Chapter 5

Stella picked up the phone. The video on the screen started playing.

A man whose face was hidden was on the floor. His body was covered in injuries, and he kept shouting, “Ms. Wallace ordered us to do it! She told us to kidnap Ms. Xenford! Please, stop! Please, don’t hit me anymore!”

Stella’s mind went blank for a moment. It took her a while to process what she had just heard.

Yara had been kidnapped, and the kidnappers claimed that Stella had ordered them to do it.

“This has nothing to do with me!” She set the phone aside and said in a weary voice, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Really? Then, who did this?!” Julian’s voice trembled.

Stella could not tell if it was from anger or worry for Yara.

“I put up with you smashing my cars and forcing me to come home! How many times have I told you? Yara’s my bottom line! You do not touch her! Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if I had gotten there even a second later?”

“How many times do I have to say it? I didn’t do this!” Stella’s voice finally rose.

“I told you. You can be with Yara however you want. I won’t interfere, and I won’t get angry about it. Have I interfered with anything even once in the past few days?! Why would I suddenly go after her and have her kidnapped?!”

Her words wiped out the last bit of doubt in Julian’s mind.

He sneered. “Sure. You haven’t interfered in the past few days, but can you honestly say you’re not planning something even worse? Stella, I know you too well. If you can’t have something, you can’t stand anyone else having it either!”

“You…” Stella’s chest heaved as anger took over. “I don’t want to argue with you! I’ll say it one more time. I didn’t kidnap her!”

“Enough! Stella, at least nothing serious happened. Apologize to Yara right now.” Julian spoke each word slowly. “I want you to promise me that you’ll never hurt her again.”

“What if I refuse to apologize?”

“Then, we’ll have both our families come here and call off the engagement.”

“You know that’s not possible!”

Julian sneered again. His eyes, which were usually full of careless amusement, were as cold as ice. “Is that so? What if I threaten to kill myself if they don’t?”

Stella’s heart jolted.

Was he really willing to die for Yara?

If this had happened before, she probably would have been so heartbroken. But after learning the truth about her identity, all she felt was an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

She had already given up on loving him, so none of his threats could affect her anymore.

This engagement had never been hers to begin with.

The real Wallace heiress would be coming home soon. Stella had to return both the Wallace name and the engagement to her intact. Whatever happened after that had nothing to do with her.

She could not ruin this.

She took a deep breath and pushed down the faint ache in her chest. “Fine. I won’t argue with you. I’ll apologize.”

She turned to Yara and said, “I’m very sorry. I say this once again. The kidnapping had nothing to do with me. But if my apology will make you feel better, then I’m truly very sorry.”

Julian had not expected her to back down. He froze for a moment.

Yara shrank into his arms and said in a timid voice, “Julian… I never blamed Ms. Wallace. She’s your fiancee. I spend so much time with you every day. It’s only natural that she would get jealous and have me kidnapped. Let’s just go…”

With that, she tugged at Julian’s sleeve and walked toward the door.

She had taken only one step when she suddenly let out a soft cry.

“Ouch…”

She stopped and frowned in pain. Her body swayed slightly.

Julian immediately realized something was wrong. He grabbed her arm. “What’s wrong?”

Yara quickly tried to hide her arm behind her back. “It’s nothing. Really, it’s nothing…”

“Yara, let me see!” Julian’s voice turned stern. There was no room for argument.

He rolled up her sleeve before she could stop him.

The next second, Julian froze.

Yara’s pale arm was covered with old and fresh wounds. The sight was shocking.

“What’s this?!” Julian’s voice trembled. His eyes filled with fury.

Yara desperately tried to pull her arm back as tears streamed down her face. “It’s nothing. It’s all over now. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tell me!” Julian’s voice was so hoarse that it barely sounded like him. He gently held her, as if she were something fragile. “Don’t make me worry about you, Yara. Tell me… Who did this?”

Yara bit her lip as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

After a long silence, she finally whispered, “It… it was Ms. Wallace. She told the kidnappers to hurt me. She told them to teach me that it wasn’t possible for just anyone to stand beside you…”

As soon as she finished, she quickly shook her head. She grabbed Julian’s hand. She said meekly, “But it’s all over now! Julian, don’t blame Ms. Wallace. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so close to you…”

Stella stood nearby and listened to Yara’s tearful accusations. Her mind went blank.

She had never expected Yara to take things this far. She had clearly planned for this.

“I didn’t do it.” Stella’s mind was blank. She struggled to find the words. “Julian, you have to believe me. I really didn’t…”

Before she could finish, Julian suddenly turned around.

Smack!

He slapped her hard across the face.

Stella lost her balance and stumbled into the nightstand behind her. Her forehead slammed into the corner, and blood oozed from the wound. It blurred her vision as it ran down her cheek.

Pain made her vision go dark, but she could hear Julian’s voice clearly through the ringing in her ears. Every word cut deep into her already numb heart.

“Stella, I used to think you were just boring, uptight, and annoying. Now I know you’re a cruel, twisted woman!

“You know how much Yara means to me. If you ever hurt her again, I’ll make you pay for it a hundred times over!”