Stella's POV
"Lucy problems," I replied tersely. "She's being expelled for academic dishonesty. The Winston family tried to use me as leverage to fix it."
"And the boy?"
I shot him a sideways glance. "Henry helped expose Lucy's cheating. He was just being kind to me after a stressful confrontation."
*Not that it's any of your business who I spend time with.*
Adam made a noncommittal sound, his gaze fixed out the window. "You returned the job offer."
It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes."
"Why?"
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I don't need your charity."
"It wasn't charity."
"No?" I laughed bitterly. "Creating a high-level position specifically for your wife isn't charity? What would you call it?"
"Recognition of talent," he replied simply.
I didn't know how to respond to that, so I didn't. We drove in tense silence for several minutes, the luxury vehicle purring smoothly beneath my hands.
"You saw me at Rouge," Adam said suddenly.
My heart stuttered. *Damn.*
"What?"
"You came to Rouge that night. You saw me with Grace."
I kept my eyes firmly on the road, afraid of what my expression might reveal. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me, Stella," Adam's voice softened slightly. "Security confirmed you were there. Is that why you've been acting strange? Because of Grace?"
I bit the inside of my cheek, struggling to maintain my composure. *Damn his security team. Can't I have any privacy?*
"I went to Rouge to meet Sam," I admitted finally. "Victor's security team sensed your presence. I was curious why you were there when you told me you had meetings."
"So you saw me , and you've been avoiding me ever since."
"I haven't been avoiding you," I lied.
"Really?" Adam challenged. "The sudden 'scent' you couldn't stand? Sleeping as far from me as possible? Returning the job offer rather than discussing it with me? What would you call that?"
I remained silent, unable to find a convincing denial. *When did he get so perceptive about emotions?*
"Grace is just an old friend," Adam continued. "Nothing more."
I couldn't help the skeptical glance I threw his way. "You don't owe me explanations, Adam. Our relationship has always been clear."
Adam fell silent, something unreadable flickering across his features. The rest of the drive passed without further conversation.
Brian's POV
I drummed my fingers impatiently against the Ferrari's steering wheel, watching the university's west gate for any sign of Lucy. She was already twenty minutes late, and my patience was dangerously wearing thin.
*Where the hell is she? Does she think I have all day to wait for her?*
Finally, I spotted her hurrying toward the car, clutching her designer handbag tightly to her chest, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
She slid into the passenger seat and immediately began complaining. "My life is ruined!" she wailed. "The school administration is being completely unreasonable!"
"Did Stella fix it?" I asked, though Lucy's distressed state already told me the answer.
Lucy's face contorted with rage. "Stella? That ungrateful bitch! After everything we've done for her! She completely refused to help me, Brian! She stood in front of everyone and told them to expel me!"
I watched her coldly as she continued her tirade, detailing how "heartless" and "cruel" Stella had been. Each word she spoke only confirmed what I already knew—what my parents had made explicitly clear during our morning meeting.
*Lucy is now a liability, not an asset.*
"She's such a hypocrite," Lucy continued complaining, completely oblivious to my silence. "Acting all high and mighty, when we know she only got where she is by sleeping with—"
"Let's break up," I interrupted flatly.
Lucy froze, her mouth hanging open comically. "W-what? Why? How can you say that so suddenly?"
I stared straight ahead, unwilling to look at her tear-streaked face. "It's over, Lucy."
"No!" She grabbed my hand. "Brian, you can't be serious! How can you do this to me? Today of all days!"
I yanked my hand away, disgust rising in my throat. "The university expelled you. What do you have now, a high school diploma?"
"Brian!" She gasped, fresh tears welling in her eyes.
I continued coldly. "You're not good enough for our family. You never were."
*Might as well be honest. I don't care about her feelings anyway.*
Lucy's shock was morphing into anger. "Not good enough? You ungrateful bastard! When everyone was laughing at your academic fraud, who stood by you? Me!"
