Chapter 4

Stella POV

I cried out in pain and stumbled to the floor, unable to dodge in time.

Just as Caleb’s dress shoe was about to land on the back of my hand, a large hand violently grabbed Caleb’s collar, sending him flying!

“Bang!”

Caleb crashed heavily into the champagne tower, sending glass shattering everywhere.

The entire hall fell silent.

Ethan stood in front of me, radiating terrifying rage. He looked down at Caleb on the floor, his voice as cold as an icy blade.

“Who the hell do you think you are, laying a hand on what’s mine?”

Caleb scrambled to his feet, gritting his teeth. “Ethan! She killed Chloe! I’m avenging Chloe!”

“Avenging?” Ethan sneered, taking slow steps towards Caleb. “She owes Chloe a life, and only I can collect that debt. When did it become your place to discipline what’s mine?”

He turned, casting a cold glance at me, still sprawled on the floor.

“Aren’t you getting up? Are you trying to make an even bigger spectacle of yourself?”

I bit down hard on my lip, enduring the burning pain on the back of my hand, and slowly pushed myself up against the wall.

I kept my head down, looking at my swollen, blistered right hand, a flicker of despair in my eyes.

Ethan protected me, not out of concern.

It was only because I was his personal torment. No one else was even qualified to inflict pain on me.

“Let’s go.” Ethan grabbed my uninjured left wrist and strode out.

I stumbled after him, the cramping in my stomach reaching its peak.

Just as we stepped out of the banquet hall doors, my vision blurred, and I collapsed forward.

I was roused by a violent shaking.

Opening my eyes, I found myself back in the living room of the Long Island mansion. Ethan was gripping my shoulders, his face terrifyingly grim.

“How many more times will you play the fainting game?” Ethan let go abruptly when he saw I was awake, tossing me onto the sofa.

I didn't argue. I was in too much pain.

My stomach felt like countless knives were twisting inside. Cold sweat soaked my clothes. I curled up on the sofa, pressing both hands against my abdomen, my breathing rapid and shallow.

“My… my bag…” I choked out a few words, my eyes searching for my purse, which had been tossed onto the coffee table.

It held the powerful painkillers the doctor had prescribed. Without them, I would die of pain tonight.

I struggled to reach out, trying to grab the bag.

But Ethan moved faster, picking it up.

“Looking for something?” He looked at me coldly, then directly emptied the contents of the bag onto the coffee table.

Lipstick, tissues, keys, and a plain white plastic bottle with no label.

My pupils constricted. I lunged forward, trying to snatch the bottle. “Give it back!”

Ethan deftly evaded me, holding the bottle high. He watched my panicked, almost frantic expression, his brows furrowing.

“What is this?” He twisted open the cap and shook out a few white pills.

“They’re… they’re sleeping pills,” I bit down hard, lying. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately…”

I couldn’t let him know I had stomach cancer.

If he found out, he would surely think I was using my illness to gain sympathy. He might even stop my medication, leaving me to die in agony while fully conscious.

“Sleeping pills?” Ethan sneered, his eyes instantly turning cruel. “Stella, you killed Chloe, and you still expect to get a good night’s sleep? Dream on!”

He took the pill bottle, strode into the bathroom, and in front of me, emptied the entire bottle of life-saving painkillers down the toilet.

“Whoosh—”

The flush sounded, and the white pills instantly vanished in the swirling water.

“No!” I screamed in despair. I rushed to the toilet, trying to reach in, but found nothing.

That was the last bottle of medicine!