It wasn’t just Gavin Sterling. Everyone, aside from Stella Sterling herself, thought she was spouting nonsense.
Or perhaps, feeling the pressure, she was just saying anything that came to mind.
His blatant condescension caused Gavin Sterling to walk right into Stella’s trap.
Stella was a bird in a cage, completely incapable of resistance.
Even if she was acting like a cat with its fur on end, hissing at everyone she saw, she was still a cat that had been declawed and defanged—not a shred of a threat.
But when Gavin Sterling finally took a moment to reflect, he saw the look of absolute confidence on Stella’s face and realized something was off.
Gavin Sterling’s scornful smile vanished in an instant, and his brows furrowed.
Seeing his strange expression, Chase Sterling asked in a low voice, "Dad, what’s wrong?"
Gavin Sterling just stared intently at Stella. "Did you give that bastard our address?"
During that call, Stella’s so-called husband had only said two things: one asking why she wasn’t picking up, and the other saying he’d be there in ten minutes.
Not a single word was about asking for the address, yet he already sounded like he was on his way.
Stella didn’t answer. She stood at a distance with her arms crossed, a polite smile on her face.
Stella and Gavin Sterling were focused on different things.
She was more concerned with Owen Rhodes’s "be there in ten minutes."
’Owen should be at his office right now.’
’From Kyros to the Sterling Villa, it takes at least half an hour without traffic.’
’For Owen to say he’ll be here in ten minutes, he must have realized I was taken and already been on his way.’
’No wonder Owen, who hardly ever contacted me, suddenly called so many times.’
Stella smiled without speaking. With no answer, Gavin Sterling’s mind started racing with theories.
His face darkened as he pressed, "Or did you bring that bastard here sometime before? Stella, you’ve got some nerve!"
Stella raised her eyes. "So what if I did? Compared to you, President Sterling, bringing your little mistress home, I’m just bringing my legal husband home. How could my nerve possibly compare to yours?"
At her words, that vague sense of unease in Gavin Sterling was instantly washed away by fury.
In their social circle, you could count the number of couples their age with a harmonious relationship on one hand.
Most of them were just putting on a front, each doing their own thing.
Besides, because of Kiana Sterling’s illness years ago, Madeline Jennings had been living abroad for years, so the chances of Gavin Sterling staying faithful were practically zero.
And that was indeed the case.
Gavin Sterling having a mistress wasn’t anything new, but Madeline Jennings had her own lovers too, so neither of them could really criticize the other.
But the two of them at least had a tacit understanding: even if they had lovers, they were to be kept outside. Once they returned to this house, they would still be a loving family.
However, Gavin Sterling’s mistress from the past few years had some tricks up her sleeve. She had previously shown up at the Sterling Villa, but Madeline Jennings had thrown her out.
Although this kind of thing wasn’t uncommon in their circle, it was still a scandal.
They say you shouldn’t air your dirty laundry in public. And with Ethan Rhodes and Dr. Finch sitting right there, how could Stella bring this up in front of everyone? How was he supposed to save face?
Gavin Sterling’s face turned purple with rage as he roared, "You’ve completely lost it!"
With that, he turned and stalked toward the study.
Stella knew what that meant. ’He’s going to get the rattan cane himself.’
Gavin Sterling stormed back, his pace so fast it was like he was kicking up a wind. Gripping the rattan cane, he charged furiously at Stella.
The cane whistled as it sliced through the air, aimed straight for Stella.
The situation was out of control. Stella suddenly grabbed the hand of the silent Chase Sterling beside her and dodged backward.
With a dull THUD, the cane landed squarely on Chase Sterling’s forearm.
The sudden, intense pain rendered him unable to even cry out for a moment.
After a long moment, a blood-curdling scream from Chase finally echoed through the villa.
"AHHH—!!!"
After a moment of shock, Madeline Jennings’s eyes turned red.
"Stella! What are you doing?!?"
She rushed to Chase’s side, tears streaming down her face. "Chase, are you okay? Quick, we need to go to the hospital."
Then she roared at Gavin Sterling, "Gavin Sterling! If anything happens to our son’s arm, I’m not done with you!"
Gavin Sterling was stunned, and after his shock, he became even more furious.
Without a second thought, he blamed Stella for his own act of injuring Chase.
"You dare to dodge? Joel Joyce, grab her! I’ll be damned if I can’t handle her!"
But Stella had already bolted the moment Gavin Sterling started speaking.
The scene descended into chaos.
Chase cradled his arm, crying out in pain as he collapsed to the floor. Madeline Jennings told a maid to quickly get an ice pack. Dr. Finch, an outsider, sat restlessly, on pins and needles.
Kiana Sterling was crying uncontrollably. Ethan Rhodes sat beside her with his brows tightly furrowed, but his gaze followed the fleeing Stella.
Stella was like a fluttering butterfly, nimbly dodging the attempts by Joel Joyce and Gavin Sterling to corner her.
In Ethan’s eyes, all he could see was the fluttering hem of her light apricot dress and the tassels that left behind afterimages.
Seething, Gavin Sterling gave up the chase after just a few steps, panting, and told Joel Joyce to go after her.
The entire villa’s living room was in complete disarray.
Stella had only one goal: escape this villa.
’Owen is on his way. If I can just get out and keep running, I’m bound to find him.’
But she hadn’t expected that just as she pushed open the villa’s main door, Owen Rhodes’s car would screech to a halt right at the entrance.
The Ghost hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Owen had already pulled open the door and was striding out.
"Owen!"
Stella practically threw herself into his arms.
Owen caught her steadily. The moment he looked up, he saw Joel Joyce in pursuit behind her.
His eyes darkened instantly. He pushed Stella behind him, took a few quick steps forward, and swung a straight punch at Joel Joyce.
Joel Joyce swayed. Before he could even react, fists rained down on him mercilessly.
Again and again, each punch was thrown with full force.
At this moment, Liam Hawthorne also hurried out of the car.
He trotted over to Stella, looking her up and down. "Ma’am, are you hurt?"
Stella shook her head, her gaze locked on Owen.
After taking a few punches in silence, Joel Joyce finally snapped out of it. A fierce look appeared in his eyes. After dodging another one of Owen’s punches, he was about to swing back when Stella called out his name.
"Joel Joyce!"
After shouting, like a mother hen protecting her chick, she spread her arms to shield Owen, glaring fiercely at Joel Joyce.
The fiercely protective look on her face was like a dagger to Joel Joyce’s eyes.
His fist, stopped in mid-air, seemed to lose all its strength and slowly fell.
Only then did Owen pull Stella over to examine her carefully.
His deep-set eyes were filled with anxiety and worry, his brows knitted together as he inspected her carefully.
"Are you hurt?"
Stella looked up at him and shook her head, but a sense of grievance suddenly surged through her like a rising tide.
Her eyes instantly turned red.
She kept shaking her head, but Owen still saw the red, swollen lump on her forehead.
It was from when she was rear-ended.
Seeing her biting her lip with reddened eyes, Owen felt his heart clench as if someone had grabbed it tightly.
His heart aching for her, he gently stroked Stella’s head and pulled her softly into his embrace. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."
’This girl... she wouldn’t cry unless she was truly, deeply hurt.’