Damn it!

I'm tired and sore all over, like I’ve been pulled apart.

Stella stared at the crystal-clear chandelier on the ceiling, scenes from the previous night flashing through her mind. The strong man who had repeatedly demanded her affection had pressed down on her, but her consciousness had been blurred—she couldn’t even make out his face clearly.

She had just returned from Italy yesterday, just in time for Lucy’s birthday party. Under Li Qingtian’s provocation, she had downed three glasses in a row! The result…

Who drugged the drink?

If she found out who it was, Stella swore she’d slap them several times on the spot.

Turning sideways, she came face to face with a stunning, bronze-skinned man. As if sensing her movement, he opened his eyes just in time, his large hands suddenly gripping her wrists.

It was him.

It was him!

Alexander!!!

Stella’s face turned as pale as death, her brain feeling as if it had just been struck by lightning. She nearly leapt out of bed in panic, but she couldn’t shake off his iron-like grip.

“Stella, you want to run away after sleeping with me?” His voice was cold—like frost in December. The disdain in his tone was so apparent, he didn’t even try to hide it.

Stella, who had been trampled like mud underfoot for the past three years, had learned how to keep her composure. She forced a reluctant smile onto her angelic face, hiding the hurt in her eyes. Chuckling, she said calmly, “Mr. Alexander, everyone was drunk last night. It’s not certain who slept with whom.”

As she spoke, she tried subtly to kick the scattered clothes on the floor toward herself. Being stark naked in the same room with him was unbearably awkward.

“Stella, what happened last night was an accident,” Alexander said in a tone as cold as ever, like he couldn’t wait to clear up any misunderstanding. “I’m your future brother-in-law—and the one I love is Lucy.”

As if she hadn’t heard clearly, he emphasized again, “Future brother-in-law.”

Lucy—her sister, and also her enemy.

Stella chuckled bitterly to herself. So, the Williams family had finally succeeded in climbing their way up to the Alexander family.

Her future brother-in-law.

Stella felt her heart twitch.

She looked up and suddenly burst into laughter. “Well, that depends on how much hush money Young Master Alexander is willing to offer to deny it.”

Alexander narrowed his eyes, his face cold and intimidating. He looked at Stella with disdain, and while getting dressed, remarked, “Name your price, Stella. Aside from marrying me or being with me, you can ask for anything else.”

Ah, his domineering arrogance certainly matched the man she’d spent a decade being infatuated with. But the more Stella thought about it, the more her heart ached.

You sure have some nerve, Alexander.

“Who would’ve thought that after three years, Young Master Alexander would become even more arrogant? Only Lucy could reject you for three years and still leave things unresolved,” Stella said, aiming right for the heart.

As always, Alexander didn’t even offer her a second glance, not a word of acknowledgment.

He kept his distance, as if just being in the same room with her was a disgrace.

If not for what happened last night, he probably would’ve found it humiliating to even breathe the same air.

Just like three years ago—when she revolved her life around him, giving in to his every whim—his attitude remained the same:

Cold, aloof, and merciless.

“Three hundred and fifty thousand,” Stella said lazily. “A small amount for someone like you, Young Master Alexander.”

She got up slowly, gracefully pulling on the clothes she had gathered from the floor, moving with the careless elegance of a noblewoman in her own home.