Chapter 11
Julian stared at his signature, which was scrawled on the resignation letter. The memories from that night came back to him,
He realized Stella had tried to ask for some of his time back then because she wanted to bring up her plans to resign. Yet, Julian signed the document right away without looking at it first since he was in a hurry to propose to Ariana.
“Why didn’t you say anything, Stella?” Julian bellowed internally.
There was no way he would ever sign the letter and let her leave if Stella had told him that she was planning to resign.
“No, it can’t be. If she’s resigning now, what about her debt? Is she not worried about the repercussions?” he pondered.
Julian grasped onto his final hope and opened the page showing the loan platform.
Since the day he and Stella signed the contract, Julian had asked for her account information on the platform so that he could always monitor how much debt she had left.
However, Julian had stopped logging in to check the amount within the first month. It was because Stella owed him an enormous amount of money. Julian reckoned she would never be able to pay off her debt.
Even if she did, he figured Stella could not possibly bear to part with him when they had shared such an intimate relationship for so many years.
Julian’s fingers were shaking as he gripped his phone and stared at the page, which indicated that Stella’s debt was cleared.
His eyes throbbed painfully. It was as though the dead Ethan was mocking Julian for his arrogance and ignorance.
The sharp pain in his eyes reminded Julian that the biggest reason Stella had stayed by his side was the pair of eyes he had. Those were the eyes that once belonged to her dead lover.
Yet, Stella abandoned these eyes and left without showing any hint of hesitation. It was as if she were abandoning everything related to Julian. She was severing all connections she had to him, whether it was about the money or her past lover.
Julian could not understand how Stella could be so heartless. She could have told him if she needed money or if she did not want to conceive a child.
They had formed such an intimate relationship over the past few years. They were also constantly by each other’s side, whether at work or in their private life. Julian could not fathom how she could bring herself to leave him behind just like that.
He was pretty out of it as he got back to Chapman Manor. Julian opened the door to the room Stella had once used as her bedroom. He lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Previously, he had offered Stella this place as her living space. After Ariana moved into the room, she had changed the furniture and decor. Julian could no longer find any trace of Stella here.
He had no idea where to look for her. Even if he managed to find Stella, Julian was not sure what he could do to persuade her to come back to him.
The contract was fulfilled, and Stella had cleared her debt. She no longer had to provide any services to Julian.
She did not even want to take another look at his eyes.
ཆ ཇ བར
Julian felt as though Stella had sliced a piece of flesh off his heart. His heart was bleeding, and Julian was in a lot of pain.
The sound of a pair of heels clacking on the floor drew nearer, but Julian did not get up. He knew that Stella did not like wearing heels. So, the person who just came back was not her
“Jules, you’re back. Where have you been? I was so worried about you. It was all my fault. I’ve bought you some eye drop solution. Can you please not be mad at me anymore?”
Ariana slowly walked over to Julian and placed the bag containing several bottles of eye drop solution on the bedside table. Then, she leaned forward, circled her arms around Julian’s neck, and buried her face in the nape of his neck.
However, Julian stared absently at the ceiling. It was as if he were completely oblivious to her presence. He treated Ariana as if she were invisible.
Ariana had not once been ignored by him this way. She was so flustered that her eyes turned red. Her tears fell on Julian’s shirt and seeped through the
fabric.
She sobbed pitifully, “Are you still mad, Jules? I know that I’m wrong now. I had no idea you underwent eye surgery before. I was wrong! I should have
known about it!”
Ariana raised her hand and slapped herself on the cheek. However, it did not leave any mark on her face since she had hardly put any force in her hand.
Julian finally turned his head when he heard the noise. He held Ariana’s hand.
Julian said in a rough voice, “Stella signed a contract with me three years ago so that she could pay off her debt. Now that she has cleared the debt, Stella submitted her resignation and left.”
Ariana was visibly delighted. She held Julian’s face in her hands and pecked him on the cheek.
“That’s wonderful! I’ve found that woman repulsive since before. She’s devious and calculative. Heaven knows how much of your money she’s pocketed. She even planned on marrying into the Chapman family previously.
“She tried to use that awful method to ruin my reputation before. Luckily, you sided with me and defended me. Now that she’s gone, we have no choice but to look for another surrogate mother.
2/2
Chapter 11
“Jules, we should proceed with the marriage registration tomorrow. Then, we can work on having a child by trying the IVF procedure!”
Ariana beamed happily. She felt like she had the whole world in her reach as she leaned against Julian’s chest.
It had been a long, tough wait of three years before she and Julian could finally get married.
To her bewilderment, Julian did not smile at all. Instead, he let go of Ariana’s hand and gave a deep sigh. “Let’s talk about that some other time. I don’t want to think about it just yet.”
Ariana felt as though she had just been struck by lightning. Her heart missed a beat. She widened her eyes and stared at Julian in disbelief.
She asked hurriedly, “Why, though? Jules, you’ve been telling me every day for the last three years that you want to marry me and find a way for us to have a kid together.
“Why would you want to postpone getting married when your parents have finally given us their blessings? I’ve waited for three years! I don’t want to have to wait any longer!”
Ariana raised her voice since she was agitated. Her voice was so shrill and unpleasant that it got Julian furrowing his brows.
