Chapter 1

At City X International Airport...

Stella Richard walked out of the airport and hailed a taxi. She gave the driver an address and got into the car. As the taxi moved, Stella gazed out the window at the familiar city...

She had returned after six years, but the experiences and memories she had tried to forget over the years began to flood her mind...

Stella shook her head, chasing those thoughts away.

This time, she hadn’t come back to dwell on old, useless memories. She was back because her boss had asked her to return. He told her that their company was at a dead end, and he wanted her to come back and solve the crisis.

At first, Stella didn’t want to come, but after some thought, she decided to return...

Six years ago, her boss had helped her during the most difficult time of her life, and she wanted to repay the favor...

As for everything else, she no longer cared...

At the Company...

As Stella arrived, she noticed that most of the employees were engaged in a lively discussion...

As she walked by, snippets of conversation reached her ears...

"I heard that there are so many companies who want to buy our company..."

"Really! That means we’ll have a new boss."

"I just hope that our new boss should be good-looking, like a Korean drama CEO..."

"Hey! Do you know who’s going to buy the company?"

Stella heard their chatter but didn’t care about the gossip.

She knew these people didn’t actually care about who would buy the company or for what price...

They just wanted to gossip.

But she... She cared... and she was here to secure a good deal for her company.

"Of course, it’ll be Kingston’s, the RK Group. Who else in the city is powerful enough to challenge them?"

Stella, who had been about to continue walking, stopped in her tracks...

A name, both familiar and unfamiliar, reached her ears...

"The Kingstons..."

"RK Group..."

Suddenly, memories Stella had locked away began to surge like a storm. Her mind was filled with those memories like a flood.

Stella felt dizzy.

It was as if she were still trapped in that RK mansion, surrounded by cold walls...

Stella had thought she had long forgotten about him, but it seemed that it was just her illusion...

****

Flashback...

Six Years Ago...

In the RK Mansion...

Stella walked out of the gate inside the living room. But her expression was somber. She moved as if in a daze...

Her small face looked a little pale.

"Madam, what happened to you? Why do you look so pale and weak?"

The one who spoke was Mia. She was working for Kingston's for years and always treated Stella like her daughter. Seeing her pale face and weak demeanor, Mia was worried.

Her eyes fell on the reports Stella was holding, and she asked,

"Is everything all right?"

Stella forced a smile and replied,

"It’s nothing. I’m alright."

"But your face doesn’t look good. How about I cook something for you? Your favorite Aaloo Poori..." Mia offered.

"Mia... Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just..."

Stella glanced at the reports in her hand and said, "I haven’t had my period for two months, and when I went to the hospital..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, looking at Mia with a mix of expectation and worry...

They just stared at each other.

Mia understood what Stella wanted to say. She was pregnant. But Mia also knew about the relationship between Mr. RK and Stella. She didn’t know what to say...

In the end, she just congratulated her...

Stella didn’t say anything and kept staring at the reports in her hand.

She didn’t know what to think or say...

She had been married to Rene Kingston for three years. But theirs was not a marriage of love...

It was a contract marriage, with a three-year time limit. Because the woman he loved was her sister...

RK had been about to marry her sister, Sophia, but for some reason, Stella had ended up replacing her sister. From the day they married, he had told her that their marriage was just a three-year contract and nothing more...

For RK, their marriage was indeed just a contract, but for Stella, it was a beautiful gift from God. Because only she knew how happy she was when she found out she was going to marry RK...

The man she had loved throughout her youth. All these years, Stella had given her best in this marriage, hoping that maybe, just maybe, their marriage would work out.

Maybe he wouldn’t divorce her.

Maybe he would want to stay with her...

Maybe he would give their relationship a chance because of the child...

Stella was still lost in thought when suddenly, a voice came from the door, shattering all her hopes and illusions...

"I don’t want this child..."

The voice was cold and hard.

Stella and Mia both turned to look in the direction of the voice.

RK was standing at the door, staring at Stella. His face was cold and expressionless. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking...

He had a very handsome face and blue eyes. His blue eyes were like the deep ocean. If you looked into them...

Then you would be drowned in it.