FULL NOVELXO Chapter 266
"And with Ursula, the hospital's forcing her out now, stopped all her meds. She's practically sending us all to a death sentence. Did we really wrong her that much?" Over the phone, Cloudia was fuming.
No wonder she's been on a warpath lately. Growing up with the Lugar family and not a word about it.
The more Cloudia thought about it, the angrier she became.
On the other end, Blaise was silent, his breath growing more uneven as the shock sank in.
The Lugar family...
Stella was, in fact, the sister of the renowned Mr. Quinn from Ferrowland.
Like Ursula and Jaxon... then their relationship...
"You jerk! What did you do to her before?"
Blaise's anger exploded. His chest heaved, his fury palpable.
Cloudia retorted, "What do you mean what did I do? She never told me she grew up with the Lugar family."
She'd always thought Stella was just some country girl. The plan had been to groom her, slowly introduce her to society- but Stella had turned out utterly uncoachable. The memory of Stella's attitude toward her only stoked Cloudia's anger further.
Blaise struggled to find words. "I mean you, you..."
He was too angry to speak properly, unsure of how to respond to Cloudia anymore.
But they both realized. If Stella didn't relent, the Larkin Group would crumble under Ronald's grip.
"You're at Spring Hill now, right? Go see her. Explain everything," Cloudia blurted out, barely thinking.
Given Stella's current attitude toward him, Blaise knew a meeting was unlikely, let alone a chance to clear the air.
Blaise scoffed. "You think she wants to see me now?"
The very thought deepened his frustration.
Without wasting another moment on Cloudia, Blaise hung up and headed straight to the apartment shared by Stella and Ronald.
...
Meanwhile.
After taking her medication, Stella's fever began to subside. A strange sensation coursed through her body, and she groggily opened her eyes. Only to see Ronald applying ointment to her.
Startled, Stella jolted upright and gripped Ronald's wrist. "What are you doing?"
Where was he applying it?
Initially weakened by the fever, Stella now snapped to full alertness.
Ronald glanced at her. "Finley said your wound needs this ointment, or it won't heal. If you don't use it, it could get infected again." "Finley knows too?"
Ronald frowned. "What do you mean?"
Why was she reacting like this? Was their relationship really that embarrassing for others to know?
Stella, sensing his displeasure, swallowed hard. "I just..."
Her mind was a blur, unable to make sense of anything.
Ronald gently removed her hand. "Stay still, won't you?" Stella was rigid.
Every part of her wanted to resist, but the memory of his earlier insistence on checking her wound weighed heavily on her. She knew there was no point in fighting him now.
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Eventually, she let go.
Seeing her relent, Ronald's smile deepened. "That's a good girl."
"Just relax, it's only ointment."
His words did little to calm her- if anything, Stella's breathing became more erratic. What else could he possibly want, given her condition?
Feeling a surge of awkwardness, she yanked the blanket over her face.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Ronald chuckled. "Are you being shy, Star?"
Stella pleaded, "Please, no talking."
Especially not like that. She was completely defenseless.
Ronald continued, "Given your injuries, a hot spring is out of the question. Let's head back to the Wave Residence."
The cabin was too cramped, and the higher altitude only made the air colder. Returning made sense.
Stella hummed in agreement. She didn't need Ronald to remind her that the hot spring was off-limits.
After finishing with the ointment,
Ronald coaxed her into drinking
some soup. Once he confirmed her temperature was back to normal, he wrapped her up warmly, ready to take her back to the Wave
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Residence.