Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Mrs. Elysia was the Lugar family's go-to fashion consultant.

As for custom tailoring and all that, Stella didn't really have a clue. Back when she was with the Quinn family, all those bespoke outfits weren't something she had to worry about. Usually, it was Ronald, Mrs. Elysia, or Yvonne who picked out her clothes. She just wore whatever they handed her.

But now that she was living on her own, she simply bought whatever caught her eye. Whether it clashed with someone else's outfit was the last thing on her mind. Yvonne teased, "So, have you gotten used to living so plainly?"

Stella was taken aback. Plainly?

"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about normal life? I think it's pretty great."

When she was with the Quinn family, everything from what she wore to what she ate was decided for her. She only had a limited range of choices, and she picked what she liked within those constraints.

But now, out in the world, everything was up to her good or bad. For instance, when it came to food and clothing, there were so many options. When she was with the Quinn family, there was a certain protocol to follow. But out here, comfort was the priority.

Yvonne scoffed, "Seems like you enjoy life out there so much you forgot how to come home."

Stella replied, "It's not like that."

She wanted to come home; she just wanted to show them that her life outside wasn't as bad as they imagined, especially with the Larkin family.

During one dinner, her mom seemed convinced that the Larkins were treating her poorly, but that wasn't the case. The Larkin family might not have been kind, but Stella wasn't one to take it lying down.

In a word, the Larkins had messed with her, and she hadn't let them off the hook either.

Before Ronald even arrived in Portis City, Stella had already used her connections to make things difficult for the Larkin Group. Otherwise, how could Ronald have taken them down so easily?

Yvonne huffed, displeased. "You say it's not like that, but you didn't even call me.' Yvonne was particularly miffed about Stella disappearing without a word.

Stella sighed, "That was when Xander... Oh, it's complicated."

Back then, Xander seemed to be in a constant battle with Ronald, and Stella didn't want to make any risky moves.

The mention of Xander made Yvonne's expression change. "That shameless guy. At first, I thought he was insanely doting on Regina."

Regina Schultz, Xander's sister, had always had a thing for Ronald. But she never seemed to realize that someone with her background wouldn't be accepted by the Quinn family.

Hearing Regina's name made Stella's eyes flicker. "What's going on with Regina now?"

"She's in prison, crippled," Yvonne said with a hint of satisfaction. "Serves her right."

They spent another half an hour going through jewelry and attire for Stella. There were still more.

Stella found herself too exhausted to

stand. They selected the jewelry batch by batch, and she figured all the boxes were laid out. However, Yvonne kept bringing out more from storage.

"Here, try these too."

Stella was stunned, exclaiming, "I like them all."

Yvonne insisted, "Try them all on."

Stella joked, "How many stones did you actually snatch from them?"

Yvonne responded, "I've told you, I bought them, bought them! Get it?"

Just as Yvonne was about to say something else, her phone rang. With a glance, she quickly hung up.

But it rang again.

Stella noticed the name "Shawn Schultz" on the screen. Wasn't he Xander's cousin?

Yvonne answered with a hint of annoyance. "Hello?"

"Yvonne, you need to run. Xander's on his way to find you."

Yvonne uttered, "What?"

Stella was frozen at his words.

Yvonne glanced at Stella, confused. "Shouldn't he be looking for Stella? Why

come after me? Shouldn't you be telling Stella to run?"

After all, Xander was technically

Stella's fiancé. Now that she wamet

back and her romance with Ronald was clear, Xander was bound to lose it

Yvonne recalled Xander's recent visit to her mother, after which her mom seemed deeply troubled. It seemed Xander wasn't ready to give up on his engagement to Stella.

Oh boy... This whole situation was such a mess.

"No, he's definitely coming for you."

Yvonne was incredulous. "What did I do to him? Is it because I beat him up? Henoveldrama

deserved it! Did I injure him or something?"

Clearly, Yvonne wasn't grasping what Shawn was trying to convey.