Harold's chubby figure quivered like jelly out of fear. In a trembling voice, he let loose of everything that he knew.

"Ms. Fairwood was the one instructing me to do this. She told me that she'd give me a promotion and a raise after this…"

Upon hearing that Ariana was behind this plan, some of Julian's anger was instantly doused.

Ariana? That woman was still willful and childish as ever!

But what else could he do about her? He was madly in love with her, after all.

So, Julian could only unleash his rage on Harold. After kicking Harold a few times in a row, he roared, "Get out! From now on, you're no longer employed at Chapman Group!"

Not only did Harold fail to assault Stella, but he also lost his job. But he had no choice but to pick up his clothes and leave like the total loser he was out of fear of Julian's authority.

The room door was quickly shut. That was when Julian's darkened gaze landed on Stella, who was still lying on the bed.

Judging from the way the drugs had tormented her, she had already lost her sanity. By then, she had stripped off her clothes. Her cheeks now aflame, she did her best to suppress her breathy moans.

Never had Julian witnessed Stella looking this depraved in the past three years. The enticing scene was quick to light a fire in his loins.

Julian couldn't restrain himself any longer. He tugged off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt deftly. Soon, he pinned the half-conscious Stella down.

He captured her lips in a rough kiss, spreading his flames of lust to the rest of Stella's body uncontrollably. Of course, she reciprocated the kiss hungrily.

They made out until they could barely breathe before Julian broke the kiss. He began to take off his belt impatiently.

At that moment, a hint of clarity was restored in Stella's eyes. She found herself staring into Julian's deep ones.

Yes, the very same eyes that harbored Ethan's corneas now.

It felt as though a bolt of thunder had struck Stella on the spot, jolting the drugs' effects out of her instantly. Now sober and aware, she quickly wrapped the covers around her out of shock and horror before recoiling from him.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed in alarm.

Julian was stunned at first, but he quickly comforted Stella in low tones. "Don't be scared. It's me."

Just as he was about to take her hand, he heard Stella's icy voice ringing out again. "I know that you're Julian. You can't touch me."

Julian didn't expect that Stella would turn him down. He was momentarily shell-shocked before he explained again, "Stella, I'm not the one who drugged you! I'm here to save you!"

"I don't care! You can't touch me, and that's final! I've already qu—"

Before Stella could finish speaking, Julian—who was furious by her rejection—pinned her down forcibly and sealed her lips with his own. His kiss turned hungry and domineering—as though he wanted to devour Stella on the spot.

How dare she! How dare she resist him!

Julian was her savior! Did she seriously have no idea how nice he was being to her?

She had already provided him with three years' worth of services! Yet, now she kept rejecting him! What was she putting up the chastity preservation act for?

Argh!

Julian released Stella instantly. When he tasted blood in his mouth, he sneered at her.

This was her first time biting down on his lip so hard that she drew blood.

"Stella Atkinson, I've already fucked you way too many times! That made you mine a long time ago! Ethan's already dead! Now, I'm the only one you—"

"Yes, you've fucked me that many times. And yet you still belong to Ariana, don't you?"

Julian was in the midst of going on a rampage when he heard Stella's cold words. Almost immediately, he clamped up and fell silent.

So, that meant Stella only had her eyes for Ethan after all this time, huh?

This was supposed to be a logical counterargument, but for some reason, Julian didn't feel an ounce of satisfaction at all.

Frustration and irritation surged through his chest. The fact that he was mad at a dead man made him feel so helpless because there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

"I'll give you 200 thousand dollars. Can we have sex now?"

Stella didn't expect Julian to say such things after his long bout of silence. She just gazed at him mockingly, thinking that he was quite pathetic.

Did he seriously think that she was still the same woman who'd give him her body in exchange for money?

Hell! No!

"I already called the cops and the ambulance. If you don't leave right now, I'll tell the cops you're an accomplice as well."

Stella's and Julian's gazes clashed with each other, with darkness brimming in the latter's eyes. Finally, Julian left the hotel room with a stormy expression. He did make sure to slam the door behind him before leaving, though.

Just how bold was Stella anyway for her to keep rejecting him?

Stella finally heaved a sigh of relief. After that, she withstood the discomfort surging through her fatigued body until she reached the hospital. Only then did she let consciousness fade away.

She ended up spending almost two days recuperating in the hospital before returning to the hospital to pack her things.

It was at that moment that Stella finally noticed that she had forgotten to take Ethan's personal effects with her. After all, she had left Chapman Manor in a hurry that night.

It was a rose that Ethan had personally carved out of a slab of rose quartz. That rose represented his love for her.

When Stella rushed back into her old room in Chapman Manor, she saw Ariana playing with the crystal rose with interest gleaming in her eyes.

