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Chapter 318

Author: Warm Cocoa
Stellar looked at the self-righteous faces in front of her and let out a cold, mocking laugh.

Her icy gaze locked onto Joy.

"Joy, you were the one who begged me to come back to the base after I left. Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, you’re ready to toss me aside like trash?

"My technical work has been flawless, but you’re using my personal life as an excuse? You’re so hypocritical it makes me sick.

"I want nothing more to do with this place. You don’t deserve me."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the base.

The moment she stepped outside, the reporters swarmed toward her.

"Miss Rivers, have you been kicked out of SA Base?"

"Are you staying silent because you’re guilty?"

"So, the rumors were true, then?"

Stellar stared straight into the nearest camera, calm and unshaken.

"What rumors? You mean those blurry, stalker-shot photos with not a shred of intimacy? That’s your proof I’m dating three men at once?

"So now, a man and woman can’t even be in the same fra
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    Joy stepped forward with a polite, insincere smile. “Technically, I know it’s not my place to interfere, but as an outsider watching from the sidelines, I feel obligated to speak up. “You’re in charge of the Starlight Base, and I hope you’ll think carefully. Bringing someone like her in will only invite endless trouble for your team.”She was just short of pointing a finger in Stellar’s face.The engineers behind her quickly chimed in.“She’s right! Are you really willing to accept just anyone into your base? If her presence ends up dragging all your engineers down with her, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”Their tone was laced with smug satisfaction, unable to hide how much they were enjoying the spectacle.Rendell’s expression didn’t waver. “We don’t need outsiders worrying about how we run our base. If you’ve got that much free time, maybe put it toward improving your own skills.”Joy hadn’t expected him to throw the jab back at her. Instead of gratitude, he gave her a slap in the

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    Not long after she ran off, the paparazzo showed up at the door in a panic."Miss Shaw, what do we do now? The Ward, Sinclair, and Moore families are all suing me at once! You have to save me! I was only following your instructions!""Shut up!" Joy snapped furiously.She hadn’t expected things to spiral like this.Her original plan was to use public opinion to expose Stellar’s promiscuity, hoping the men would see her true colors and distance themselves from her.But instead, they were all willing to defend her, even at the cost of their own reputations.In the end, she had no choice but to give the paparazzo a large sum of hush money. Her voice was cold as she threatened, "Take the money, get out of the country, and hide yourself. From now on, never mention my name again. And don’t ever show up in front of me."The paparazzo took the deal and fled in a hurry....Meanwhile, Stellar returned to the Starlight Aerospace Base with Rendell and the others.At the same time, the online buzz

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    Panic rose in Joy’s chest as she scrambled to deny everything. “No, that’s not true. This has nothing to do with her. Stellar made it all up to make herself look better…” “Enough!” the investor on the other end cut her off, no longer willing to listen. “Let me be honest with you, Miss Shaw. We received a video today showing Stellar Rivers leading the entire aircraft modification process at your base—start to finish. “We were hoping you’d confirm it yourself, but instead, you chose to lie and smear her. This kind of behavior—taking credit for someone else’s work and misleading your partners—is completely unacceptable. “The investor board has voted unanimously to terminate all cooperation with SA Base. We’ll be reaching out to Miss Rivers directly to discuss working with her instead.” With that, the call was abruptly ended. Joy stood frozen in place, as if someone had slapped her across the face. Her expression was utterly humiliated. At the same time, news of the termina

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    The others nodded in agreement, rallying around Stellar.Her heart warmed at the gesture, and without hesitation, she tapped to answer the call."Stellar Rivers, you must be feeling pretty smug after stealing all my investors!" Joy’s accusatory voice burst through the speaker, laced with fury.Stellar couldn’t help but laugh. "Miss Shaw, let’s get something straight. You lost those investors because you couldn’t keep them, not because of me. “And trying to pass off my work as your own? This outcome was inevitable. You brought it on yourself.""You…!" Joy choked on her anger, momentarily speechless. Then she hissed, "Don’t get too cocky. Don’t forget, your aircraft modification technology was signed over to SA Base from the beginning. “Even if you published the paper, you’re not allowed to use it. If you do, I have every right to sue you for infringement!"The crowd around Stellar bristled with outrage. Some were even visibly worried for her.But to everyone’s surprise, she remain

