Stella locked herself in her room for the next few days. She refused to leave.

After her parents found out about Noel's ridiculous actions, they were grateful that they did not marry Stella to him. They insisted on going to the Chiltons, but Stella finally left her room to stop them.

She did not want to cause any trouble when the wedding date was near.

After talking her parents out of it, she fetched a design from her room.

Stella did not lock herself in the room because of Noel. He was nothing to her now.

She had stayed inside the room to design a wedding ring for Eric.

Stella knew how valuable 'Reach for a Star' was, and she wanted to return the sentiment. She wanted to repay his love for her.

She handed the drawing to the housekeeper and instructed him to find an expert to carve out her design.

However, the wedding ring never arrived, even after the expected delivery date.

Stella went to inquire and found out that Noel had been there to pick up some jewelry. He noticed the ring right away and took it with him after asking about it.

All he said after taking the ring was, "It's going to be mine anyway. You don't need to inform Stella to pick it up."

The employees knew about the marriage alliance between the Chiltons and the Judds, so they did not stop him.

Stella's heart sank.

She quickly headed to the Chiltons to see Noel. She wanted the ring back.

Stella saw Sophie seated in front of a mountain of delivery boxes the moment she stepped inside the Chiltons' house. She was speaking coquettishly.

"You bought everything in my online shopping cart without my knowledge again, Mr. Noel. How am I supposed to repay you when you're so good to me?"

"I was happy to do it. You don't need to repay me at all. Also, I've told you plenty of times before not to call me Mr. Noel."

That was when Sophie called him 'Noel' shyly.

Stella did not even blink when she saw how they were flirting with each other. She quickly entered the house.

Noel turned to look when he heard footsteps. He frowned when he saw that it was Stella.

"What are you doing here?"

"Give me back the wedding ring you took."

Noel raised an eyebrow when he saw Stella reach her arm out for it.

"It's gone."

Stella was taken aback, and her tone turned grim. "What do you mean?"

Noel was still thinking up an excuse when Sophie, who was sitting on the floor, suddenly spoke up timidly.

"Miss Judd, I read online about how easy it is to open boxes with a wedding ring, so I used it to open hundreds of these boxes. It's scratched now. Do you still want it back?"

Sophie opened up her hand to show the badly scratched ring in her palm.

How dare Noel give Sophie her wedding ring to open delivery boxes!

Stella was furious, and the anger spread to every cell in her body.

She could no longer control her emotions, and her eyes turned red. She stared at the two shameless people in front of her. "What right do you have to take something that belongs to me without asking, Noel Chilton? How dare you destroy it, Sophie Taylor! Don't you know the meaning of respect?!"

Noel's good mood was destroyed when he saw Stella break down because of the ring. His tone was filled with annoyance.

"You were going to give me the ring anyway. Why are you making a fuss over it?

"By the way, I've decided not to hold a wedding. It's pointless for you to design a wedding ring. Stop wasting your time."

Stella clenched her fists at his nonchalant arrogance. She emphasized once more, "That wedding ring wasn't meant for you, Noel Chilton!"

"Who else could it be for but me? It's time to stop your petty act, Stella. You're going overboard."

Noel replied to Stella sarcastically while throwing the ring out. He pulled Sophie out of the house.

"Let's not stoop to her level and waste our time. Didn't you say you wanted to learn to drive, Sophie? Come on, I'll give you a lesson."

Stella was furious and upset as she watched them walk out the door. She wanted to run after them, but she could not do two things at once. She crouched to the ground to search for the ring first.

It took Stella half an hour before discovering it in the flower bed.

She put it in her pocket carefully and turned to leave without hesitation. It was too late to make a new one. Stella could only get someone to restore it and hope that it would be as good as new.

As she walked out of the villa, she heard an unexpected sound.

Stella looked up to see a car speeding toward her. Her eyes widened.

There was a loud bang, and Stella flew off 30 feet away. She landed in a pool of blood.

Sophie looked scared in the driver’s seat. She was crying when she got out of the car.

"Oh no! Oh no! I just learned to drive and mistook the gas pedal for the brake. I'm in trouble now. Miss Judd is bleeding terribly. Will she be alright, Noel?"

Noel frowned as he looked at the stone steps covered in red from the blood. He comforted Sophie while holding her in his arms.

"It's going to be fine. Stella loves acting pitiful. She's just putting on an act right now. You can ignore her. She'll wake up later once she finds out there's no point acting. Don't be afraid, Sophie. Don't cry."

Stella was in a daze when she heard his words. She felt a chill all over her body and could no longer stop the tears flowing from her eyes.

She had always thought Noel cared a little for her, even though he did not love her. They had known each other for years, after all, and grew up together.

He had blatantly brushed her off to comfort Sophie.

Why did she even fall for him in her past life?

