Chapter 1

For ten years, I was just a stand-in for Ethan Reid and Adrian Cross.

When Isabella came back, she stole my design drafts and put her name on them.

They said they'd love me forever.

Then I found them in bed with her. They were calling her "baby" while she moaned beneath them."

That's when I knew. Isabella was the one they'd really loved all along.

I packed my bags. Burned every photo we'd taken. Left for Milan.

Later, they knelt in the rain, begging me to come back.

But I held my fiancé's arm and looked down at them. I tossed them a check.

"Go back to where you came from. Don't ever show up in front of me again."

Stella Hart POV

After confirming my acceptance of the Milan Design Academy's offer, I exited the group chat called "Stella's Exclusive Knights."

The group originally had only three people: me, Ethan, and Adrian.

But six months ago, a fourth person was added. Isabella.

The name also changed to "One Happy Family."

The moment I left the chat, I didn't hesitate for a second. It felt like finally cutting away a piece of rotting flesh.

On my desk sat a photo of the three of us.

In it, Ethan's cold, sharp features were uncharacteristically gentle as he looked down adjusting my scarf.

Adrian smiled brightly, his arm around my shoulders from behind, like he was protecting some priceless treasure.

I picked up the frame, pulled out the photo, and tore it into pieces without expression, tossing them into the trash bin at my feet.

"Ethan, Adrian, these ten years of entanglement end here."

My phone screen lit up with a private message from Adrian.

"Stella, are you coming to Isabella's welcome dinner tonight or not? Can you stop making a scene? Everyone's waiting for you."

Immediately after, Ethan sent one too. "She just got to New York and doesn't have many friends. As an investor in the studio, can't you help her out?"

I smiled bitterly and didn't reply. Instead, I opened the Instagram post Isabella had made half an hour ago.

In the photo, Isabella wore a haute couture gown with a dazzling sapphire necklace around her neck, smiling sweetly as she stood between Ethan and Adrian.

The caption: "Thank you to my beloved brothers for this surprise. I feel like a little princess."

My gaze locked onto that sapphire necklace.

It was my mother's keepsake, locked away in the studio safe. Only the three of us knew the password.

I took a deep breath and called Ethan.

"Why is my necklace on Isabella's neck?" My voice was surprisingly calm.

There was a pause on the other end, then Ethan's unconcerned voice came through. "Isabella didn't have suitable jewelry for tonight. I saw that necklace wasn't being worn, so I let her borrow it. Don't be so petty. It's just a necklace. If you want it, I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."

Adrian's voice came from nearby, tinged with impatience. "Stella Hart, can you stop making a scene? Isabella's had such a hard life. She finally has one happy evening, and you have to ruin it right now? What we did was wrong, but we're the ones who opened the safe. If you want to blame someone, blame us."

I heard the background music from the party and Isabella's delicate laughter through the phone, and felt my stomach turn.

Before, if anyone so much as looked at me the wrong way, Ethan and Adrian would gouge their eyes out.

When I was sixteen, at a gala, some tycoon said disrespectful things to me and tried to touch my hand.

Ethan smashed a bottle on the spot and ground the man's face into the broken glass. Adrian went further, using his family's power to bankrupt the tycoon's family and run them out of New York overnight.

They used to spoil me endlessly, creating the strictest "protection circle" around me, not allowing anyone to hurt me.

But now, they'd handed the knife to someone else themselves.

"Don't bother replacing it," I interrupted them. "Since she likes it, give it to her."

With that, I hung up and blocked both their numbers.

Seven days until my flight to Milan.