"And what good did that do me?" I scoffed. "You're nothing compared to Stella. She has real achievements, real talent. What do you have? Nothing."
*It's true. Stella might annoy the hell out of me, but at least she's accomplished something. Lucy is just a pathetic hanger-on.*
"You heartless asshole!" Lucy screamed. "When you were pursuing me, you said you found Stella cold and boring! You came to me, remember? You chased me!"
I felt my anger rising. This wasn't going as smoothly as I'd hoped.
"I may have been expelled," Lucy continued, her voice becoming increasingly hysterical, "but what about you? All your degrees are fake! Every single one you bought!"
Something in me snapped. Without thinking, I grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head against the car window. "Shut your fucking mouth, you worthless bitch!"
Lucy gasped in pain and shock, her eyes wide with fear.
"You think I need you?" I hissed, still gripping her hair. "You're nothing. You're garbage. Remember who you're talking to."
*How dare she throw that in my face? After Adam publicly humiliated me?*
The fear in her eyes transformed into something more calculating. I felt her hand slide onto my thigh, her voice dropping to a pleading tone. "Brian, baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. You know I love you. Let me make it up to you..."
This pathetic attempt at manipulation disgusted me even more. I pushed her away, hard enough that she hit the passenger door. "Get out of my car. Now."
"Brian, please—"
"GET OUT!" I roared. "I don't need you. There are plenty of women waiting for me. Get the fuck out of my car!"
Lucy fumbled for the door handle, tumbling out of the car in her panic. I didn't stop to see if she was okay, just shifted gears abruptly and sped away, leaving her standing on the sidewalk, a bruise already forming on her forehead, tears streaming down her face.
From the rearview mirror, I watched her figure grow smaller, a dark sense of satisfaction washing over me.
Lucy was no longer what I needed. My focus had to be on bigger goals—rebuilding my reputation, regaining my grandfather's trust, and most importantly, making Adam pay for what he did to me.
Lucy's POV
I stood frozen on the sidewalk, watching Brian's Ferrari disappear around the corner. The pain in my forehead throbbed with each heartbeat, but it was nothing compared to the sense of humiliation burning through my entire body.
*You're nothing. You're garbage.*
His cruel words echoed in my mind, each repetition like a fresh slap. *How dare he?*
And now he had the audacity to compare me to Stella? Perfect, brilliant Stella, whom everyone loved more than me?
"Fuck!" I screamed, kicking at the ground. Passing students gave me a wide berth, whispering and pointing.
In just twenty-four hours, I had lost everything—my place at the university, my boyfriend, my dignity. And it was all Stella's fault. Somehow, everything always came back to her.
*I hate her. I fucking hate her so much.*
Tears blurred my vision as I fumbled for my phone. Now only one person could help me.
"Mom?" I sobbed as soon as the call connected. "Mom, everything's falling apart!"
"Lucy?" My mother's voice immediately became alert. "Baby, what's wrong? Where are you?"
"The university is expelling me," I choked out between sobs, "and Brian just broke up with me! He hit me, Mom! He slammed my head against the car window!"
My mother's angry gasp was satisfyingly horrified. "That monster! Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"I have a big bump on my head," I sniffled, "but I'm okay. Mom, I don't want to break up with Brian. He's my best option right now! I can't let him go!"
*I won't let him dump me like trash. I'm Lucy Winston. My story can't end like this.*
"Shh, darling, don't cry," my mother soothed. "Everything will be alright. Mommy will fix this, I promise. Where are you now? I'll send a car to get you."
I told her my location, feeling reassured by her promises. Unlike Stella, my mother understood me. She knew what I needed and would do everything in her power to give it to me.
While waiting for the car, I gently touched the swollen bump on my forehead. Brian would pay for this. Somehow, someday, he would regret treating me this way.
And Stella? My dear "sister" who refused to help me when I needed her most? She would pay too. I didn't know how yet, but I would find a way to make her suffer just as much as I was suffering.
*Nobody can humiliate me without consequences.*