"Pack away that nauseating, manipulative act of yours."

"I am the one haunting him?" Sienna cast a mocking glance toward the utterly humiliated Shane. "It was your man who dragged himself to my feet like a rabid dog, shaking his tail as he begged me to take him back, whining about how he was willing to cast you aside."

"Furthermore," Sienna turned her freezing gaze back to Stella, "Shane and I are legally divorced. If you lack the basic capability to restrain your own man, allowing him to display himself like a complete disgrace in front of his ex-wife, by what authority do you stand there hurling accusations at me?"

With that, she took a dominating step forward, her commanding, absolute aura forcing Stella to instinctively cower back, her tears freezing in mid-air.

"Let me make this abundantly clear for the final time, Stella," Sienna pronounced each word with razor-sharp precision. "Restrain yourself, and restrain this useless piece of trash beside you. Do not cross my path again. Otherwise, I swear the next consequence won't be as simple as a single slap."

Leaving those final words behind, she offered her companions a casual wave, turned on her heel, and walked out of the establishment with absolute grace.

"Sienna!" Shane instinctively moved to give chase.

"Shane! It hurts so much... I think I've severely sprained my ankle..."

Stella caught the cue perfectly, letting out a sharp wail of agony as she locked her arms tightly around Shane's frame, practically hanging her entire weight off his body.

Shane's footsteps halted completely. Staring down at Stella's weeping, miserable face, he could do nothing but grind his teeth, half-supporting and half-carrying her as they slunk out of the lounge under the heavy, mocking stares of the onlookers.

On the other side of the grand entrance, the moment Sienna stepped into the night air, her companion rushed out behind her, her expression painted with deep concern, "Sienna, are you holding up alright? Just now... Shane... are the two of you truly... completely beyond repair?"

Sienna halted her steps, turning to face her childhood friend with an effortless, bright smile, stating with absolute finality, "Of course. Once trash has been discarded, does anyone ever drag it back into their house?"

"He and I were entirely finished long ago, and there is absolutely zero possibility of a future."

This exact exchange was secretly captured on a smartphone by an onlooker standing in the shadows.

Shane eventually escorted Stella back to the cramped, dilapidated room of a low-end motel they had temporarily secured.

Stella moved to grasp his sleeve, intent on pouring out her endless grievances, but Shane was currently consumed by a crushing, soul-deep exhaustion. Throwing out a hollow, hollow excuse, he abandoned her and walked back out into the streets.

Chapter 13

Walking entirely alone through the chilling night air, Shane retrieved his phone, only for an anonymously sent video clip to suddenly pop up on his screen.

Frowning, he tapped it open.

In the video, Sienna was standing outside the entrance of a lounge, smiling as she spoke to a friend by her side.

"...Once trash has been discarded, does anyone ever drag it back into their house?"

"He and I were entirely finished long ago, and there is absolutely zero possibility of a future."

Shane watched those brief fifteen seconds over and over again, suddenly clutching the clothes over his chest as a wave of acute, piercing pain struck his heart.

That entire night, Shane wandered aimlessly through the streets for hours, his mind repeatedly playing back that single scene from the video.

He discovered that he was actually terrified—terrified that the woman who had once loved him more than life itself had truly and completely excised him from her existence.

The following morning, he dragged his exhausted body back into the cramped hotel room.

Stella appeared to have been awake for some time, sitting quietly on the sofa.

Seeing him enter, she instantly stood up and cautiously approached him.

"Shane, you're back..." Her voice was soft and submissive, laced with a post-crying hoarseness. "I am so sorry about yesterday. I was far too impulsive... I shouldn't have thrown a tantrum and humiliated you like that... I was just... I was just so terrified of losing you."

She stepped forward, reaching out to grasp Shane’s hand, but he instinctively flinched away, avoiding her touch.

Stella's hand froze mid-air, a flash of humiliation sweeping across her features, but she quickly adopted a tearful look once more.

"I know I can't help you with anything right now, and I always seem to bring you nothing but trouble... but Shane, no matter what happens, I am willing to stay with you. Even if we have no money, even if we have to live in a wretched place like this and endure endless hardships, I will accept it. Just please don't abandon me..."

If this had been the past, Shane might have been deeply moved.

But at this exact second, he found it completely absurd.

Since when did a man like Shane Vance ever need a woman to accompany him through hardships?

He was supposed to be standing at the apex of the world, basking in every ounce of prestige and glory that Sienna brought him!

The more Shane dwelled on it, the more resentful he became, and his regret deepened exponentially.

Yet, a sudden thought struck him: Sienna had loved him so passionately in the past that she had willingly surrendered her own dignity. No matter how hardened her heart had become now, it was impossible for her to be entirely remorseless toward him.

As long as he swallowed his pride, properly coaxed her, and sent Stella packing to prove his absolute sincerity, she would undoubtedly change her mind!

When that happened, every single thing he had lost would return to him!

His heart hammered like a drum. Looking at the still-weeping Stella, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "Stella, I... I have a proposition."

Stella lifted her tear-filled eyes to meet his gaze.

"You can clearly see the desperate predicament we are currently in."

"Sienna’s anger hasn't cooled down yet, and meeting her head-on will serve absolutely no purpose. I was thinking... could you perhaps go abroad and stay there for a temporary period?"

"The exact second things stabilize on my end, I will immediately bring you back. When that time comes, we can be together openly and properly, alright?"

Stella froze entirely, staring at him in sheer disbelief, "Go abroad? Shane, you're sending me away? At a desperate time like this?"

"Is this because of Sienna? Do you actually want to crawl back to her?!"

"It's nothing like that!" Shane frantically denied it. "This is merely a temporary tactic! It's for the sake of our future!"

"Remaining here will only persistently provoke her and amplify her hatred toward me—we would never secure a single opportunity to rise again! Be obedient, go abroad to clear your head for a while, and I will personally arrange all the expenses."

Stella glared dead at him, her entire frame trembling with rage.

She desperately wanted to tear away her mask and shriek at him, but the residual trace of her sanity reminded her that if she completely fell out with Shane right now, she would walk away with absolutely nothing.

Forcing down her volatile fury, she managed to squeeze a soft smile onto her face, "Alright... Shane, I will do exactly as you say. As long as it is for our future... I am willing to leave temporarily."

Chapter 14

Seeing her compliance, Shane felt a wave of relief wash over his chest.

For the remainder of the day, both of them harbored their own sinister calculations.

Shane went out to desperately conjure up some capital, while Stella remained in the hotel room, half-heartedly packing her baggage, her expression darkening into a menacing scowl.

By evening, Shane had managed to secure the funds ahead of schedule. Returning to their quarters, he moved to knock on the door, only to freeze instantly as Stella's sharp, venomous voice drifted out from inside.

"...Enough, stop mentioning that useless piece of trash! He actually has the audacity to try and send me abroad just so he can crawl back and grovel to that lunatic Sienna! ...What an absolute joke!"

Shane stopped dead in his tracks, a soul-deep chill instantly flooding his heart.

The voice from within the room continued, dripping with pure disdain, "...Rest assured, the exact second I secure the remaining capital, I am out of here! Who on earth would stay and go down in ruins alongside him?"

"Back then, if it weren't for the fact that he possessed some wealth and was willing to squander it on me, who could have ever looked at a creature like him? Now that he has absolutely nothing left, he actually expects me to accompany him through hardships? Keep dreaming!"

Shane trembled so violently with rage that his entire frame shook. He forcefully threw his weight forward, kicking the door wide open with a violent crash!