But just by looking at Karenâs eyes, Stella knew she hadnât guessed wrong. Karen was the one who made the first move.
Realizing this was even worse than knowing Karen had used Erinâs men to make things worse for Stella. Because that night, whether Erin had coincidentally come up with this idea or not, her own aunt would have done the same thing in Erinâs name.
After all, as long as they bribed the thugs and made them blame Erin as the mastermind, even if Erin had a hundred mouths, he wouldnât be able to explain it clearly.
So at that time, when Stella woke up, Karen didnât care about her well-being first. Instead, she kept pressing her, wanting to know who was behind it all. She claimed it was for revenge, but in reality, she wanted to destroy Erinâ¦
If Stella hadnât been blinded by family ties and hatred for Erin at that time, she should have thought carefully and not become a pawn.
Stella sneered inwardly, but remained calm as she questioned Karen.
âTell me, when did you start using me? Was it from the moment you brought me to the Simpson family, or when you manipulated me to get close to Erinâ¦â
Karen stared at Stellaâs red eyes and suddenly felt like she had awakened, seeing right through everything. Facing Stella like this, it seemed pointless to hide anymore because she could feel that after today, her niece would never care for her as before.
Thinking this, Karen reached out and grabbed Stellaâs hand, gently releasing her grip on her dress and placing Stellaâs hand in her own palm. She then covered it with her other hand.
âStella, Auntie brought you to the Simpson family because I felt sorry for you, losing both your parents.
I wanted you to have a good life with me, but I never expected Erin to transfer her hatred towards me and Andrew onto you.â
If Karen had raised Stella just to use her, she wouldnât have sent Andrew away beforehand and kept him by her side while using Stella as a shield. It was because she had no such intention that Karen didnât set any traps in that regard.
Stella could already distinguish between truth and lies, so she didnât question Karenâs words but continued to look up at her.
âThen when did you start using me?â
Since when?
Since Erin repeatedly mocked her, insulted her, and hated her with cold words, Karen wished for Erinâs death!
But with Erinâs grandfather guarding him at that time, she couldnât touch Erin.
Moreover, Erin was clever and quickly sensed something was wrong. Several times, she tried to push Erin into the water from behind, but he cleverly avoided it.
Coincidentally, she saw little Stella chasing after Erin, wanting him to teach her medical skills. She felt that Erin was much kinder to Stella than to her, so she thought if she could transfer Erinâs hatred for her onto Stella, she would have to suffer less.
She then told Thomas how pitiful and helpless Stella was, how she was constantly bullied by Erin.
Thomas heard it and saw it, and he started favoring Stella more.
Erin, being young at the time, probably felt that his fatherâs love had been taken away, which made him uncomfortable. The more he saw Stella, the more he disliked her, and Karen wanted to make it worse.
She falsely accused him of hitting Stella in front of Thomas to add fuel to the fire.
When Thomas heard about it, he didnât hesitate. As soon as Erin came back from school, he slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground. Erin foamed at the mouth, convulsing, almost unable to handle it.
He grabbed Thomasâ leg and asked through gritted teeth why he hit him. Thomas said it was because he had bullied Stella. Erin probably thought Stella had accused him falsely, causing him this injustice.
From then on, Erin completely hated Stella.
Erin did transfer some of his hatred from Karen, but the Simpson family still wanted him, the talented one, to be the heir. Despite Erinâs misdeeds, those uncles of his liked him, almost unconditionally, without considering Andrew, who was far away in Arcadia and under the care of the Evansâ butler. Karen believed that only by making Erin commit a major mistake would the Simpson family completely abandon him and consider Andrew for the inheritance.
he She started provoking Erin every now and then, of course, when no one could see or hear. Whenever Erin got angry, couldnât control his insults towards her. Karen purposely waited for Thomas to come back and acted as if she had been greatly wronged.
At that time, Thomas would scold and hit Erin, regardless of right or wrong. Every time Erin got angry, he would redirect his hatred towards Stella and find new ways to bully herâ¦
Karen made sure the servants around her knew what Erin had done to Stella, spreading it throughout the Imperial Capital circle. Erinâs reputation slowly declined, even within the Simpson family. They believed that as Erin grew older, he became more unrulyâ¦