Chapter 1048

[ 740 words ]

If there was trouble, it probably had something to do with Uriah.

Yvonne was about to say more when Stella appeared at the top of the stairs, two maids trailing dutifully behind her. The moment Stella spotted Yvonne, she pouted, her annoyance plain as day, and marched straight over to plop down in the chair across from her.

One of the maids set a bowl of fruit on the table for Stella-it was well past breakfast, but Yvonne was only just starting hers. There was some kind of wellness brew waiting for Stella, too, but she barely glanced at it, picking at her fruit instead.

Yvonne glanced up and asked, “What’s got you so worked up?”

“Tegan was kidnapped yesterday,” Stella said, her voice clipped.

“What? But wasn’t Skye with her?”

“It’s a whole mess,” Stella sighed. “Skye stepped away for a minute to the restroom, literally-and that’s all it took.”

“How’s Tegan now? Is she alright?”

“She’s safe for the moment,” Stella replied, but tension still bristled in her tone. “But she was stranded in a cave on the side of a cliff, with freezing water down below and nothing but smooth rock above-no way up and no way down. It was a setup.”

Helena and Leslie -vicious didn’t even begin to cover it. Tegan had run all the way to Yoreland, and still they wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Leslie’s people?” Yvonne guessed.

“Who else?” Stella scoffed. “Helena could never pull off something like that on her own. At best, she’s just a scapegoat. But Leslie-she can throw all the scapegoats she wants under the bus, we’re not letting her get away this time. We’ve got her in our sights, and we’re not letting go.”

“And Uriah?” Yvonne ventured.

Stella’s mood took another nosedive. If only Uriah hadn’t gotten involved. “I was just on the phone with him.”

She leaned forward, her voice lowering conspiratorially, though anger still seethed beneath every word. “I told him: everyone knows Leslie’s behind all this. Want to guess what he said?”

Yvonne raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“He said—and I quote ‘Leslie isn’t like that. Don’t listen to Tegan’s wild accusations.””

Yvonne nearly smacked her forehead. Was Uriah out of his mind? Who says something like that right now? It was like he was trying to make things worse for himself.

Stella pressed on, her frustration mounting. “He insisted Leslie isn’t that kind of person. He said Tegan’s just too sensitive, that she has some kind of grudge against Leslie.”

Yvonne could feel herself bristling just listening to this nonsense. The man was unbelievable.

Stella went on, “He claimed Leslie was only in Yoreland for a little sightseeing-yeah, right. Honestly, if he loves that dreadful sister of his so much, he can go spend the rest of his life with her, for all I care.”

Yvonne’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa, easy. Deep breaths, okay?” she said quickly. “Remember, you’re carrying triplets. Let’s not get too worked up, alright?”

She tried to gently coax Stella into calming down, worried she might make herself sick with all this anger.

But Stella wasn’t having it. “When I was living in Portis City, I thought there was no one dumber than Yorick Quarry Now it turns out, the men in that city are all competing for the title.”

“Right, absolutely,” Yvonne agreed at once. Whatever Stella needed to say, she was happy to nod along; it wasn’t worth the risk of arguing and making her any angrier.

Just then, Xander, who’d been silent throughout the tirade, chose the wrong moment to speak up. “You really shouldn’t lump everyone together. That’s not fair.”

Both Yvonne and Stella snapped their heads toward him, their glares sharp enough to send chills down his spine.

Xander shrank back. Did he really say the wrong thing?

“If you don’t understand, keep out of it,” Yvonne hissed, her tone brooking no argument. Did he want to trigger World War III in the living room?

Stella’s snort was pure frost. “Of course, men always covering for each other. I suppose Ronald’s just as bad, is he?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Yvonne didn’t waste a second-she gave Xander a sharp jab in the ribs.

“Ah-ow! What was that for?” Xander yelped.

Yvonne shot him a warning glare. “Don’t put your foot in it. When a woman’s angry and venting, the only job is to listen. You don’t argue. You don’t question Unless you’re asking for trouble”

Especially since, as far as Stella was concerned, Ronald had been her rock since childhood. She wouldn’t tolerate anyone, not even Xander, suggesting a single bad word about him.

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