Chapter 74 Starting Over
Yulia would bet that while Miles didn’t care if Stella was a divorcee, someone of his status would never tolerate her sleeping with another man once they got together. He would never tolerate a woman who was of two minds. Other than that, Yulia was also certain that he would believe in what his confidant told him. While watching Stella leave, Yulia knew she had made a worthwhile bet.
Despite the fact that the weather was warming up when spring was almost over, it was raining the day when Stella quit her job. She needed to go through all sorts of administrative procedures while doing so. Meanwhile, her colleagues were still gossiping about her relationship with Miles, claiming that she wasn’t bothered at all after they broke up.
In fact, Lisa was the only one who expressed her concern. “Why did you resign all of a sudden? What’s the point?”
“Miles is in a sour mood right now, which makes things awkward.”
“Do you mean whenever you bump into him?”
Knowing that Lisa was referring to Miles, Stella hummed in the affirmative. She only needed the human resources department’s approval for her resignation as she didn’t hold an important position that would warrant Miles making a personal request that she extend her tenure. He wasn’t in the office that day, so Stella left without his knowledge. Even though Kevin did ask for her to stay, she could sense it was more of a token gesture.
After she resigned, she turned her focus to taking care of Lizbeth at the hospital. Since the latter was about to undergo an operation, she figured she should help Alaric take care of her. He wasn’t getting any younger, so he would have a hard time bearing the responsibility alone. Therefore, she spent the next few days taking care of Lizbeth.
One day, Lizbeth asked abruptly, “Don’t you need to go to work?”
“I already quit my job.” Stella hung her head low while focused on peeling an apple.
“So you and Miles…” While observing Stella’s expression closely, Lizbeth probed carefully.
“We broke up.”
With a hum, Lizbeth said, “Well, everybody has their own demons to face while in a marriage. Some people never looked back after having an affair, while some repented, but the couple never got back together, citing irreconcilable differences. I also used to be attracted to handsome men, and had even thought of having an affair, but in the end, I turned my attention back to my family after having kids with Alaric.”
Stella merely let out a grunt. After experiencing so much hurt in her relationship with Miles, she thought she might never fall in love again.
“Stella, you should go to Murdough after I undergo my surgery. Zane is at Murdough, but I think he might not want to return to Hollowcrest City as it reminds him of his sad memories. Besides, he has a lot of creditors who’re after him, so there’s no need for him to come back. You must be having a hard time at work since you decided to quit your job, so you should go to Murdough too,” Lizbeth suggested. Ever since Lizbeth fell ill, her relationship with Stella seemed to have transformed into that of a mother and daughter.
“I’ll think about it,” Stella replied.
Lizbeth deliberately obscured the fact that Stella wasn’t in fact feeling down due to having lost her job, but because of having broken up with Miles. Stella knew it was Lizbeth’s way of showing her concern after reading Stella’s mood.
Meanwhile, she also noticed that on the table were the name cards of famous rehabilitation centers that she only ever heard of and looked up to. Taken aback by the sight of it, she asked, “Who is it that managed to find so many of these?”
With a furtive glance, Lizbeth replied, “Oh, Alaric found them. He had some connections, so he told me to get in touch with one of the centers after my operation.”
Stella grunted in response without thinking much of it, while Lizbeth thought to herself, So she doesn’t seem to know it was Miles who sent these. Well, she won’t ever need to know now that they’ve broken up.
Lizbeth’s operation went smoothly. The hospital charges, operation fees, as well as money needed for rehabilitation amounted to a total of around six hundred thousand. Although she was planning to repay Miles, she decided she should do that later as she could use the money right now when her future was still so uncertain. After all, Miles already had all the money he needed, whereas the 1.2 million she owed him was considered an astronomical amount for her.
She made sure to leave Alaric with enough money, as well as telling him to ask for more if necessary. After that, she started preparing for her move to Murdough. Lizbeth wouldn’t need to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation, as she could do it while at home. Besides, she was in good condition, so Stella headed to Murdough feeling rest assured after terminating her contract with the landlord.
On the other hand, she only sent Korbin a text to inform him of her move. She also told Yulia about it. Other than Hollowcrest City, she had only ever been to Murdough. It felt like a safe place, so she decided to move there.
“Are you planning on reconciling with Zane?” Yulia asked.
Stella didn’t answer her question. How could we possibly reconcile? I wasn’t even planning on telling Zane about it.
After finding a house in Murdough, she went job hunting. Due to the fact that she had experience working in an international company like Miles Conglomerate, it wasn’t hard for her to find a job. As soon as she secured a decent position that provided her with adequate pay, she officially started over in a new city.
