“No! Stella, don’t go!”
Adrian instinctively reached for her hand with his bloodied one, but she dodged it without hesitation.
Lucas licked his dry lips and struggled to speak. “Stella, I’m no worse than James. Anything he can do, I can do too. I’ll treat you better than before. Can’t we start over?”
Maxwell’s face was filled with sorrow and devastation. His hands hung at his sides, clenched tightly, driving the thumbtacks deeper as blood continued to flow through the gaps between his fingers.
As if feeling no pain, he gritted his teeth, his eyes red with emotion. “Stella, you once promised to stay with us forever. I will never give up. The past isn’t over! I won’t allow it to be over!”
“Why should we be the only ones suffering for the past? Stella, this isn’t fair.”
Hearing their words, James’s eyes showed nothing but disgust and coldness.
“Fair? When has love ever been about fairness? Was it fair when you all abandoned Stella for Natalie?”
“You failed to cherish Stella, so someone else will. The only advantage I have over you is that I’ve never loved anyone else.”
With that, he cast a contemptuous glance at them, rose from his wheelchair, and took Stella’s hand as they walked back into the mansion.
As the doors of the He residence closed, he coldly delivered a final message:
“Remove these unwelcome guests and never let them in again.”
Several security guards immediately responded with “Yes, sir” and hurried to escort them out.
For several days afterward, Adrian, Lucas, and Maxwell couldn’t find an opportunity to see Stella.
The mementos they sent to the Wilson residence, hoping to evoke her memories, were all thrown in the trash without earning even a glance from her.
They had tried everything, yet remained exactly where they started.
Numerous friends in their social circle forwarded them a video clip of Stella and James embracing and kissing beneath fireworks.
Under the brilliantly exploding fireworks, the couple looked like a painting come to life.
Their passionate kiss and the intense love in their eyes when they looked at each other was unmistakable.
Friends curiously asked: “It seems Stella has genuinely fallen for James. What are you going to do now?”
16:40
Chapter 19
“Maybe it’s time to give up. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Women who’d love to be with you could form a line from the city all the way to France. Perhaps it’s time to consider other women.”
Adrian watched the video over and over, his heart so bitter it had grown numb.
But how could he give up on someone he had loved for over a decade?
If he hadn’t lost his memory back then, would he be the one embracing and kissing Stella now?
No one could answer that question.
Sitting alone in his cold room, everything had been restored to how it was before. All the decorations were in styles Stella had liked, yet there wasn’t a trace of her presence.
Dark circles shadowed Adrian’s eyes; he had lost count of how many nights he’d gone without proper rest.
Though he lay in bed with his eyes closed, sleep eluded him.
Stella’s image kept appearing before him.
The first time he saw her, she was like a homeless kitten–obedient yet endearing with her sweet ways.
He couldn’t understand what kind of parents would abandon such a child.
Out of sympathy, he had tried his best to be good to her. Even when two competitors appeared, he didn’t mind.
Instead, he thought that having two more people who loved her would make her more confident and radiant.
16:40
