LOGINAfter saying that, she added a heartfelt compliment, “Ms. Spencer’s boyfriend is incredibly handsome.”Zac stopped in his tracks.The smile on his face froze.Not long after Stella left Zac’s office, she got a call from Hunter.“Come back to the Ford estate tonight.”As always, Hunter kept it brief.This time, Stella didn’t agree right away. Instead, she asked, “Will Gwen be there?”Hunter paused for a moment, then said, “No. She has something to take care of tonight.”The way he said it made it sound like Stella was the one with nothing better to do.But Stella didn’t dwell on it. If Gwen wasn’t going to be there, then she certainly wasn’t going to turn down the chance to go back and visit Mrs. Ford Sr.She answered with a simple, “Okay.”She had assumed Hunter would hang up first, the way he always did. But two seconds passed, and the line was still open, as if he were waiting for something.“Is there anything else?” Stella asked.Hunter seemed to pause again. Then his v
Stella didn’t take his words seriously.Keeping her head down, she stamped the contract, sorted the two copies, then stood and handed one to him. “Looking forward to working with you.”Fabian held out his hand.Assuming he was reaching for the contract, Stella moved it a little closer. Instead, Fabian closed his hand over hers. His broad palm covered her fingers, and the faint coolness of his touch lingered at her fingertips.Stella froze and instinctively pulled her hand back.“Likewise,” Fabian said, taking the contract from her hand with a faint smile. “I wasn’t joking about my earlier proposal, Ms. Spencer. You should think about it.“Goodbye.”With that, he turned and left with effortless ease. On the way out, he even thanked the receptionist politely.Stella stood there for a moment in a daze. If not for the lingering sensation at her fingertips, she might have thought she had imagined it. She had wondered whether Fabian had some ulterior motive in approaching her, but
“One more day?” Tom looked at her with a cold laugh. “Fine. You’ve got one day. If you still can’t fix it by tomorrow, don’t blame me for what happens next.”With that, he turned and stormed off before Stella could say a word.She had actually planned to sit down and talk things through with Tom, but with Lily fanning the flames like this, that was probably off the table now.Once Tom was gone, Lily turned to Stella with the air of someone quietly expecting credit and said, “Ms. Spencer, why don’t you apologize to Mr. Ford and convince Mr. Ford to accept Ford Corporation’s investment? I heard Mr. Ford wanted to work with UME before, and you’re so pretty. Once he sees you, I’m sure he’ll change his mind.”Stella's lips twitched.She was annoyed, but she had only just joined the company and didn’t know these people well enough yet. She couldn’t tell whether Lily had just made things worse by accident or had been stirring the pot on purpose.In the end, she kept her temper in check
In Stella’s experience, Hunter had never been the type to knock.Whenever he wanted something from her, he would just push the door open and walk in.Had he suddenly changed?Or was it not him?The thought crossed Stella’s mind, but she still called out, “Come in.”A second later, Zac pushed the door open and stepped inside, carrying a steaming mug. “Drink some ginger tea. It’ll help settle your stomach.”Stella froze.Then she paused.To be fair, Zac had always been incredibly patient.And thinking back on everything that had happened the night before, none of it would have seemed out of character for him.Had she mistaken Zac for Hunter?Did that mean Zac was the one who had taken care of her all night?The thought hit her like a bolt of lightning, and she couldn’t help blurting out, “Were you here all night?”Guessing what she was thinking, Zac nodded. “It was an emergency.”The night before, after making an appearance at the charity gala, he had come out and realized
Gwen’s openness clearly caught Yvonne off guard.She remembered the old Gwen as proud and full of herself, the kind of woman who never would have said something so vulnerable.Yvonne let out a quiet scoff. “Don’t think a few words like that are going to make me go soft on you. Hunter is already married. You shouldn’t be inserting yourself into his marriage.”Gwen paused. “I know that’s how it looks to you, but Stella didn’t leave the villa because of me. She had already moved out before I ever moved in.“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Mrs. Wilson.”Only then did Mrs. Wilson realize she had completely misread the situation and misunderstood the relationship between Gwen and Yvonne.At this point, she and Gwen were tied together. If Yvonne found out she had been helping Gwen bully Stella, she would be the one to suffer for it later.So the moment Gwen brought her up, Mrs. Wilson rushed forward and said tearfully, “Yes, ma’am. Back then, Stella had a little argument with Mr.
At the villa, it was always Mrs. Wilson who did the cooking.Hunter had no idea whether Stella even knew how to cook.He had been half expecting the food to be inedible, but to his surprise, it tasted pretty good.As for that strange sense of familiarity, he didn’t think much of it.He figured he was probably just starving and imagining things.Knock knock.A knock sounded at the door.Hunter got up and opened it to find Gavin standing there, sweating all over.“Sorry, Mr. Ford. Two cars crashed on the expressway, and traffic was backed up the whole time.”Gavin felt deeply uneasy.He had been sure Hunter would lose his temper.But to his surprise, Hunter barely reacted. He simply held out his hand. “The clothes.”Stella had already worn him out so badly that he didn’t even have the energy to get angry anymore.After changing, Hunter found himself walking toward the bedroom almost without thinking.He pushed the door open and saw Stella still lost in her drug-induced slum
The man gently stopped her. “It’s fine. You don’t have to be so nervous. It was partly my fault for not giving you a heads-up.”As he spoke, he took off his suit jacket.Stella looked up, and only then did she get a clear look at his face.He was strikingly handsome, and the gold-rimmed glasses o
Fabian had already heard the story while he was overseas. Back when his cousin Matthew Lawson was about to marry his fiancée, Tina Grayson, Stella had secretly helped Tina run away from the wedding.Matthew had flown into a rage over it. He hadn’t only gone after Stella, but had also targeted the S
In truth, Stella had already grown used to it.Riley and Hunter were very close as siblings. Since Hunter despised her, Riley often treated her with biting sarcasm. Riley frequently mocked her, saying she wasn’t good enough for Hunter and that she was nothing more than a third wheel coming between
Calvin’s expression darkened again.“They really got divorced?” Wendy asked, genuinely taken aback. This was a turn of events she hadn't fully expected.“No,” Jodie shook her head. “I asked the staff. The paperwork isn’t finalized yet. There’s still a thirty-day cooling-off period.”As she said t







