A Truth Half-told

A Truth Half-told
"Those people were indeed sent by Eric. He wanted to scare you, but unfortunately your uncle overheard it. He immediately encouraged me to bribe those people and make them act for real. I was confused at the time and thought that if Eric's reputation was ruined, I wouldn't have to endure his insults anymore, so I reluctantly agreed..." Karen finished speaking with a pitiful expression, gently touching Stella's face. "I'm really sorry, Stella. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Eric deceived me, otherwise I would never have hurt you. After seeing what you went through, I deeply regretted it and felt incredibly guilty..." Stella remained still, letting Karen's cold fingertips glide across her face. Her blood ran cold, like being trapped in an icy pond, unable to struggle free, only allowing the coldness to envelope her. She knew that Karen's words were half true and half false, the only thing she believed was that Eric didn't want those people to gang rape her, he just wanted to scare her. So that's why Eric never explained anything? Suppressing her anger, Stella slowly lifted her vacant gaze and looked into Karen's eyes, void of any cruelty. She asked calmly, "When you punished him using pack methods, did he explain himself?" While Stella was in the hospital, she heard that apart from the thugs who fell into the water, the others who were caught and sent to prison didn't reveal the mastermind behind it. Eric narrowly escaped. It was after Stella woke up that Karen forced her to accuse Eric. Eric was standing by her hospital bed at the time, wanting to explain something, but Thomas slapped him several times and he chose to remain silent. Stella knew that after he was taken back by the Sinclair pack, he was severely dealt with. She didn't witness it firsthand, but she saw Eric covered in blood when he came to her hospital room. He wanted to come in, but Karen wouldn't let him get close. Until Stella recovered and found out she was pregnant, Eric hadn't seen her alone. Even when she had an abortion, Eric didn't explain anything. If he only wanted to scare her, why didn't he explain to her? Karen didn't really want to tell Stella, but seeing that Stella didn't blame her, she reluctantly said, "When the Sinclair pack punished him, he did explain that it was just a scare, but he didn't expect those people to take it seriously. When I heard him say that, I was afraid the Sinclair pack would believe him, so I slapped him and angrily accused him of making excuses. I questioned him, even if what you said was true, this whole thing happened because of him. If he hadn't done it, how could you have been gang raped? So whether it was a scare or not, you were hurt because of him. He didn't say anything after I finished speaking, probably thinking that it was indeed his fault and there was no need to explain anymore..." So that's how it was. Because he also believed that he sent people, whether he explained or not didn't matter. After all, the damage had been done. In Eric's mind, he probably always thought it was his doing, so he never mentioned this incident to her... Even when they met again, Eric treated her the same way as before. He must have believed that their relationship couldn't be reconciled because of this, so he acted like a little boy bullying a little girl, surrounding her. Stella wanted revenge, so she seduced him and made him fall in love with her, intending to hurt him badly, thinking that this would be a successful revenge. But she didn't expect that the real enemy was sitting in front of her, looking at her with pity. This person even claimed that Bart instigated her. How could Stella believe that? Bart wasn't even in the country at the time, how would he know that Eric wanted to scare her? After understanding everything, Stella no longer pretended. She raised her finger, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and looked at Karen with cold eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, you had already bribed those people, but Eric accidentally fell into your trap..." As these words came out, Karen's expression changed drastically. She didn't expect Stella to figure this out, even though she had concealed the truth. How could Stella... When Karen tried to find an excuse to dispel Stella's suspicions, she saw Stella gripping her skirt tightly, exerting great force as if she wanted to tear it off. Karen couldn't tell from Stella's actions and expression whether she was shocked by the truth or suppressing her hatred. She only felt that this pup had also learned how to disguise herself and was ultimately unable to control it... But regardless of whether she could control it or not, Karen wouldn't admit it and chose to remain silent.But just by looking