Chapter 164

The night was chilly and the room was silent. It was almost two in the morning. Stella had settled into a deep sleep, no longer mumbling or talking. Weston had been by her side for more than an hour, but she had only just calmed down. But now that she was sound asleep, Weston was still too restless to go to bed. He was dressed in a long silk nightshirt. The dark blue satin fabric clung to his tall muscular frame. He stepped out onto the balcony and carefully slid the glass door close so as not to make a sound. For a while, he stood there and gazed through the glass at Stella who was lying on the sofa. Then he turned around and rested his arms on the railing as he looked down. The courtyard downstairs looked different under the soft illumination of street lamps. The bright green leaves looked dark and gloomy now as they rustled in the night breeze. The swaying shadows of the trees danced on the balcony, making it look like a scene from another dimension. Weston pulled out a cigare