Chapter 173
Chapter 173:
“I don’t care whether you two are business partners or lovers. And I really don’t care if your company crashes and burns.” She paused, her voice steady and unwavering. “Today, she attacked us first. The bodyguards are standing right there—you can ask them who hit who. I don’t want money. I don’t want an apology. I just want to follow the rules.”
Marc’s smile froze on his face, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Stel…”
“Are you mentally sound?” she cut him off flatly. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m not Stella Russell. If you still can’t understand basic words, go back to wherever you crawled out from. The more you speak, the more you look insane.”
Her tone was sharp, slicing through whatever sentimental nonsense he’d planned to say. She wasn’t budging.
Marc sat back stiffly, hands clenched on his knees. The difference between the woman in front of him and the Stella he remembered was too stark. Was it that he had never really known her? Or had someone changed her?
It didn’t take long for Marc to settle on the latter. He thought of William—Stella had changed the moment William entered the picture. She had become colder, sharper, more distant. She wouldn’t even spare Marc a glance now.
But William wouldn’t always be there. Someone like him was probably just having fun.
He might protect Stella now, but could he protect her forever? What did a man like that want with a divorced woman from a poor background? The Briggs family would never accept someone like Stella.
Marc was certain of one thing—once William discarded her, she’d come crawling back. Eventually, she’d beg him.
Just thinking about it made Marc look at Stella with a more complicated expression.
Stella caught every subtle shift in Marc’s expression. After spending years with him, she could read him like a book and knew exactly what he was thinking. But she couldn’t be bothered. Let him daydream all he wanted. It wasn’t going to change a thing for her.
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Getting to her feet, she turned to Rita and said, “Come on, Rita, let’s go.” As they headed back to the institute, she glanced at the honest, down-to-earth girl sitting next to her. She couldn’t hide her amazement. “Rita, I honestly didn’t expect you to be that good at fighting!”
Rita scratched her head sheepishly, a hint of pink on her cheeks. “Haha, it’s nothing big. My family’s been into boxing for three generations, so I picked up some basic stuff growing up.”
Stella was genuinely impressed by how modest she was. “You’re seriously amazing, though! You handled those two bodyguards like it was nothing.”
Rita wasn’t used to praise like that and felt a little bashful. She quickly waved her hand and mumbled, “Oh, Ms. Russell, you’re exaggerating. It wasn’t that impressive!”
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