Chapter 5
“You homewrecking slut! How dare you try to steal Ivy’s boyfriend?!”
“She’s not just a side piece – she literally tried to kill Ivy! What a psycho bitch!”
Their shrill voices cut through the night air.
Stella’s face went pale as she realized who these girls were.
A crowd was gathering on the sidewalk, phones already out.
Their nasty comments hit her like slaps.
“Ugh, girls these days have zero shame. Being a side chick at her age.”
“Look how she’s dressed – total thot vibes.”
“All those designer clothes? Definitely sugar daddy money.”
Stella winced as they yanked her hair harder, too weak to break free.
“That’s not true I’m not a side piece…”
She tried to explain but they just got more violent.
People always eat up drama about cheating, pulling out their phones to film instead of actually helping.
Through the crowd, she spotted Ryan walking toward them.
This street led straight to the Reed house of course he’d come this way after the party.
Stella’s heart jumped.
“kyan!”
Even with his memory gone, he could at least tell people she wasn’t some random side chick, right?
She looked at Ryan, praying he’d step up and say something.
But she was dead wrong about him.
Ryan just stood there watching like it was free entertainment, completely unbothered.
12
that
Mai
Chapter 5
Ivy was smirking next to him, eating this shit up.
All hope drained from Stella’s eyes.
Some guy in the crowd caught her staring and looked over at Ryan.
“Yo dude, this chick keeps looking at you. Y’all got history or something?”
That set Ivy’s squad off even more.
–
“OMG perfect timing! Ryan, this bitch says she’s not a homewrecker. So tell everyone has she been sliding
into your DMs or what?”
The whole crowd turned to Ryan like he was about to drop some tea.
Ryan’s voice was ice cold: “Never seen her before in my life.”
Then he went for the kill: “But yeah, she’s been all over me. Total stalker.”
Stella’s world imploded.
Just like that, three years of everything they built was erased.
But why?
Why lie when he supposedly didn’t even remember her?
She stared at Ryan like he was a complete stranger. Because honestly, maybe he always had been.
The betrayal hit her like a freight train, crushing what was left of her soul.
All that remained was the brutal truth – they were over. Forever.
The crowd got louder, everyone gawking and whispering.
All those stares felt like daggers stabbing through her. She’d never felt so humiliated in her life.
“Ryan just called you out for throwing yourself at him! Still gonna deny it?!”
Ivy’s girls went absolutely feral, yanking Stella’s hair and scratching at her face.
But this time, Stella didn’t fight back. She just stood there, completely numb, letting them tear her apart.
It wasn’t until the cops showed up and arrested Ivy’s crew that the whole shitshow finally ended.
Ryan and Ivy? They’d bounced ages ago.
12.00
Chapter 5
When Stella dragged herself back to the Reed house, every light was off. Nobody had waited up for her.
She felt her way upstairs in the dark, like a zombie.
At the top of the stairs, she crashed into someone’s chest.
She looked up and locked eyes with Ryan.
His voice was low and cold: “The manager said at the party that you’re quitting and moving abroad?”
