Chapter 3

Stella nestled into Wade's arms.

"Wade, I don't want to see her around you anymore. Fire her, please? Make her leave the company, leave your life."

Wade's gaze shifted to me. In that split second, I saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

Stella seemed to notice it too. She suddenly shoved him away.

"You don't want to? Fine! Then go to her! I guess I don't matter to you anyway!"

Without waiting for his response, she turned and ran.

"Stella!" Wade immediately chased after her, his tone frantic.

I watched this farce play out, then turned and walked into the restroom. The reflection in the mirror was a complete wreck.

I dried my face with a paper towel and straightened my clothes.

When I walked out of the restroom, Stella was standing at the end of the corridor.

She was waiting for me.

"How long do you think you can cling to him?" She walked up to me. "Wade just pities you. You don't actually think he likes you, do you?"

I stepped aside, trying to bypass her.

"A cheap bedmate who threw herself at him," she sneered, blocking my path. "If I were you, I'd at least have some self-respect and quietly crawl away."

Every single word accurately pierced me right where it hurt the most.

"Move," I said, my voice hoarse but completely flat.

Stella didn't move. Her gaze, however, swiftly darted past my shoulder. A calculated glint flashed in her eyes.

Suddenly, she reached out and shoved me hard.

At the exact same moment, she let out a blood-curdling scream and threw herself backward.

I lost my balance, my body pitching backward toward the sharp edge of the stairs. I instinctively reached out for the handrail, desperately trying to steady myself.

"Stella!"

Seeing Stella about to hit the floor, Wade lunged forward. In his frantic rush to get to her, I became his obstacle.

Without a second thought, he reached out and shoved me away.

My waist and lower abdomen slammed violently into the sharp corner of the marble.

A severe, blinding agony instantly ripped through my abdomen. I curled into a tight ball, gasping desperately for air, but I couldn't draw a single breath.

"Wade..." Stella whimpered. "She... she pushed me. I'm so scared..."

Wade carefully checked her for injuries. When he finally turned his head to look at me, his eyes held nothing but ice, disgust, and fury.

"Camila, I never imagined you could be so vicious. Stella's body is already weak, and you resort to something this ruthless?"

"If you ever pull a stunt like this again, pack your things and get out of the company. Even if Becky comes to beg for you herself, it won't work."

Three years of feelings. Three years of humbling myself. Three years of devotion.

In his eyes, it meant absolutely nothing.

The excruciating pain in my body suddenly felt incredibly distant. Because inside me, something heavy and suffocating had finally, completely snapped.

I stared at the man I had agonizingly loved for three years.

"Okay."

Wade froze. A trace of shock swept across his face. He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

Before he could process it, Stella grabbed his collar and let out a fake groan of pain.

Wade's attention instantly snapped back to her. He didn't even spare me another glance. He picked her up and strode out.

When he reached the door, he paused and glanced back at me.

I was curled up on the floor, the bloodstains on my skirt shocking to the eye, my face as pale as a sheet of paper.

His jaw tightened. He turned to his driver nearby. "Take her to the hospital."

With that, he carried Stella into another car and sped away.

The driver helped me up. I was in so much pain I could barely stand. The searing agony in my waist and abdomen made every step feel like walking on the tips of knives.

Once in the car, I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

My phone vibrated.

A message from Wade:

"I lost my temper just now. But Stella's health is fragile, I can't let her feel wronged."

"If you're angry, I will compensate you."

I stared at the words on the screen, then blocked Wade.

I closed my eyes, and tears fell silently.

After I arrived at the ER, the doctor's expression turned grim the moment he examined me.

"Severe blunt force trauma to the abdomen, resulting in internal bleeding."

After my wounds were treated, I was wheeled into the hallway for observation.

Through the glass doors of the ER room, I saw Wade guarding Stella's bedside.

Stella only had a minor scrape, yet Wade was nervously holding her hand, feeding her porridge spoonful by spoonful.

The tenderness on his face was something I hadn't seen more than a handful of times in three whole years.

I quietly watched this scene, yet my heart no longer felt a single ripple.

When the pain reaches its absolute peak, it just becomes numbness.

My phone buzzed.

A message from Calvin:

"Camila, the wedding is set for two days from now. Is that okay?"

I replied: "Yes."

I turned off my phone, thanked the nurse, and hailed a cab straight to the airport.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital.

After settling Stella in, Wade thought of how Camila looked when she was hurt. He took out his phone and dialed her number.

"The number you have dialed is busy..."

He froze for a second, then dialed again.

The exact same prompt.

He had been blocked.

A sudden, inexplicable surge of irritation rushed through him, so he dialed his sister Becky's number. Whenever Camila was in a bad mood, she always went to Becky to vent.

The call connected, and Becky's furious roar made his eardrums hurt: "Wade! Are you even a fucking human?!"

"Do you know what you did to Camila?!"

Wade furrowed his brow. "She complained to you? Put her on the phone."

"You're looking for her?" Becky's voice was laced with uncontrollable rage and heartbreak. "Too late. Camila is already gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"To get married."

Becky let out a cold sneer.

"She's getting married in two days, and you must attend."