Chapter 10

[ 780 words ]

The moment they mentioned blocking Stella’s credit card, a smug satisfaction flickered in Ursula’s eyes.

“Stella,” she thought, “not a dime of the Larkin fortune belongs to you. There can only be one daughter in the Larkin family, and that’s me.”

While she reveled in her thoughts, her façade of concern was impeccable, “But blocking her card, how will she survive? She’s been living off the Larkin’s for the past two years without a job.”

Jaxon chimed in, “Ursula, stop making excuses for her. It’s time we taught her a lesson.”

Ursula looked hesitated, glancing towards Cloudia, who nodded in agreement, “Listen to your brother. It’s about time she learned to be a proper lady.”

Just the thought of Stella’s fiery temperament gave Cloudia a headache. She couldn’t believe Stella would let go of her feelings for Yorick so easily. To her, the debacle two years ago was all because of Yorick. Accusations flew that the car accident was orchestrated by Ursula, all because of her obsession with Yorick.

Ursula’s gaze then shifted to Yorick, who frowned but remained silent, evidently agreeing with Cloudia and Jaxon’s approach.

Cloudia then turned her attention to Ursula’s ankle, “How’s the injury? Is it serious?”

Ursula shook her head, “It’s nothing serious. Rick insisted on bringing me to the hospital.”

Cloudia reassured, “It’s better to be cautious. Your dad arranged the best specialist to re-examine you.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

“Silly child, there’s no need to thank me.”

As Cloudia heard Ursula’s gratitude, her heart ached for her.

So, the family gathered, their concern for Ursula mingling with discussions on how to discipline Stella. They unanimously decided to cut off her two thousand monthly allowance, hoping this would force Stella to compromise and drop the matter with Ursula.

In the end, their confidence stemmed from believing that Stella’s love for Yorick was intense, that she was just acting out. This time, they wouldn’t even give her any chance of being petulant.

***

Meanwhile, Stella had spent the entire afternoon in a meeting at her studio.

This was a major project, a historic moment for the design industry, and Stella was giving it her all. Securing the financial backing was crucial.

As she left the studio, it was already six.

“Star?” Susanna’s voice echoed nearby, sounding a bit astonished, almost as if she couldn’t believe she’d run into Stella there.

The area was bustling with people leaving their offices at peak hours.

Turning around, Stella saw Susanna approaching, “What are you doing here? Looking for a job?”

The three buildings around were all office spaces, home to numerous small firms.

Before Stella could reply, Susanna blurted out, “I offered you money, and you refused. Now you’re here job hunting?”

Stella suggested, “Let’s grab dinner, and I’ll explain everything.”

Her studio was unknown to Susanna, and it wasn’t something she could explain in a few sentences.

They ended up at a place serving stew. Half an hour into their meal, Susanna was taken aback to learn about Stella’s studio, “You’ve kept this under wraps pretty well. I had no idea.” If Susanna was in the dark, then the Larkin family and Yorick were likely clueless too.

Stella shrugged, “It’s not something I felt the need to bring up every time we talked.”

That made sense to Susanna. They had met abroad and usually discussed girl stuff. Even when Susanna talked with Stella about her work, the conversations were brief. “So, it’s been a year?” Susanna inquired.

Stella nodded affirmatively, “Yeah, been a year.”

“And it’s profitable?”

That was the crucial question. If Stella was financially independent, she wouldn’t need to concern herself with Yorick.

Stella answered, “A few hundreds of thousands in profit.”

Susanna’s jaw dropped. The scale of “a few” was evidently different between them.

“A travel design studio, making that much in its first year?”

Most startups barely broke even their first year, yet Stella’s was thriving.

Stella cautioned, “The design is satisfactory, and so is the profit. Let’s not broadcast this.”

“Understood,” Susanna nodded, realizing the implications.

Ursula, that wretch, always thought of snatching away whatever Stella had, and she remembered, Ursula was also in this major.

And Yorick, with questionable morals and now after the altercation with Stella, could likely cause trouble behind their back.

“You don’t have to care about them anymore. They’re trying to strong-arm you financially by blocking your card,” Susanna concluded.

Stella’s card had already been disabled, their ulterior motives evident. It was all to silence Stella about the alleged accident orchestrated by Ursula. For the sake of that foster daughter, the family seemed to pull all their efforts.

“Does Tegan James know about the studio?”

Stella replied, “No, we haven’t been in touch lately. She’s always busy with the hospital.”

Tegan, their mutual best friend and a prodigious professor in gynecology, was undoubtedly the busiest among them.

Susanna nodded, “That makes sense. She’s so busy. I haven’t seen her in a month either.”

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