Chapter 2 He’s Seeing Someone Else
This time, there were no words–just a picture.
Shane was asleep, arms wrapped tightly around Wendy from behind, the two of them curled together in bed. He looked deeply asleep.
Wendy was smiling shyly, her lips swollen. Her pajama collar hung loosely, and love marks trailed down from her neck.
There was no need to ask what they’d been doing.
In five years together, she and Shane had never gone all the way.
At first, when things got heated, Shane would hold her tightly and growl through clenched teeth, “Star, can you hurry up and grow up already?”
Later, he no longer held her that way. He simply coaxed her, saying they’d wait until marriage.
She had always thought that was love. That it meant he cherished her.
But wasn’t desire just another side of love?
She stared at the photo, and tears burst from her eyes. It felt like someone had gouged a chunk of flesh straight from her chest, the pain surging uncontrollably.
After breakfast, Stella walked over to the neighboring villa.
Crossing the custom–built bridge between the houses, she looked down at the blooming garden beneath her feet–and felt only desolation.
She and Shane had bought these two villas in full after landing a massive deal.
The deed was under her name.
Shane had said everything he had belonged to her. What was wrong with putting her name on it?
He even hired a designer to build the connecting garden and bridge.
That way, if she ever got mad and “went back home,” she’d just go next door.
As long as he could see her when he looked up, he’d feel at peace.
Now, even though she was right in front of him every day, he hadn’t really looked at her in a long time.
She entered the code and pushed the door open. The spacious villa wasn’t decorated like a home, but like a gallery. Each cabinet displayed one of her mother’s cherished ceramic works.
These were rare pieces nearly irreplaceable.
She had personally arranged every item in place, entrusting both herself and her future to Shane.
Now, she would pack them up with her own hands and reclaim that future.
Running her fingers across the glass door of one cabinet, she stopped at the largest display.
The items inside were clumsy and lopsided, far from exquisite.
Every year on her mother’s death anniversary, Shane would take her to make pottery by hand.
“Don’t be sad, Star. I’ll make your mom’s favorite things with you. She’ll know how much you miss her. She’ll know that you’ll be okay.”
Stella never inherited her mother’s talent.
1/4
When she first started, she couldn’t even mold a lump of clay properly.
Back then, Shane wasn’t a powerful man. He didn’t have money to throw around.
He would bow his head to the workshop owner, pleading on her behalf–just so she could immerse herself in the process and let her grief out through clay.
As her skills improved, Shane’s presence and patience gradually faded.
She opened the cabinet and pulled out the prettiest piece–a painted ceramic jar.
Two names were written on it in playful lettering, with a heart drawn in between. It looked childish.
Shane had held her hand while they wrote it, pressing a kiss to her car in a moment of emotion.
His low, amused voice had whispered, “We’ve already signed the papers with your mom. You’re mine now, got it?”
Stella let out a bitter smile.
All the precious memories she had clung to were nothing but a joke now.
JAIL
She loosened her grip. The jar fell to the floor and shattered completely.
All those colorful memories in her head… one by one, they popped and vanished like bubbles in the wind.
By the time she finished packing and loading everything into the truck, it was already past 4 p.m.
She called a real estate agent to come view the house, signed all the paperwork, finalized the price, and told him to list it next Monday.
With everything settled, she took a cab to a farm on the outskirts of town.
“You’re really leaving?”
Her aunt Helena looked regretful.
“You and Shane used to be like one soul in two bodies. I thought you two would make it to the end.”
Stella said nothing, lying silently on the rocking chair with her eyes closed.
In her ears, she could still hear the sound of Shane’s bicycle bell–followed by his cheerful shout.
“Star, we’re gonna be late! I brought you bread and milk. Hurry up!”
She yanked the memory from her mind and looked over at the middle–aged woman slicing fruit beside her.
“Auntie, do you regret leaving the Johnson family for that man back then?”
Helena paused briefly, then resumed cutting.
“I had your cousin.”
So… regret, or no regret?
12
Stella stared at her blankly but got no answer.
Years ago, Grant had forced Helena into a marriage alliance. Helena ran away with her ex. After that, Grant never treated her like a sister again. All he felt toward her was hate.
But just before giving birth, that man vanished.
Now her cousin was in college, and Helena was still waiting for the man she had given up everything for.
2/4
What exactly is love worth?
Helena washed her hands and gently held Stella’s wrist.
“If your father is pressuring you into this, you don’t have to go through with it…”
“No.” Stella shook her head. “Shane is seeing someone else.”
Her voice was soft, but the words lingered in the air like smoke.
Helena had nothing more to say.
Stella lay back in the chair.
“I’m not letting them move my mother’s urn out of the family cemetery!”
She always knew her dad was scum, but she didn’t expect he’d go this far.
He agreed with her stepmother’s proposal, saying her mother had been gone for years and, like Helena, should be treated as if she never existed. Her mother’s urn would no longer be allowed at the family’s private cemetery.
Shameless. That b*tch thinks she can completely take my mom’s place? In every way and forever?
As she was leaving, Helena handed her a folder.
“Got it back for you. Check it.”
Stella didn’t open it until she got into the car.
Inside was a contract with a church for their wedding. Still unsigned.
In their second year of dating, she and Shane had agreed to get married after she turned 23.
Helena had just helped them visit a church and confirm the wedding date..
It turned out it was next Monday.
The very day she had decided to leave the Cloudtopia City for good.
What a cruel joke.
When she got back to the villa, the soft sound of violin music floated from the living room.
Wendy stood bathed in warm amber light near the massive floor–to–ceiling window. Shane sat on the couch with his long legs crossed, listening intently.
A perfect, tender picture of romantic harmony.
Stella walked straight in.
4
The
Wendy stopped playing the moment she saw her and greeted her with a bright, gentle smile.
“Stella, this is a piece Vinnie wrote just for me. Shane signed me up for an international competition, but I’m nervous. Could you listen and give me your thoughts?”
Stella looked at her pure, doll–like face.
At first, even she had been fooled by that delicate, innocent act.
She had lent her dresses, taught her to play violin.
She had downplayed her own skills and encouraged Wendy to enter school competitions, cheering her on every step
of the
way.
She had no idea that Wendy wanted more than just applause–she wanted Shane too.
In the silence, Wendy suddenly lowered her head in shy hesitation.
“Stella… are you mad that I moved in?”
Stella’s expression changed. She snapped her gaze toward Shane.
“She’s moving in?”