at Karen's eyes, Stella knew she hadn't guessed wrong. Karen was the one who made the first move. Realizing this was even worse than knowing Karen had used Eric's men to make things worse for Stella. Because that night, whether Eric had coincidentally come up with this idea or not, her own aunt would have done the same thing in Eric's name. After all, as long as they bribed the thugs and made them blame Eric as the mastermind, even if Eric had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain it clearly. So at that time, when Stella woke up, Karen didn't care about her well-being first. Instead, she kept pressing her, wanting to know who was behind it all. She claimed it was for revenge, but in reality, she wanted to destroy Eric... If Stella hadn't been blinded by family ties and hatred for Eric at that time, she should have thought carefully and not become a pawn. Stella sneered inwardly, but remained calm as she questioned Karen. "Tell me, when did you start using me? Was it from the moment you brought me to the Sinclair pack, or when you manipulated me to get close to Eric... Karen stared at Stella's red eyes and suddenly felt like she had awakened, seeing right through everything. Facing Stella like this, it seemed pointless to hide anymore because she could feel that after today, her niece would never care for her as before. Thinking this, Karen reached out and grabbed Stella's hand, gently releasing her grip on her dress and placing Stella's hand in her own palm. She then covered it with her other hand. "Stella, Auntie brought you to the Sinclair pack because I felt sorry for you, losing both your parents. I wanted you to have a good life with me, but I never expected Eric to transfer her hatred towards me and Andre onto you." If Karen had raised Stella just to use her, she wouldn't have sent Andre away beforehand and kept him by her side while using Stella as a shield. It was because she had no such intention that Karen didn't set any traps in that regard. Stella could already distinguish between truth and lies, so she didn't question Karen's words but continued to look up at her. "Then when did you start using me?" Since when? Since Eric repeatedly mocked her, insulted her, and hated her with cold words, Karen wished for Eric's death! But with Eric's grandfather guarding him at that time, she couldn't touch Eric. Moreover, Eric was clever and quickly sensed something was wrong. Several times, she tried to push Eric into the water from behind, but he cleverly avoided it. Coincidentally, she saw little Stella chasing after Eric, wanting him to teach her medical skills. She felt that Eric was much kinder to Stella than to her, so she thought if she could transfer Eric's hatred for her onto Stella, she would have to suffer less. She then told Thomas how pitiful and helpless Stella was, how she was constantly bullied by Eric. Thomas heard it and saw it, and he started favoring Stella more. Eric, being young at the time, probably felt that his father's love had been taken away, which made him uncomfortable. The more he saw Stella, the more he disliked her, and Karen wanted to make it worse. She falsely accused him of hitting Stella in front of Thomas to add fuel to the fire. When Thomas heard about it, he didn't hesitate. As soon as Eric came back from school, he slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground. Eric foamed at the mouth, convulsing, almost unable to handle it. He grabbed Thomas' leg and asked through gritted teeth why he hit him. Thomas said it was because he had bullied Stella. Eric him falsely, causing him this injustice. From then on, Eric completely hated Stella. Eric did transfer some of his hatred from Karen, but the Sinclair pack still wanted him, the talented one, to be the heir. Despite Eric's misdeeds, those uncles of his liked him, almost unconditionally, without considering Andre, who was far away in Arcadia and under the care of the Knight' butler. Karen believed that only by making Eric commit a major mistake would the Sinclair pack completely abandon him and consider Andre for the inheritance. She started provoking Eric every now and then, of course, when no one could see or hear. Whenever Eric got angry, he couldn't control his insults towards her. Karen purposely waited for Thomas to come back and acted as if she had been greatly wronged. At that time, Thomas would scold and hit Eric, regardless of right or wrong. Every time Eric got angry, he would redirect his hatred towards Stella and find new ways to bully her... Karen made sure the servants around her knew what Eric had done to Stella, spreading it throughout the Imperial Capital circle. Eric's reputation slowly declined, even within the Sinclair pack. They believed that as Eric grew older, he became more unruly...