their table was pleasant, while elsewhere, things were a bit strange.


    ...


    Cormac had only Griffon to consult after Ravenna''s diagnosis. Eventually, they decided to keep the news between themselves, concealing it not only from Ravenna but also from Orion Nash, knowing all too well that Orion would not be able to keep it a secret.


    Thus, Cormac ended up staying for dinner with the Nash family that evening, which Ravenna found quite unsettling.


    "How many years has it been since you got angry with your dad? You rarely evene home, let alone stay for dinner. What brought this on today?" Ravenna asked as she looked at Cormac. "What''s the big deal if I want to stay for dinner? Are you not happy to see me?" he replied.


    "Of course, that''s not it. It''s just unbelievable to me," she said. Despite not having been told, she had her suspicions. "Is it because my test results were bad?"


    She couldn''t fathom any other reason for Cormac to sit down for dinner with Griffon.