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When young hearts first stirred, Adrian developed a competitive awareness. He wanted her to focus more on him, so he tried his hardest to win her heart, attempting to open the doors to her affection.
She had been shy and uncertain because Lucas and Maxwell had also confessed to her. In her panic, she hadn’t accepted any of them.
But they hadn’t given up, continuing to treat her well.
When the earthquake struck, he had shielded her without a second thought, hoping only that she would survive.
After losing his memory, he had watched the love in her eyes gradually transform into disappointment and numbness, causing his own heart to ache intensely.
Countless images flashed through his mind, finally freezing on the image of her running toward James.
“Stella!” Adrian’s bloodshot eyes snapped open as he reached out, grabbing only air.
Desperate to see Stella, he made a call to have her followed.
Shortly after receiving her exact location, Adrian grabbed his car keys and left home.
However, when he finally spotted Stella, the name he was about to call out died in his throat.
Stella and James were walking hand in hand, fingers intertwined, like any ordinary couple strolling down the
street.
Occasionally, when something amusing came up, she would laugh with her eyes curving into crescents, playfully swinging James’s hand.
When a cold breeze blew past, she nestled into James’s coat, continuing their intimate walk.
This version of Stella was one Adrian had never seen before.
In the past, even at their closest, there had always seemed to be an invisible barrier between her and the three men.
But with James, things were different.
Exactly how they were different, Adrian couldn’t quite understand.
He watched the scene with a masochistic fascination, with no intention of leaving.
At some point, Stella and James turned a corner and disappeared from view.
The private investigator he had hired went silent, and he could no longer trace her whereabouts.
Almost instantly, Adrian realized that everything he had just witnessed was something Stella or James had wanted
him to see.
16:40
Chapter 20
It was nothing more than a warning.
Adrian wandered aimlessly through the streets, the emptiness beside him mirroring his own sense of loss.
At the bar, Lucas was drinking one glass after another.
The strong alcohol burned his throat, yet he felt increasingly sober.
With a self–destructive obsession, he kept replaying the video of Stella and James kissing. Even when his phone died, he continued staring blankly at the dark screen.
His heart felt hollow. Only the deafening music of the bar kept him from sinking into endless loneliness and despair.
A provocatively dressed girl approached Lucas.
“Hey handsome, I’ve been watching you for a while. Can I get your contact info?” she asked with a flush on her face.
Lucas didn’t even look up, his voice icy cold: “Get lost! Don’t make me say it twice!”
His frustration was evident in his furrowed brow.
The bartender kindly advised, “Miss, you should give up. This gentleman has already rejected countless others tonight.”
Still persistent, the girl asked:
“Did you just go through a breakup? The best way to forget an old relationship is to start a new one. Want to give it a try with me?”
Her words ignited the fury within Lucas.
He laughed coldly, “Is that so? So Stella and James starting a relationship means they’ll forget our past? I don’t accept that!”
Filled with anger, he roughly pushed the girl aside and stormed out of the bar.
With alcohol clouding his judgment, he broke into Bennett’s family home and lay in her room, inhaling the lingering scent of her perfume, murmuring her name until he fell into a deep sleep.
“Stella, don’t forget me… don’t give up on me…”
Meanwhile, Maxwell stubbornly maintained his vigil outside the Wilson mansion.
He had paid a premium price for a villa near the Wilson residence but showed no intention of using it for rest.
His phone lay shattered on the ground, broken by his own hand.
Yet the video from earlier remained seared into his mind.
He had waited outside the villa for a day and night, refusing to leave.
16:40
Chapter 20
Servants and security had tried to drive him away multiple times, but he remained steadfast.
Stella and James hadn’t returned.
Maxwell’s jealousy and resentment toward James grew with each passing moment.
What might they be doing tonight?
They had already kissed–what would come next?
Surely they had shared every intimate moment possible by now?
He clenched his fists tightly and struck the Wilson family’s gate with such force that his hand bled, yet he showed no reaction to the pain.
When Mr. and Mrs. Wilson witnessed this, they smirked coldly before suddenly opening the door and issuing a stern warning:
“Stella has no future with you three. She and James are married, they’ve made it official, and they’re currently on their honeymoon. If you continue to disturb them, we will not be so courteous!”
