âThose people were indeed sent by Erin. He wanted to scare you, but unfortunately your uncle overheard it. He immediately encouraged me to bribe those people and make them act for real. I was confused at the time and thought that if Erinâs reputation was ruined, I wouldnât have to endure his insults anymore, so I reluctantly agreedâ¦â
Karen finished speaking with a pitiful expression, gently touching Stellaâs face.
âIâm really sorry, Stella. I wasnât thinking clearly at the time. Erin deceived me, otherwise I would never have hurt you. After seeing what you went through, I deeply regretted it and felt incredibly guiltyâ¦â
Stella remained still, letting Karenâs cold fingertips glide across her face. Her blood ran cold, like being trapped in an icy pond, unable to struggle free, only allowing the coldness to envelope her.
She knew that Karenâs words were half true and half false, the only thing she believed was that Erin didnât want those people to gang rape her, he just wanted to scare her. So thatâs why Erin never explained anything?
Suppressing her anger, Stella slowly lifted her vacant gaze and looked into Karenâs eyes, void of any cruelty. She asked calmly, âWhen you punished him using family methods, did he explain himself?â
While Stella was in the hospital, she heard that apart from the thugs who fell into the water, the others who were caught and sent to prison didnât reveal the mastermind behind it. Erin narrowly escaped.
It was after Stella woke up that Karen forced her to accuse Erin. Erin was standing by her hospital bed at the time, wanting to explain something, but Thomas slapped him several times and he chose to remain silent.
Stella knew that after he was taken back by the Simpson family, he was severely dealt with. She didnât witness it firsthand, but she saw Erin covered in blood when he came to her hospital room. He wanted to come in, but Karen wouldnât let him get close.
Until Stella recovered and found out she was pregnant, Erin hadnât seen her alone. Even when she had an abortion, Erin didnât explain anything. If he only wanted to scare her, why didnât he explain to her?
Karen didnât really want to tell Stella, but seeing that Stella didnât blame her, she reluctantly said, âWhen the Simpson family punished him, he did explain that it was just a scare, but he didnât expect those people to take it seriously. When I heard him say that, I was afraid the Simpson family would believe him, so I slapped him and angrily accused him of making excuses. I questioned him, even if what you said was true, this whole thing happened because of him. If he hadnât done it, how could you have been gang raped? So whether it was a scare or not, you were hurt because of him. He didnât say anything after I finished speaking, probably thinking that it was indeed his fault and there was no need to explain anymoreâ¦â
So thatâs how it was. Because he also believed that he sent people, whether he explained or not didnât matter. After all, the damage had been done. In Erinâs mind, he probably always thought it was his doing, so he never mentioned this incident to herâ¦
Even when they met again, Erin treated her the same way as before. He must have believed that their relationship couldnât be reconciled because of this, so he acted like a little boy bullying a little girl, surrounding her.
Stella wanted revenge, so she seduced him and made him fall in love with her, intending to hurt him badly, thinking that this would be a successful revenge. But she didnât expect that the real enemy was sitting in front of her, looking at her with pity.
This person even claimed that Bart instigated her. How could Stella believe that? Bart wasnât even in the country at the time, how would he know that Erin wanted to scare her?
After understanding everything, Stella no longer pretended. She raised her finger, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and looked at Karen with cold eyes.
âIf Iâm not mistaken, you had already bribed those people, but Erin accidentally fell into your trapâ¦â
As these words came out, Karenâs expression changed drastically. She didnât expect Stella to figure this out, even though she had concealed the truth. How could Stellaâ¦
When Karen tried to find an excuse to dispel Stellaâs suspicions, she saw Stella gripping her skirt tightly, exerting great force as if she wanted to tear it off.
Karen couldnât tell from Stellaâs actions and expression whether she was shocked by the truth or suppressing her hatred. She only felt that this child had also learned how to disguise herself and was ultimately unable to control itâ¦
But regardless of whether she could control it or not, Karen wouldnât admit it and chose to remain silent.