Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
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After almost finishing all their money and grabbing dinner, Stella headed back to Ethan’s place with Tina and Ethan.
On the way, Tina seized the chance to discuss a few work matters with Ethan.
Stella, meanwhile, was glued to the car window, staring in wonder at the brand–new Ashford.
Eleven years had passed, and everything had changed so much that she barely recognized anything.
She’d never been good with directions, so when the car finally stopped and she stood in front of the villa, she frowned.
“Did you completely renovate the house?”
The old villa had a garden and a massive fountain out front.
But now, a lone villa stood like a silent giant,
Ethan unloaded the car, his voice low. “No. I bought this one.”
That made sense. Ethan was a big–shot CEO now.
“So what about the old place? You gave it to Xavier?”
“No. It was sold.”
His expression darkened, and he changed the subject. “I’ll call Xavier later. Let him know you’re back.”
The moment they stepped inside, it was exactly what Stella expected–cold and minimalist.
There was barely any furniture. The space felt vast and sterile.
“Is Xavier in Ashford right now?” Stella asked.
Ethan set the bags down in the living room. “No. He’s overseas on tour
Stella blinked. “Then don’t tell him I’m back. He’ll cancel the whole thing and fly straight home. Let’s wait till he’s back.”
He was already a controversial celebrity. Pulling a stunt like that would just lose him even more fans.
Ethan didn’t argue.
When they were kids, all three little brothers were always fighting to get Stella’s attention.
Xavier was the liveliest. He always knew how to make her laugh.
Now that Stella had only him around, it was finally his chance to shine.
“Okay. Got it.”
“Why was the old house sold?”
Stella flopped onto the couch and circled back to the topic.
She only had a vague memory from the dream and didn’t know much about the novel’s details.
Ta took the cue and answered a call. “Mr. Ethan, I’ll step out for a moment.”
Ethan nodded, then sat down and fidgeted with his bracelet. “Uncle took over the company after you left. He ran it into the ground. When it was about to go bankrupt, he came to me for help. There wasn’t a cent in the company’s account, and it was drowning in debt. I didn’t have a choice… Stella, I’m sorry.” He looked up, guilt etched in his face, heart aching. “I didn’t protect our home.”
Their parents died in an accident when Stella was just fourteen.
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Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
Uncle had stormed in with a group, trying to kick them out of the house.
It was Stella who’d grabbed a mop–covered in the poop Xavier had just made–and chased them off.
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Uncle kept coming back with people, but Stella always had a way to deal with them until they finally stopped showing up.
Same with the company. He wanted to take it over.
Stella, just a teenager, went toe–to–toe with shareholders all twice her age.
No one knew what she said, but they trusted her–and chose a CEO to take over.
Business wasn’t what it had been, but it still outperformed similar companies.
Then Stella’s car accident happened, and everything fell apart.
He hadn’t protected a damn thing.
Stella smiled and patted Ethan’s shoulder. “You’re talking nonsense. You’ve done great. Sure, you sold the old place, but this new one’s huge!”
For her, it was just a blink–eleven years had passed in a second.
But for Ethan, he’d lived through every grueling moment.
Feeling the weight of her hand on his shoulder, seeing that familiar twinkle in her eyes, Ethan lowered his head.
He hadn’t done great. He’d failed. Completely.
A warm sting pricked his eyes. One tear slipped onto the leather couch under the soft glow of the chandelier.
He quietly wiped it away with his finger. “Get some rest. If you need anything, have Tina buy it. Tomorrow, she’ll take you to get your ID sorted. Use my card–spend whatever you want
He handed her a sleek black card.
Stella’s eyes lit up. “Jackpot!”
This CEO little brother really was something else.
With
With money, anything was possible.
She didn’t know everything that had happened over the years, but she did know from the dream that Louis had gone missing as a kid.
He was now in his final year of high school, getting into fights, refusing to study, and had even injured the male lead’s genius brother, landing himself in jail.
The details were fuzzy, but Stella figured she could start by tracking down the male lead’s genius brother. She’d find Louis eventually.
She’d seen all of Ethan’s little gestures–knew what he was guilty about.
She got up and ruffled his hair.
Didn’t budge. He’d sprayed it still with gel
Ethan looked up, a flash of awkwardness in his
eyes.
He’d styled it for his meeting with Hannah.
Stella pretended nothing happened and casually folded her hands behind her back. “Come on, don’t mope. On the way back, I looked up that accident and accidentally saw the news about Louis going missing. It’s not your fault. Big Sis is back now. I’l find him. Don’t worry!”
