Chapter 9
She didn’t need to guess who it was.
When Stella didn’t open the door, the voice outside got more desperate.
‘Stella, please just open up. We need to talk – there’s gotta be some misunderstanding here.”
Misunderstanding? Stella almost laughed.
still playing games after all this shit.
he kept the door locked, but then BANG – Ryan literally kicked the damn thing open.
Behind him stood not just Ivy, but Mr. and Mrs. Reed too.
yan’s eyes went dangerous. “We talking now?”
tella looked down. “What’s there to say?”
Mr. Reed went ballistic, pointing his finger right in her face.
Stella, how can you be this fucking evil? We welcomed you back, gave you this mansion, unlimited money – and this is how you repay us? You’re trying to ruin Ivy’s entire life!”
ce ran through Stella’s veins, but she held back her tears: “Mom, Dad, did you even look at the evidence I osted? Ivy’s the one who stole from me. I get that you’ve been close for twenty years, but I’m your actual
laughter. How can you be this biased? If people think I’m a plagiarist, my life is over too.”
Before anyone could respond, Ivy burst into tears.
der eyes went all red and her voice cracked, looking like the world’s biggest victim.
‘Mom, Dad, she faked all that evidence. I never thought my own sister would do this to me. She must hate
ne for having the life that should’ve been hers…”
When Mr. and Mrs. Reed started looking unsure, Ivy turned to Ryan.
“Ryan, babe, say something.”
Stella looked at Ryan without any hope left. This time, she caught something different in his eyes – he was avoiding her gaze.
She heard Ryan speak: “Stella, just post that you were joking around. Let’s end this whole thing.”
Chapter 9
[oking around?
Their three years together that was the real joke.
With Ryan backing them up, Mr. Reed jumped in: “Exactly. Even if you have evidence, Ivy’s been part of this amily for decades. We can’t let her reputation get trashed.”
We brought you back home, and we’ll make sure you never have to worry about money again. You don’t ven need to work, so what’s the point of all these designs? Be a good girl, delete that evidence, and stop ausing drama.”
Mrs. Reed added: “Stella, honey, we know you might feel hurt, but Ivy’s always been such a sweet girl. She robably just made a mistake this time. For the sake of this family, can’t you just let it go?”
he three of them surrounded her, tag-teaming to pressure her into backing down.
istening to them defend Ivy over and over, Stella felt completely drained.
heir words crashed over her like a tsunami, washing away any hope she’d had for a real family.
he stared at them with dead eyes.
I’m not taking anything back.”
LAP.
The sound cracked through the room. Her ears started ringing and her whole head felt like it was buzzing.
tella stared at Ryan in complete shock.
n three years together, he’d never even raised his voice at her.
Now he’d actually hit her.
The ringing in her ears drowned out everyone else’s voices. She could only see their lips moving and the
tage on their faces.
“Ryan, how could you do that to Stella?” Ivy fake grabbed Stella’s arm. “Stella, we’re all family here. Let’s not make this uglier than it needs to be. Just apologize, okay?”
The stinging pain kept hitting her in waves. Stella took a shaky breath.
“I’m not… taking anything back.”
Between all the stress and not eating since yesterday, Stella was barely holding it together. Right after she spoke, everything went black and she collapsed forward.
12:01
The
That Wheelchale I’m off to Marry a Better Man
31.79
Chapter 9
Through her hazy consciousness, she heard Mr. and Mrs. Reed’s cold voices.
“Fine, don’t apologize then! Cut off her credit cards. Let’s see how long she lasts without our money. I run a
with thousands of employees – I can handle one stubborn little brat.”
company
“Give it three days max. She’ll come crawling back to us.”
Then the sound of the door slamming shut.
Finally, silence.
