When she finished speaking, both Kiana Sterling and Ethan Rhodes were montarily stunned, unsure how to react.
Kiana was shocked.
Ethan Rhodes was furious.
His face turned pale, then rapidly flushed red. "Stella, who do you think you’re cussing out?"
Seeing that the scene was about to explode into a full-blown drama, the sales associate wanted to watch but didn’t dare, not knowing where to look.
Ethan Rhodes tried to step forward and continue the argunt with Stella, but Kiana’s weak arm reached out and pulled him behind her.
Her eyes were red-rimd. "Stella, if you’re going to yell at soone, yell at . Ethan has never done anything to wrong you, so don’t bla him. And don’t say things you don’t an. You’re just needlessly destroying the bond between you and Ethan. After all, we’re all going to be family soon."
Just as she was building up an air of wronged forbearance, a fair, rosy-hued palm suddenly shot up, cutting her off.
Stella lowered her head slightly, her shoulders trembling with a soft sneer. "Ethan Rhodes has done nothing to wrong ? So, that ans you’re the one who wronged , is that it? Should I bla you, then?"
Whoa!
’I thought the pretty girl was the other woman, but it turns out she’s the one who was cheated on.’
The sales associate shot a quick glance at Kiana.
Though she looked away swiftly, Kiana still noticed.
Her face paled instantly. She bit her lip, looking so aggrieved she was about to burst into tears.
Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall, but Stella interrupted her again.
"Alright, alright. You and Ethan Rhodes love to run your mouths. We get it, you’re sleeping together. But I’m not finished talking yet, so don’t be in such a hurry to cry," Stella said with a smile, taking a step closer. "Let’s get one thing straight. There’s no need for any ’bond’ between exes. If there really was one, wouldn’t you, the current girlfriend, faint dead away?"
Stella gave her a aningful look before turning and walking back to the sales associate.
She picked up one of the matching rings and brought them together, examining them closely.
"I’m done. Now, whether you want to cry or faint is up to you."
As she spoke, her cool tone was the sa temperature as the cold light reflecting off the rings’ surfaces.
The mont she finished, Kiana’s fragile body swayed, just as expected.
Ethan Rhodes stepped forward to steady her, his voice tight with suppressed anger. "Stella, is it fun to twist words like that? Kiana is just trying to nd your relationship with your family. How can you be so ungrateful?"
"Also, you made Kiana faint from anger in Lumina. Don’t you even have a basic apology for that? I suggest you watch your mouth from now on. If you ever really provoke Kiana into a life-or-death situation, it won’t be as simple as just having Joel Joyce co and get you."
By the end, Ethan’s tone was chilling, and his warning-filled gaze was like he was sticking Stella full of IV tubes for blood collection.
Those six simple words, "Joel Joyce co and get you," were Stella’s deepest nightmare.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she whipped her head around to look at Ethan Rhodes.
She could no longer maintain the breezy smile on her face. Her clenched fists were visibly trembling.
She struggled to keep her voice steady.
"Which one of your ears heard her trying to ’nd’ my relationship with my family? You’re so good at reading comprehension, you must have gotten perfect scores in language arts as a kid, right?"
"Apologize? Don’t worry, the day sothing really happens to her, I’ll definitely go to her grave, kowtow, and admit my mistake—for not having pissed her to death sooner."
Ethan Rhodes heard this and found it utterly preposterous.
Stella was the very embodint of a fem fatale.
Impossibly glamorous, yet her thoughts were so venomous it was horrifying.
’Does she really want her own sister to die that badly?!’
’It’s clearly her fault that Kiana is in this state.’
The aura around him suddenly turned icy. He walked toward Stella with a dark expression.
But Kiana, behind him, tugged on the hem of his shirt.
Tears stread down her pale little face as she softly pleaded, "Ethan, forget it. Don’t say any more... It’s all my fault..."
"Hah," Stella scoffed.
’This whole ’devoted couple’ act is truly nauseating.’
She turned to leave, but before she could take a single step, Ethan Rhodes grabbed her.
"Trying to run? Isn’t it ti you returned what you owe from Lumina?"
Stella looked up, her eyes locked on him.
’Owe?’
’How interesting.’
Ever since Kiana got sick, Stella had lost her freedom.
Her food, clothing, and housing were all strictly controlled by Ms. Jennings, because she had to keep her body in peak condition at all tis to handle any situation that might arise with Kiana’s illness. She couldn’t go anywhere freely, because Kiana could take a turn for the worse at any mont, so she had to stay where Joel Joyce could always find her. She couldn’t even have things she liked, because as soon as she voiced her desire, Kiana would use so excuse to take them away.
It was as if she were just a vessel, a container constantly producing blood for Kiana.
She had never wronged Kiana, but no one believed her.
But after so many years, she had long since learned to live with it.
’If they don’t believe , so be it. I don’t need their belief anymore.’
’As for what I "owe"—who really owes whom?’
She asked in a cold voice, "What do I owe her?"
"You know damn well what."
"No, I don’t. But what I do know is this—" Her gaze went past him to Kiana. "Kiana, isn’t it ti you returned what you owe ?"
Kiana still wore that sa on-the-verge-of-tears expression, always looking at Stella with a cautious air.
"Stella, I don’t know what you an. If you’re talking about Ethan," she gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and looked at Stella defiantly, "we are truly in love!"
Hearing this, Ethan Rhodes’s heart stirred. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaned down, and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Then he looked at Stella, as if to back Kiana up and prove she wasn’t wrong.
Stella wanted to laugh.
’Who even cares?’
"Oh," Stella said lightly. "A bitch and a dog, a match made in heaven. I wish you both the best."
"You—"
"Oh, by the way, I heard," Stella flashed a brilliant, dazzling smile, "that your *Sea Mist* sold for a good price. Congratulations. Kiana, you have to make sure you climb even higher. I’m so looking forward to it~"
’That way, when you fall, it’ll be a fatal blow.’
Kiana’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
It was a whiteness completely different from her usual sickly pallor, tinged with a hint of blue, carrying the faint aura of death.
At so point, a person had appeared outside the jewelry store’s side door.
After finishing the video recording on his phone, he imdiately sent it off.
[Rhodes, your wife’s got so serious fight in her! How did I not know about soone this interesting before? My bad.]
Far away in Veridia, Owen Rhodes was just stepping out of the convention center.
Reporters followed closely behind him, their caras and long lenses aid at him like an arsenal.
Questions were hurled at him one after another, but Owen Rhodes acted as if he heard nothing.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face one of the reporters.
"What did you just say?"
The targeted reporter was startled, then overjoyed. He quickly said, "President Rhodes, what are your thoughts on the recent public declaration of love from the award-winning actress, Ms. Catherine Linden?"
Owen Rhodes’s deep-set eyes narrowed dangerously. Kieran’s words echoed in his mind.
"I’m married. Don’t bother ."
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