Chapter 4

“Stella, what do you mean by that?!”

He strode toward her. His eyes shone with suspicion.

“Have you really gotten so comfortable with this whole playing-hard-to-get act that you didn’t care when Yara and I appeared on the news? You didn’t even care when I got thrown from a horse and ended up in the hospital.

“You really have the nerve to say you’re not going to care about me anymore after all that happened?”

He leaned down and cast a shadow over her. His voice was full of mockery. “Stella, I’m only going to say this once. Stop using the same old trick to get my attention. It’s not going to work!”

Stella was exhausted. She was about to tell him that he had gotten the wrong idea when a soft, tearful voice came from the doorway.

“Ms. Wallace…”

Yara was there. Stella had no idea when she had arrived. Her eyes were teary, and her body trembled slightly. She looked as if the slightest breeze could knock her over.

She timidly took two steps forward. Her eyes shifted between Julian and Stella before she lowered her head.

Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “Ms. Wallace, please… If you’re angry, take it out on me. Don’t argue with Julian. His injuries haven’t healed yet…”

Before she could finish, tears streamed down her face.

“I know… I know I’m not good enough for Julian.”

She covered her mouth, and her shoulders shook as she cried. “After you two get married, I’ll go far away and never show up again. For now, please just be kind enough to let me stay a little longer so I can see him a few more times… Is that okay?”

Her words cut straight into Julian’s heart.

“Yara, what are you talking about?!”

Julian’s expression changed instantly. He instinctively strode over and pulled Yara into his arms. He held her so tightly as if he wanted to protect her with his entire body.

He looked down to make sure she was not frightened. Then, he turned sharply toward Stella. His eyes were filled with deep disgust.

“Maybe other people don’t know how much I hate Stella, but you should. I could never love her, not even if I died. Even if we get married, she’ll only have the title of my wife. She can forget about getting anything else from me!”

Once Yara had calmed down, he carefully wiped away her tears. His voice was incredibly gentle as he said, “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t cry. It breaks my heart to see you cry.”

Yara sniffled against his chest. It took her a long time to stop crying. She clutched his shirt tightly. “Julian, we can worry about the future later… Right now, you need to go back to the hospital and rest. Okay?”

Only then did Julian turn toward Stella, who was sitting at the edge of her bed.

“I’m not going. I hate the smell of disinfectants. We have a private medical team here anyway, so I’ll just rest at home.”

He turned toward Stella and lifted his chin. He said, “You wanted to play the whole generous, hard-to-get act, right? Perfect! Have someone prepare a guest room. Yara’s staying here for the next few days. While I rest, I need to see her every day.”

Stella nodded. Her expression did not change. “Okay.”

She got up and walked past him without slowing down. She did not even spare them a glance as they held each other tightly.

It was as if they were nothing more than air.

Over the next few days, there was one more person in the villa.

Julian and Yara watched TV in the living room while Stella warmed milk in the kitchen.

As they took walks in the garden, Stella organized the books in the study.

Julian peeled an apple for Yara as Stella folded clothes upstairs.

She was like a soulless shell and had turned herself into a ghost in her own home.

She did not argue or make a scene. Neither did she follow Julian around to keep track of where he went, nor did she give him a second glance.

At first, Julian enjoyed the peace and quiet. But after three days, something started to feel wrong.

At breakfast, he purposely dropped his bowl. He wanted to see if she would nag him like she used to and tell him to be more careful. But Stella turned to a maid to clean it up. Then, she took her glass of milk upstairs.

After dinner, he deliberately turned the speakers up. He wanted to see if she would come downstairs and turn them off. But her bedroom door stayed shut. There was not a sound from inside.

He frowned and could not help stealing glances at her.

She was sitting on the couch and reading. Her expression was calm and empty, like still water.

Stella, who used to wait in the living room whenever he came home late and get teary whenever he spoke to Yara for too long, seemed to have disappeared overnight.

She could really keep her emotions under control. The more Julian thought about it, the more irritated he became.

Yara noticed the way he looked at Stella. Her face darkened, but she said nothing.

That night, Stella was about to go to sleep when someone suddenly kicked her bedroom door open.

Julian stood in the doorway with Yara. Yara’s eyes were red from crying, and Julian’s face was grim.

Before Stella could say a word, he threw a phone at her.

“Stella, you couldn’t take it anymore. Is that it?” Julian’s voice was as cold as ice. “Did you really have to use such dirty tricks to get back at me?”