Chapter 7

Stella said nothing. She simply lowered her eyes and hid her emotions.

Julian could not be bothered to talk to her anymore. He got up and walked around the living room. He looked around and asked, “Where’s Luna?”

Luna was a Ragdoll cat. Julian and Yara had raised her together for years. Before they left for the trip, he had told the servants to take good care of her.

He looked around but could not find the familiar ball of white fur. His frown deepened. He called for a servant. “Where’s Luna?”

The servant’s face turned pale. She hurried around the house and searched everywhere. Her eyes darted around.

Finally, after a long hesitation, she lowered her voice and stammered, “Sir… Ms. Wallace… let Luna go. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Stella suddenly looked up. A look of disbelief crossed her face. “What are you talking about? When did I ever let Luna go?”

The servant kept her head down. Her voice became even quieter, but every word cut deep. “Ms. Wallace, I know you don’t like Luna, but Mr. Quinn and Ms. Xenford raised her for years…”

“I didn’t.” Stella’s voice turned cold. “Don’t you dare fling such baseless accusations against me—”

“That’s enough!”

Julian cut her off sharply. His eyes were as cold as ice, and the disgust in his voice was unmistakable. “Stella, how heartless are you? Luna means everything to Yara. You couldn’t even tolerate her?”

He strode over and grabbed Stella by the wrist. His grip was so tight that it felt as if he would crush her bones.

“You’d better pray that nothing has happened to Luna. Find her right now. If you can’t find her, there won’t be a wedding. You can forget about ever coming back here!”

Stella took a deep breath. Her chest heaved, but she did not argue.

She pulled her hand free and walked out the door.

There were no streetlights outside. It was pitch-black. She turned on her phone’s flashlight and searched the paths around the villa, one place at a time.

She searched through the grass, behind the bushes, and beside the rock garden.

After almost an hour, rain began to fall. The raindrops were large and heavy. They quickly soaked her clothes.

She did not dare go back. Julian meant what he said. If she could not find Luna, he really would not let her back through the door.

Her high heels made it difficult to walk through the muddy path. Her heels kept sinking into the mud. In the end, she took off her shoes and walked barefoot.

After another half hour, she finally saw something splashing in the lake.

It was Luna. The Ragdoll had somehow fallen into the lake. She was desperately struggling to stay afloat and looked like she was about to sink.

Stella did not have time to think. She took off her coat and jumped into the lake.

The water was much colder than she had expected. There was broken glass on the bottom of the lake. Sharp pain shot through the soles of her feet.

She gritted her teeth and kept going. She swam toward Luna, grabbed her, and struggled back to shore.

Once she reached the shore, Stella saw that the bottoms of her feet had been badly wounded by the broken glass. Every step felt like she was walking on knives.

She held Luna in her arms and limped back to the villa.

“I found Luna.” Stella handed the cat to Julian. Her voice was hoarse. “She’s okay. She was just scared.”

Julian took the cat. He looked down at Stella’s feet. They were covered in mud, and blood was still dripping from them. His brows furrowed. “How did you manage to get yourself into this state?”

Stella did not answer. She turned around and headed for her room. Her body swayed, but she managed to steady herself.

“Stella, I’m talking to you!” Julian could not help calling after her. There was a trace of unease in his voice.

She stopped but did not turn around. Her figure looked thin and fragile from behind. Her voice was so soft that it almost disappeared into the wind.

“In your eyes, that cat matters much more than I do. So, worry about the cat that’s yours and Yara’s. What happens to me has nothing to do with you.”

With that, she went upstairs without looking back.

Julian stood there. He watched her disappear around the corner. The strange sense of unease returned.

He looked down at the trembling cat in his arms, then at the staircase. His throat felt strangely tight.

In the end, he did not go after her.

Stella returned to her room, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and went to bed.

Her body felt heavier and heavier. She kept getting chills. She knew she had caught a fever.

She had just closed her eyes when someone knocked on the door.

“Ms. Wallace…” A servant’s voice came from outside. “Mr. Quinn wants you to come to his room.”

Stella opened her eyes. She was too exhausted to move. But she knew Julian would not let it go if she refused.

She forced herself out of bed and made her way to Julian’s room.

As soon as she walked in, she saw Luna lying on the floor. The cat was vomiting and had severe diarrhea. She was barely conscious.

The veterinarian was crouched beside Luna. His expression was grim. “Sir, she has ingested a lot of rat poison.”

Julian’s face was as dark as a storm cloud. He stared at Stella and coldly said, “Stella, explain yourself!”