Chapter 2

Stella Sterling POV

The atmosphere in the Livehouse reached its peak as the band began their encore, and the crowd below descended into complete frenzy.

The mass of people surged forward like a tide, and my body swayed precariously among the frenzied fans.

I was shoved by those around me, stumbled, and fell hard less than ten feet from Ethan's VIP booth.

My knee slammed into the edge of a hard step, and searing pain shot through me.

The commotion caught the bodyguards' attention.

Several black-suited security guards rushed forward, forcibly separating the surging crowd and roughly shoving me, who had fallen to the ground, back.

"Stand back! Don't disturb Mr. Lancaster and Miss Lynn!"

The bodyguard's cold voice cut clearly through the noisy music.

My palm scraped across the rough floor, tearing away a large patch of skin and drawing blood.

I didn't cry out in pain. I just raised my head and looked directly at Ethan across the short distance between us.

Ethan had clearly noticed the disturbance.

He frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over coldly.

When he saw it was me, a flash of shock crossed his deep eyes, but it vanished instantly, replaced by undisguised annoyance and ice.

He didn't come forward to help me up.

He didn't even stop the bodyguards' rough treatment.

He simply turned aside instinctively, completely shielding the startled Miranda behind him, as if I were some dangerous beast that might bring harm.

"What are you doing here?"

Ethan looked down at me from his superior position, his voice cold as ice.

"Stella, have you sunk to stalking now?"

Stalking.

Sunk to.

Those words were like sharp knives, stabbing precisely into my heart.

Pain wracked my entire body, but I stubbornly refused to look away.

I gazed at Ethan's devastatingly handsome face and suddenly found it utterly unfamiliar.

"I was just passing by."

I forced myself to stand up from the ground, my voice hoarse and dry from not speaking loudly in so long.

"I apologize for disturbing Mr. Lancaster and Miss Lynn."

Miranda peeked out from behind Ethan. Seeing the blood on my hand, she immediately covered her mouth with a gasp.

"Oh my God, Stella, you're bleeding! Ethan, you should have someone take her to the hospital. There are too many people here, it's too dangerous."

Her concern sounded so sincere, as if she were the legitimate Mrs. Lancaster, while I was just a stranger who'd accidentally wandered into their world.

But Ethan didn't even glance at the wound on my hand, his tone utterly flat.

"Don't worry about her. She has legs, she can go to the hospital herself."

Then he turned to the bodyguards with a cold order.

"Clear out the irrelevant people. Don't let them frighten Miranda again."

Irrelevant people.

I silently chewed on those words in my mind and let out a low laugh.

Three years of marriage, over a thousand days and nights of companionship and compromise. In his eyes, I was just an "irrelevant person."

Following their orders, the bodyguards immediately stepped forward and gestured dismissively.

"Miss, please leave immediately."

I didn't look at Ethan again.

I straightened my back, turned around, and walked out that door step by step without looking back.

Outside, a cold autumn rain had started falling at some point.

Icy raindrops pelted my face and body, instantly soaking me to the bone.

I didn't open an umbrella or call a car. I just walked aimlessly along the empty street.

Flashing through my mind were the absurd five years I'd spent.

At twenty, I fell in love with Ethan Lancaster at first sight at a Sterling family banquet.

Back then, he was the brightest rising star, cold, ascetic, utterly unattainable.

Like a fool, I set aside all my pride to pursue him.

I learned to cook for him, tempered my personality for him, and even during the six months after his car accident from family power struggles when he was temporarily blind, I stayed by his hospital bed for the entire half year.

Later, he finally agreed to marry me.

I thought I'd finally moved his heart.

Our wedding night. He coldly tossed me a prenuptial agreement and laid down that "absolute silence" rule.

That's when I finally understood.

He married me for the Sterling family's influence. And because I was obedient. Quiet. Easy to keep in line.

And now, Miranda had returned.

The woman who could make him break all his rules, who could make him willingly endure noise, had returned.

I stopped walking, tilted my head back, and let the icy rain wash over the tears on my face.

Enough.

Really, enough.

Though I'd loved him humbly, the pride in my bones hadn't completely died.

Since he didn't love me, since his heart would forever hold only another woman, then I was done serving him.

These three years. I'd just consider them wasted on a dog.

I wiped the rain from my face.

I pulled out my phone and called my lawyer.

"Mr. Williams, draft a divorce agreement for me. As soon as possible."