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    Stellar’s gaze flickered. For a moment, she seriously questioned her own sanity.How had slipping on a pair of gloves sent her spiraling into such absurd thoughts?“They fit perfectly. I really like them,” Stephen said, the smile on his face deepening. “I made your favorite—grilled salmon. Want to stay for dinner?”The warmth in his smile completely threw her off. Without thinking, she nodded, only realizing what she’d done after stepping inside the house.God, she’d fallen for it again, completely swayed by his charm. Then again… his cooking was amazing. ... The recent scandal turned Stellar into an overnight sensation. Praise flooded in from all corners of the internet, and she was well on her way to becoming a national icon. But admiration always came hand-in-hand with jealousy. The brighter someone shone, the harder it was for the ones lurking in the shadows to stay silent. Soon, someone dug up her past relationship with Percy, twisted the details, and shared his cu

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    Something stirred in Stephen’s chest. It was the first time he’d heard her speak in that soft, almost clingy tone, like she was leaning on him. "I’ll walk you back." "Okay." They strolled side by side, exchanging idle conversation along the way. The atmosphere between them was quiet, easy—something warm and unspoken hanging in the air. ... Elsewhere— In a dim, cramped rental apartment, Percy sat crouched in the corner, staring blankly at a video playing on his phone. He watched as Stellar was surrounded because of him… and then rescued by Stephen.Guilt flickered deep in his eyes. Without warning, he raised a hand and slapped himself hard across the face. "Percy! What the hell are you doing?" A well-dressed middle-aged woman walked over, clearly startled. "I know the bankruptcy’s been tough on you, but come on. You’ve still got your father and me. You can’t just throw in the towel like this!" Before Margaret was sent to prison, she’d begged her younger sister,

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    Percy was knocked to the ground, but Chuck clearly didn’t think that was enough.He pinned him down and continued to pummel him.The store staff were all stunned.That evening, Stellar had dropped by to pick out a gift for a friend when she happened to witness the scene.She was speechless for a moment.Northvale really was the kind of place where one couldn’t even go shopping without stumbling into a disaster.Out of basic decency, she walked to the entrance and flagged down security. "There’s a fight inside. Please handle it."The guards immediately rushed in and pulled Percy out."Sir, are you alright?"With a bruised face and a nosebleed, Percy wiped the blood away and muttered awkwardly, "I'm fine."But the guard shook his head, then pointed not far away. "It's thanks to that lady over there. She’s the one who told us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten here in time."Following the direction of the guard’s finger, Percy caught sight of Stellar’s back just as she was turning to lea

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    Percy was nearly driven mad with anger. Stellar, however, watched the whole farce with a cold gaze. After a while, she suddenly stepped forward with a smile and handed over a gold card. “You want money, right? Fine. Here’s one million.” Dawn was still trying to figure out why she suddenly gave in. But her greedy mother snatched the card away immediately. “Now that’s more like it! So, you finally admit your guilt and want to compensate my daughter. I’ll accept this money.” The crowd frowned deeply, their eyes filled with disgust and contempt as they looked at Stellar. The three of them strutted off triumphantly. Percy looked at her, touched. “Stellar, I didn’t expect you’d go this far for me…” But Stellar didn’t even spare him a glance. She took out her phone and made a call. “Hello, is this the police? I’d like to report a crime. Someone spread false rumors about me and extorted one million from me. Please send officers over immediately. The address is…” She clearl

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    "It’s not even close. I checked that book out myself. It’s nowhere near as good as yours," Larry said firmly. "And it didn’t even have that title originally. It’s clearly trying to ride your wave. All the trending buzz? “That’s paid promotion, no doubt about it. There’s serious backing behind it."Stellar couldn’t help but laugh, though she wasn’t really upset about being overshadowed."Alright, alright. Don’t get worked up. Let’s just let things play out," she said, trying to calm him before ending the call.That evening, while out to dinner with Stephen, she brought it up in a teasing tone.Stephen listened quietly, thoughtful for a moment, as if something had just clicked in his mind.Soon, the day of the signing arrived.With Stephen by her side, Stellar arrived at the hall right on time.A group of reporters had already gathered. The moment they spotted her, they swarmed in.Thankfully, Stephen stepped in front of her, shielding her from the worst of it. With him there, no one

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