Stella struggled to call for help. She had just managed to grab her phone when she lost every ounce of strength within her.

Darkness came and completely consumed her.

When Stella opened her eyes, it was already the next day.

Not long after she woke up, the doctor walked in with her medical records. He said grimly, "Why didn't you come to the hospital right away after your accident? You shouldn't have waited until you lost so much blood before coming here. This isn't something to be taken lightly."

The memory of how she passed out returned to her. She wanted to explain things, but she could only smile bitterly as she had no idea what to say.

Was she supposed to explain that her childhood friend was too busy comforting another woman and had left her lying in a pool of blood?

The doctor did not ask further questions. He continued, "Where's your husband? He should help you with hospitalization."

Stella's anesthesia had not worn off, so she spoke without further thought.

"He's out of the country."

The door opened as she spoke.

Noel walked into the room as he stared right at her. "Who's out of the country?"

"Isn't he right there? He signed your surgical consent letter.

I guess you’re her husband. Didn't I tell you before that you need to watch her constantly while she's unconscious? Where did you go? Count yourself lucky that nothing happened to her. You should get the admission procedures done."

The doctor tore off a hospital form and passed it to Noel before leaving the ward.

"He's not my husband!"

Stella was still trying to explain long after the doctor left. For some reason, Noel felt a little unsettled about this.

"That's enough. I've already taken you to the hospital, haven’t I? Are you still playing hard to get? It's about time you stopped this game."

He placed a bag on the table. His tone softened when he saw the gauze on Stella’s head.

"It's still hot. Have a bite."

Stella was taken aback to see the familiar logo.

Every time she was sick, Stella would get all princessy and refuse to eat anything. Noel would go dozens of miles away and get into a long queue to buy this strawberry tart to cheer her up.

However, he stopped pampering her this way after finding out about the marriage alliance in her past life, and it was the same in this life as well.

Stella looked at the piping hot pie but did nothing. She closed her eyes softly.

The next second, she heard Noel's hesitant voice.

"Sophie didn't do it on purpose. Don't give her any trouble over what happened."

So, he was doing this because of Sophie.

Stella opened her eyes and laughed until she cried. "Noel, what she did was intentional injury. I'm reporting this to the police. She deserves to be punished."

Noel's expression froze. He got exasperated.

"I bought you something and apologized on her behalf. Don't push this any further, Stella."

Stella smiled when Noel failed to keep up the pretense. She looked at him with reddened eyes. It was a silent stand-off.

Noel soon rubbed his temples. He knew how stubborn Stella was. He sighed heavily.

"Let's come to a compromise. You're just losing your temper because you want me to marry you. I'll give you a wedding. Our families are preparing that wedding you've always wanted. Are you happy now?"

Stella lowered her eyes when she saw Noel trying to reason with her. She could not help remembering the past.

Noel did not show up for their wedding in her past life.

He was disgusted with her and the wedding. Now, he was relenting because of Sophie's sake.

Even though he did not like Stella, he ended up marrying her in the end. It was probably because his family had threatened him.

Sophie was his only weakness and the daughter of a maid. It was easy to force him to marry the heiress.

Noel would definitely give in.

However, Stella was not going to repeat that mistake in this life.

She decided to make things clear.

"I don't need you for the wedding. You're not the groom. It won't affect anything even if you don't show up."

Noel was enraged. He was about to lose his temper when his phone rang.

When he saw Sophie's name, he turned to leave without a care.

Stella watched the door close slowly and picked up her phone to call the police.

After explaining the situation, she found out something unexpected.

"I'm sorry, Miss Judd. We were informed that the car accident was unintentional. Your fiance signed off on the settlement. You can't make an official report now."

Stella could hardly breathe when she heard the reply.

Exhaling and inhaling became extremely difficult.

Stella flung her phone onto the wall. She felt the pain from her limbs extend into her heart. In the end, she could no longer take it, and her sobs echoed in the empty ward.

Noel would visit her almost every day with fruits and soup. He even got several doctors to work together to tend to her injuries.

Stella's emotions had stabilized, and she ignored Noel throughout.

Noel got slightly anxious when he saw how cold she was to him. He had no idea why she was being difficult.

However, he tolerated it because she was still recovering.

Stella refused to get into his car on the day she was discharged. He could no longer take it and started to threaten her.

"When are you going to stop throwing a tantrum when I've already given in to you? Aren't you afraid I'll refuse to marry you if you continue this?"

Stella knew there was no use explaining things when he did not believe anything. She lowered her head and pretended not to hear him.

Noel thought she was finally relenting, and his mood improved. He even started to speak in a nicer tone.

"Don't lose your temper like that again. I'm taking you back for a family dinner because my Uncle Eric is back today. He's the head of the Chiltons and will be announcing our marriage alliance to everyone in the family tonight. You have to be there since I've agreed to the marriage. I'll give you a grand wedding. Happy now?"

