Chapter 2

The moment my father' s study door clicked shut, the facade of civility shattered.

"What the hell was that, Stella?" Andrew Morris stepped forward, his face red with anger. "The Lesters? You chose a cripple from Texas over us?"

Brian Hughes sneered. "I always knew you were a spoiled brat, but this is a new level of petty. Just because you can't have everything your way."

Ethan remained silent, but his eyes burned with a cold fury that was more unnerving than their shouted words. He finally spoke, his voice dangerously low.

"You're playing games, Stella. This is about Maria, isn't it?"

The name hung in the air, a poison I had been forced to swallow for five years.

"This is because we all know what you did to her," Ethan continued, his voice dripping with accusation.

The memory flooded back, sharp and unwelcome. Five years ago. I was sixteen. Maria had just started as an intern. She approached me one day, her eyes wide with feigned innocence, and offered me a handmade bracelet.

"Miss Anderson, I made this. It' s just a small token. I admire you so much," she had said.

I was touched by the gesture from a new staff member and accepted it with a smile. But the moment the bracelet was on my wrist, Ethan, Andrew, and Brian appeared.

"Give it back, Stella," Ethan had commanded, his face stern.

"What?" I was confused.

Maria burst into tears. "It's okay, Ethan. I wanted her to have it. It's... it was my grandmother's. But if Miss Anderson likes it, she should keep it."

Her words painted me as a monster, a cruel heiress bullying a poor intern into giving up a precious family heirloom. Their faces hardened, their judgment swift and absolute. I tried to explain, to give it back, but Maria's performance was flawless. She sobbed that she was afraid of offending me.

That single, calculated lie poisoned everything. From that day on, in their eyes, I was no longer the girl Ethan was supposed to love; I was a cruel, entitled tyrant.

"That bracelet incident," I said now, my voice hollow. "You still believe her."

"We saw what we saw," Andrew spat. "You, with her family heirloom. Her, in tears."

I felt a wave of exhaustion. For five years, I had lived with their contempt, hoping one day the truth would surface. Now I knew it never would. They didn't want the truth.

Ethan took another step closer. "You're punishing us for that. Fine. But you're taking it too far."

"Speaking of taking things too far," I said, my gaze turning to ice. "The rooftop garden. My father has been building it for me since last year. It was meant to be a surprise for my 21st birthday next week."

They all shifted uncomfortably.

"I found out Maria hosted a party there last night," I stated flatly. "With your permission."

Ethan had the audacity to look condescending. "She just wanted to celebrate with a few friends. It's just a garden, Stella. Don't be so possessive."

He then offered, as if granting me a great favor, "Look, I'll make it up to you. At your birthday gala, I'll announce our engagement. It'll smooth everything over. Everyone will forget about this little tantrum of yours."

The sheer arrogance of it took my breath away. He thought he could steal my company, humiliate me, and then "appease" me with the very proposal he'd use to destroy me.

I looked him straight in the eye.

"No," I said. The word was quiet, but final. "I will not marry you, Ethan."

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face, quickly replaced by anger.

"You will regret this, Stella," he warned.

"I'm already regretting the last ten years," I replied, turning my back on them. "Now get out of my house."