#Chapter 169: Opening Up

Alexander’s POV I wasn’t sure why I suddenly felt the urge to open up to Stella, but it happened before I could stop myself. Maybe it was the wine loosening my tongue. Maybe it was the romantic atmosphere making me foolish. Or maybe it was the fact that Stella had made it abundantly clear she didn’t want to win the trial, didn’t want to be my Luna, and she certainly didn’t seem to care about impressing me. Goddess, that made her seem even more like Ella. For a moment, as I looked at her bundled up in my jacket, her face illuminated by the candlelight, I swore it was her. The Ella I had only had a brief few months to get to know between my five-years-long distance and her ultimate death. Stubborn, blunt Ella. Ella, who never minced her words and who burst into my office unannounced and yelled at my Beta and… Just… Ella. “You seem to miss her a lot,” Stella pointed out. She was giving me a look I couldn’t quite read, although I thought I saw a note of