Stella finally looked up at Noel. There was a tinge of excitement in her voice, which was a change from her coldness in the past few days.

"Your uncle is back in the country?"

Noel was relieved and smiled when he saw Stella back to normal.

"That's right. Are you so eager to marry me? Don't worry. I'll be at the wedding. Just stop acting like this in the future. You can play hard to get a couple of times, but it's annoying if you do it too often," Noel said as he opened the car door.

Stella knew it was pointless to explain anything to him. She stayed in the car and said, "I want to go home. I want to put on some makeup and change my clothes."

Noel figured she must love him a lot to put so much effort into this dinner. She probably wanted to leave a good impression on his uncle. He raised an eyebrow and agreed to something she wanted for once.

After Stella got ready, they headed to the old Chilton mansion.

Many people were attending the dinner, and they were not surprised to see Stella there. All of them greeted her.

After she returned their greeting, she sat in a corner and waited for Eric to appear.

Stella had no idea what it was going to be like when they reunited. She was distracted the entire night, and her heart kept beating wildly.

Noel was next to her and quickly noticed that she was out of sorts. He looked at her unhappily.

"I'm here, aren't I? What's with that dazed look on your face? I'm warning you one last time. I've already agreed to marry you. Take that look off your face, or I'll break my promise to you."

Stella wanted to refute his words but stopped herself.

He was about to find out that he was not the groom. There was no need to waste her time on him.

The doors to the hall finally opened after a few minutes.

Everyone turned to look expectantly.

However, Eric did not appear. Old Mr. Chilton walked in instead.

He walked up the stage unsteadily and announced to everyone, "Eric met with a minor accident and couldn't make it to his flight on time. He's still out of the country and won't be able to attend tonight's dinner."

Stella immediately stood up when she heard the news. Her voice was filled with worry.

"How is he, Grandpa Chilton? Is it serious?"

Old Mr. Chilton waved his hand and comforted her, "He's fine. It won't affect anything. Don't worry, Stella."

Noel frowned and pulled her down to sit. He began lecturing her in a low voice.

"The marriage alliance has been set in stone. Stop trying to show off your place as a Chilton wife by showing so much concern about my uncle when you haven't even officially married into the family. This isn't appropriate!"

Stella could no longer take it. She was about to say something when Old Mr. Chilton coughed. The entire hall turned silent.

"We've asked everyone to be here today to announce the marriage alliance between the Chiltons and the Judds. The wedding date has already been set. It will be in a week at Southridge Mountain Villa.

"The married couple will be the daughter of the Judds, Stella…"

While Old Mr. Chilton was announcing the couple with a hearty voice, Noel received a message from Sophie.

Something must have happened to her because the look on his face changed. He left the dinner quickly and did not finish listening to Old Mr. Chilton's announcement.

"And the groom is the head of the Chiltons, Eric!"

The entire hall boiled with excitement at the unexpected reveal of the groom. Everyone began whispering to each other.

"Did I hear things wrong? Eric? Isn't it supposed to be Noel?"

"Yeah. Why is it Uncle Eric? I thought he avoids women. Why is he marrying a young woman?"

Their discussion filled the entire hall. Even though everyone was shocked, no one dared comment much because of Eric's status within the family. Everyone got up to congratulate Stella.

After the dinner ended, Stella went to see Old Mr. Chilton because she was still worried about Eric's accident.

Old Mr. Chilton patted her shoulder. He looked happy.

"Eric took some pictures. I had a look, and his injuries are really minor. He'll recover very soon. Just focus on the wedding, Stella."

Stella was relieved to hear this.

She stayed at home for the next few days preparing the wedding invitations, the gown, and everything else. She ignored whatever was happening out there.

During this time, Stella received numerous messages from Noel's buddies, but she did not read any of them.

That was until one day, when she accidentally clicked one of their messages while she was taking a break. That was when she noticed all of them were talking about the same thing.

"Noel was hospitalized because he got hurt. He's been admitted to the Central Hospital. He's now in Ward 609. Aren't you coming to see him? Remember to bring along Noel's favorite chicken soup."

"Why aren’t you replying to our messages? Are you still playing hard to get? This is getting old. Isn't it time to end this?"

"Come on, Stella Judd. What are you doing? Stop your pretences, bootlicker, and come over quickly!"

It was nothing but a joke to Stella when she read those messages.

She took a few seconds of her time to type out a message for them.

"You guys, Noel has nurses and Sophie to take care of him after his accident. What has it got to do with me?"

Stella started to check her social media after sending out the message.

She noticed Noel had posted his selfies in the hospital after scrolling for a bit.

Stella remembered how Noel rarely updated his social media and found it a little strange.

However, she was not bothered by it and left his page after a quick glance. She went on to inquire about Eric from other Chilton family members whose contacts she had added to her phone a few days ago.