Stella exclaimed nervously, "That's mine! Give it back to me!"

She could only watch anxiously as Ariana dangled the rose before her eyes with a smile on her face, as though she was toying with a pet.

"Give it back!"

Stella tried to snatch the rose back, but her nerves instantly went taut the moment Ariana pretended to break it by hurling it to the floor. She dared not approach Ariana after that.

Knowing that she had leverage over Stella, Ariana finally spoke up casually. "What's with the anxiety? I'm not going to keep this thing away from you. As long as you obey my orders and bear witness to my and Jules' engagement ceremony tomorrow, I'll return it to you."

"Fine. I'll agree to your conditions."

Although Stella had no idea what Ariana was up to, she was willing to do anything just to get the rose back.

Meanwhile, Ariana wanted to test Stella's obedience and get petty revenge on her because she saw Julian's split lip after he returned from the hotel that night. She picked up a small blade before gripping Stella's chin tightly and carving a big "X" on her lips.

The sight of the pallid Stella trembling from the pain satisfied Ariana to no end. She laughed merrily while increasing the force of the blade.

Tears began rolling down Stella's cheeks. Still, she gritted her teeth and endured the pain, her gaze forever pinned on the rose.

"Time's almost up, Ethan," she thought. "Tomorrow, I'll be able to retrieve your rose. Tomorrow, I'll be able to leave Chapman Group for good and take care of Anthony for you. Tomorrow, I'll be able to hear your heartbeat again."

…

The next day, Chapman Group announced that they'd give all the employees the day off so that they could attend Ariana and Julian's engagement banquet.

Everyone attended the banquet excitedly. Not only was the cuisine loaded with fancy ingredients that regular people would never see in their daily lives, but the gifts that were distributed to everyone were also products from luxury brands.

Because of this, everyone began looking forward to Julian and Ariana's actual wedding. They were certain that the wedding would be grander and more lavish than the engagement banquet.

When Stella showed up at the venue with a mask on her face, everyone just shot her odd looks.

"So, that's Mr. Chapman's secretary, huh? Her figure sure is smoking hot… Hehe!"

"That's just a slut who can't marry into the Chapman family. How can she be compared to Ms. Fairwood? Honestly, just how shameless is she to attend the engagement banquet?"

"I heard that she has a dead ex-lover. The moment that her ex died, she eagerly climbed into Mr. Chapman's bed. That sort of woman has no shame whatsoever!"

Rumors about Stella kept circulating among the crowd. Malicious gazes lingered on her form at the same time. But Stella no longer cared about them.

She just wanted to get the engagement banquet over with while hoping that her offboarding process would end as soon as possible. That way, she'd be able to leave this place.

It didn't matter what the others said about her—she would never care about them.

After that, Stella was forced to ascend the stage under everyone's gaze. She filled the couple's glasses with champagne and even delivered a speech to seal their engagement.

Julian kept staring at her the whole time, as though he wanted to see the truth hidden behind her mask.

"Now, I announce that Mr. Julian Chapman and Ms. Ariana Fairwood are officially engaged."

Suddenly, everyone's phones began ringing nonstop. Of course, the trio's phones did the same thing, too, while they remained on the stage.

A curious guest turned on his phone. After checking the latest notification out, his face cycled through various expressions. But he was quick to urge his friends to check their phones out.

Whatever the news was, it spread faster than one could ever imagine. Stella felt that everyone was acting pretty weird. Just as she was about to check her own phone, she heard a woman shrieking desperately.

"No! That's not me! I'm not the one in the video!"

Ariana was trembling violently as she stared at her phone. After screaming into the microphone randomly, she turned on her heel and fled toward the rooftop.

"Aria!" Julian chased after her instantly. In fact, everyone did the same thing.

Only then did Stella have time to turn on her phone. To her horror, she found out that her account actually posted a video on the group chat featuring everyone in the company.

"For 9 dollars and 90 cents, you can get your hands on this sex tape featuring Julian Chapman and the mystery woman!"

No! She wasn't the one behind this!

Stella was on the stage just now, and she didn't touch her phone the whole time! Someone had hacked into her account!

With trembling hands, Stella tapped on the video that was supposedly going to be sold to the employees in the group chat. All color was drained from her face instantly. She could feel her limbs going cold.

Julian's broad back and handsome side profile could be seen in the video. The face of the woman beneath him was censored, but one could tell that she had a nice figure.

Obviously, this wasn't Stella. She didn't have two moles on her chest.

Only Ariana had those moles.

By the time Stella reached the rooftop, Ariana was already standing on the edge of the roof without wearing any shoes. The cold wind had already messed up her hair, which was previously styled flawlessly.

