Chapter 7

Celine scrolled through the group chat on Stellan's phone—the one with his closest friends. "Did that little pre-engagement 'appetizer' satisfy Celine enough?" "Hearing her sob and beg outside the door was almost too hilarious!" "She always acted so high and mighty, calling herself an artist. And now? Thugs just slammed her down onto a table like some tattered doll!" "Why bother saving her, Stellan? You should've let those thugs finish her off!" "Seriously. She had her uterus removed, and now she's going blind. She can't even give you kids anymore. What's the point of keeping her around?" "Right. Stellan, don't tell me that you're getting soft now. Remember—Lucia died because of her!" "Yeah! Lucia would never have jumped into the ocean and drowned if it weren't for her. We lost her for good and couldn't even recover her body!" As she read the messages, Celine gripped her phone so tightly that her knuckles went white. She scrolled through the chat logs until she reached Stellan's reply. "Did I forget my hatred? Not at all. But any woman I've touched—even if she were an enemy—belongs to me alone. I saved her because I know her. If those men had really taken her, she wouldn't have wanted to go on living. And our plan to ruin her at the engagement ceremony would've been wasted, don't you think?" Celine's heart twisted as if a knife had cut straight through it. Stellan had saved her only to hurt her even more. His goal was to make her life unbearable. She kept scrolling through the messages. "You've thought of everything, Stellan!" "We've fabricated evidence to prove Celine plagiarized Lucia's work. At the engagement ceremony, we'll expose her before everyone." "Exactly. We'll ruin her reputation so completely she'll never recover in the ceramics industry!" "I can only imagine the look on her face when we rebrand all her pieces as Lucia's and label her as a plagiarist." "Truthfully, I'm more excited to see her reaction when Stellan plays that video from three years ago—the one where those thugs stripped her—along with those slutty photos of her and Stellan on the big screen." "Then, Stellan will denounce her as a whore and leave her in front of everyone. Do you think she'll kill herself right then and there?" "Just the idea is thrilling!" "I can't wait for the engagement ceremony!" Those cold, merciless words sent a frozen numbness through Celine's body. Her hands shook as she took off her glasses. She then pulled her knees to her chest in a tight embrace. The cruelty of their scheme made her jaw tighten unconsciously. She thought they were heartless monsters. The door creaked open. Stellan walked in with a bowl of soup, but his smile vanished when he saw his phone in Celine's hand, her face pale and stricken. Panic flickered in his eyes. "Celine, why do you have my phone?" He rushed to her side, setting the soup down and snatching the phone. When Celine looked up at him, her heart pounded, her breaths short and uneven. She tried to speak, but no words came out. All she could do was shake her head helplessly. Stellan grew more frantic at the sight and carefully steadied her. "What's going on, Celine? What happened?" He looked at his phone, guilt churning in his chest. The screen remained locked, and since she wasn't wearing her glasses, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Stellan pulled her close and murmured, "Celine, I'm sorry. This is on me. I should've watched out for you better. I never wanted you to be scared. Those guys had the wrong room. "I made sure that they paid for it. I swear, from now on, I'll keep you safe. No one will hurt you again." His voice was thick with emotion.