A month later, she got a call from the police that informed her of Zane’s wish to meet her. She was certain that it was Alaric who told Zane about her move when he visited Zane in Murdough, which was why he begged to meet her.
Delighted to see Stella, Zane told her he was planning to settle down in Murdough as well, which meant that they would be seeing each other often. He seemed to have let go of the past after all that he had been through.
However, Stella didn’t reply to him. All she could think of was that there was one week left until he would be released. When he inquired about where she was living, she clammed up. Although he was seemingly a reformed person, she didn’t have any acquaintances in Murdough, so she decided her best option was to not tell him anything in case he repeated what he did in the past.
A week later, Zane was released. He began building his career in Murdough, but it was bound to be an uphill battle considering the fact that he was an ex-convict who had multiple creditors on his tail.
One day, Stella got a call when she was at work. Since they used to be a married couple, they exchanged numbers after he got out of prison. He wanted her to accompany him when he met up with someone. After all, he was an ex-convict who people in Murdough would find hard to trust, whereas she seemed more easygoing compared to him, which would make things easier if she went with him.
Upon hearing that, Stella thought, He’s right. I should help him if I can, since he had provided me with financial assistance even when he was in jail.
Therefore, she headed to the designated restaurant after dressing herself up a little. As soon as she entered the private room, she heard someone crying out in surprise.
“Fancy meeting you here, Miss Johansson. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Stella was startled by William’s presence. So it’s William that Zane is meeting. No wonder he was determined to keep the identity of the other party a secret. After all, Zane was aware that ever since what happened in Hollowcrest City, Stella harbored antagonistic feelings toward William, so she wouldn’t join him on the occasion if she knew William would be there.
“Miss Johansson, back when you were in Hollowcrest City, weren’t you…” With an inquisitive gaze, William looked toward her in want of answers.
However, she wasn’t inclined to reply. “I’ve ended everything in Hollowcrest City. I’ll be starting anew here.”
Smilingly, William cast Zane a conniving glance while saying, “That makes sense, since you and Zane were a couple. However, will you still accept him now that he’s in such a wretched state?”
While Zane wore an awkward expression on his face, Stella chuckled. “Me not accepting him doesn’t mean I will accept anybody else.” She managed to silence William with that.
Despite so, William was still curious about her. “Have you really cut ties with everyone in your past? Zane would like me to secure him a few projects. However, it’ll be up to you if he gets any.”
It wasn’t until then that she realized why Zane fetched her. Despite his claims about having changed for the better, he put her in such a situation immediately after he was released. He brought her along as he knew William fancied her. In short, he was using her. Upon letting out a mirthless chuckle, Stella said, “You can do whatever you like. It’s none of my business if you want to help him.”
Noticing that Stella was angered, William commented, “You still have such a fiery temper.”
After forcing herself to sit through their meal, she told Zane off as soon as she got out of the restaurant. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I know exactly what you’re trying to pull here.”
The dim lights illuminated Zane’s face when he spoke. “I know that, but what else could I do? People are willing to do just about anything if they’re desperate enough for money. Am I in the wrong for wanting to get my hands on that project? Besides, what can he do to you when I’m present?”
No matter the outcome, Stella disagreed with Zane’s methods. No longer intent to speak to him, she thus turned to leave.
The place she rented was especially expensive, costing her nearly five thousand a month, so her salary was just enough to pay for rent. She had a hard time saving up enough to pay off her debts to Miles when she could hardly sustain herself. Therefore, she was thinking of starting a side gig.
When she went for a stroll on the streets on her day off, she noticed a brand named ‘Amon.’ By combining exceptional material and exquisite tailoring, the luxury brand sold male clothing of high quality. According to her own understanding of luxury brands, she thought Amon had quite the potential. Due to the fact that it was a relatively unknown brand, it couldn’t sell its products at a high price, but she figured that would change in due time.
After spending a day sitting in front of the shop, she noticed that it had quite good sales, so she was interested to work as its agent. After informing the manager of her intentions, she was given a name card that had the manufacturer’s contacts and was told to contact the person in charge.
Upon checking the address, she was startled. “Is the manufacturer located in Hollowcrest City?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Oh, not at all,” she replied casually. After that, she gave the person in charge a call. She was told that as their agent, they would charge her two million. They also had set high requirements regarding the site of the shop, as they were aiming to build up an image as a high-end brand.
Stella realized working as an agent might be impossible after all. She only had three hundred thousand left in her savings, which wouldn’t even be sufficient to cover the preliminary fees. Considering that she still needed to find a high-end location in a city that had expensive rent, it meant that the annual rent alone would probably cost her a few millions. She was ready to give up on the idea when she heard a familiar voice sounding from a distance.
“Gibson, please compile a chart for this data.”