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Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
And somehow, looking into Stella’s dazzling eyes, Ethan just believed her.
She would find Louis
Just like she’d once told them: “With Stella arvand, no one can push us around”
That was Stella–strong to her core, like the sun in the sky.
Some of the gloom in Ethan’s eyes faded..
He nodded obediently. “Okay”
Stella grabbed the five–thousand–dollar pajamas and the new underwear Tina had bought her and headed for a shower.
It had technically been eleven years since she last showered–she was sweaty as hell.
Tina, keeping tabs on everything in the villa, finally stepped back inside.
She hadn’t made the connection before, but once she heard Stella’s name, it all came back.
In 2014, Tina had been 14, just starting eighth grade.
She’d aimed to get into Ashford High, so she kept a close eye on it.
That year, Ashford’s top SAT scorer came from Ashford High. Her name was Stella, accepted into Roosevelt College.
Stella was already a local legend–school beauty and top student. She’d even turned down a guaranteed spot at Roosevelt to let someone else have it.
The story spread like wildfire.
But what really made headlines was her rivalry with the school’s heartthrob. Every test, the two fought for the top rank.
At most schools, people shipped the pretty pair.
But not at Ashford.
There, no one dared speak–they just placed bets on who’d come out on top this time: the beauty or the heartthrob.
Whenever they crossed paths, there was no spark–just the intense desire to crush the other.
For the SAT the final showdown, the entire city seemed to bet on it. Even sole teachers secretly joined in.
In the end, the school beauty edged him out by one point.
He came in second citywide–also accepted to Roosevelt.
Everyone expected them to continue their rivalry in college.
But then the unthinkable happened.
That summer, Stella drove off a bridge into the river.
Police dragged the water for a month and found only the car.
With no body and such violent currents, there was no hope she’d survived.
The Ashford police declared her dead a month later.
Roosevelt College even published an obituary expressing their grief.
Tina had been devastated. Such a brilliant life, snuffed OUL
The day her death was declared, the bridge was covered in chrysanthemums. People came from everywhere to mourn.
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Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
And
now? Stella wasn’t dead.
Tina was dying to know what happened.
Stella still looked and acted exactly like she had back then. She appeared out of nowhere with nothing on her.
But Tina knew she wasn’t close enough to Stella to ask. Asking the boss would also be out of line.
Whatever the case, she was back–and that was enough.
“Mr. Ethan. I’ll go make Stella’s bed.”
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There were part–time cleaners who came regularly, but since Ethan rarely stayed here, there wasn’t a full–time maid.
Ethan looked up, twirling his bracelet. “No need. You head home. I’ll take care of it.”
Tina blinked. “You know how to make a bed?”
Ethan shot her a look. “I’m a pro, I always made Stella’s bed back then.”
There was even a flicker of pride in his eyes
Tina chuckled. “That’s impressive.”
There were plenty of guest rooms in the villa.
But Ethan gave Stella the master bedroom, changed the bedding himself, and took a guest room for the night.
Stella didn’t stand on ceremony. After showering, she lay in bed and started browsing.
She mostly wanted to catch up on what had changed over the last eleven years.
Turns out, not much. Just more digitization–short videos and livestreams were trending now.
After some research, she scrolled through Twitter.
She spotted a trending topic about herself and Ethan..
CEO usually didn’t keep up with celebrity gossip.
Those things were usually caught by assistants and secretaries.
Stella narrowed her eyes and shot Tina a message on WhatsApp.
Her Facebook account was logged into Ethan’s burner.
She didn’t have an ID yet, so she couldn’t register her own.
At eleven, she still wasn’t sleepy–just kept scrolling,
Before she knew it, it was one am. She finally felt drowsy and closed her eyes.
Thirty minutes later, she opened them again and flipped over.
An hour later, she switched to the other end of the bed.
Two hours in, she’d rolled onto the floor.
Three hours later, she stared at the ceiling wide awake.
Crap. Her sleep issues were back. This wasn’t the same house. She couldn’t fall asleep.
It’d been a problem for years. That’s why she’d always commuted during high school–only slept at home.
By four a.m., she gave up and started watching short videos again.
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Chapter 4 Why Was the Old House Sold?
Somehow, her feed was full of videos about Ethan being always calm, composed, and effortlessly charming.
She got thirsty and went out for water–just in time to hear a ringtone coming from the guest room.
She froze.
No way. Ethan wakes up at four am?
But it didn’t sound like an alarm.
Then she heard a raspy voice from the room: “Hello?”
Stella’s curiosity peaked.
Who on earth was calling him at four in the morning?