She could also hear Ariana's heart-wrenching screams. "Jules, please be my witness! Who on earth is the woman in that video? I've always protected my chastity because I intend to save my virginity for you on our wedding night!"

Tears flowed down Ariana's cheeks at that moment. Her body began swaying slightly, causing her to almost fall off the roof.

Julian was completely overcome by shock and fury. His heart hurt so much to the point that he couldn't breathe. When he saw Stella, he strode over to her instantly before ripping the mask off her face. Then, he grabbed her wrist and lifted it to attract everyone's attention.

At the same time, his loud and rich voice traveled into everyone's ears.

"The woman in the video is my secretary, Stella Atkinson. She took advantage of my inebriation to seduce me. When she failed to blackmail me with the video, she decided to use this method in order to earn money!

"I'd like to ask everyone here to be my witness. It was all Stella's doing! Her termination is effective immediately. Chapman Group will never hire her again!"

Stella felt as though her heart had turned to ice. Even her blood was frozen in her veins.

She could only stare at Julian in disbelief. For many years, she was nothing but spectacular at work. Not only that, but she also took good care of Julian in terms of his private life. What was worse was that she even let him do whatever he wanted to her in bed…

In the end, Julian chose to do this to her! He'd only let her go after dragging her name through the mud!

Everyone else might not know the truth, but Julian was the exception! How was it possible for him not to be able to tell that the woman in the video was Ariana, not her?

Suddenly, a heavy downpour rained down on everyone on the rooftop. Julian released his grip on Stella's wrist before turning to pull Ariana into a hug.

After that, he told everyone to return to the ballroom and continue enjoying themselves at the banquet. Stella was the only one left standing under the rain.

Her phone buzzed once again. It was a text from Ariana. The photo she had sent showed the crystal rose, which was shattered into countless pieces. A janitor could be seen sweeping the fragments up before dumping them into a trash can.

Ariana even sent Stella a cheeky emoji. "Sorry, I was very frightened just now, so I accidentally broke your crystal rose. But then again, you've earned 9 dollars and 90 cents from everyone in the company, so the sum should be enough to compensate you for your loss."

The crystal rose… Stella's account… 9 dollars and 90 cents… That sex tape…

It turned out that this was all an elaborate scheme that Ariana had set up for Stella. It was a scheme that was meant to drive her away from Julian.

But Stella had been meaning to do this from the start. Why did Ariana feel the need to carry out the scheme?

Why… must she destroy the one and only personal belonging that Ethan had left for Stella?

Lost in a trance, Stella returned to the ballroom quietly. She intended to leave the hotel via the only exit that was available.

Someone stuck out their leg to trip her over. Others dumped beverages and soup onto her when she passed by. Everyone mocked and laughed at her without a care in the world.

Shameless. Despicable. Slut. Homewrecker.

Stella heard way too many malicious remarks and derogatory insults about her. Before she left, she turned to glance at Julian and Ariana, who were still dressed impeccably. At the moment, they were kissing each other passionately while embracing each other amid the guests' cheers.

"Julian Chapman, I didn't want to do this at first. You… and everyone else… are the ones who forced my hand!" Stella thought darkly.

She returned to the company swiftly. At that time, the entire building was deserted. There, she sent the evidence of Chapman Group committing tax fraud and tax evasion that she had gathered over the past three years to the police.

After that, she went to Ariana's computer and copied all the records of Ariana's fund embezzlement into her USB drive.

"Do me a favor and get rid of the censorship in this sex tape. After that, spread the sex tape everywhere."

After ending the call with her ex-classmate, who was a hacker, Stella's phone rang again. This time, the caller was Julian.

She picked up the call, her face perfectly neutral. Julian's enraged voice drifted through the receiver instantly.

"Stella Atkinson, don't think tonight's incident is over! I didn't expect you to do such things just to earn money! You have to compensate us by giving birth to my child! That child will be given to Aria later!"

What the hell? That was absolutely preposterous!

Suddenly, Stella began laughing manically over the phone. Her laughter drilled uneasiness and panic into Julian's heart.

"Stella, are you nuts? According to the contract, you must obey me at all times!"

"Julian Chapman, here's an announcement for you—this marks the end of our contract! From now on, we'll go our separate ways! We won't have anything to do with each other ever again!"

Before Julian could deliver his furious response, Stella ended the call abruptly. Then, she flagged down a cab and headed toward the airport. Later on, she boarded a flight with one destination in mind—Levall.

Deep down, Stella prayed to Ethan not to blame her for doing what she had done over the past few years. Now that she had managed to clear the debt using the money, she could seek Anthony out and atone for her sins.