Chapter 90

Thinking about how it was Ethan's birthday today, Stella left work early. She didn't have the driver pick her up, as she had driven herself to work in the morning. She took the elevator to the parking garage, but before she could reach her car, she saw Aaron standing next to it. "Can we talk?" Aaron was alone. Seeing that she was about to speak, he quickly added, "Don't rush to refuse. I will soon leave Seattle. This is the last time I'll bother you." His voice was cautious, fearing that Stella would outright ignore him. He knew very well that she didn't want to see him at all, and she wished he would disappear from her life completely. However, before leaving, he couldn't resist seeing her one last time. Stella's expression faltered slightly. She checked the time and sighed, "Let's go to the coffee shop outside." "Alright," Aaron said, forcing a smile. The coffee shop was not far from the company. It was not yet rush hour, so the street was not crowded with cars. They walked out of the company building, one behind the other, heading towards the coffee shop across the street. Stella took out her phone to send a message to Ethan. However, they had only taken a few steps when a piercing screeching sound cut through the air. A red car parked by the roadside suddenly started and sped towards them. "Watch out—" The approaching roar of the engine and the man's alarmed shout were equally loud. When Stella finally saw the person sitting in the driver's seat, Aaron had already pushed her aside in haste. In an instant, her phone dropped to the ground and was run over by the car. Despite the roadside railing providing some cushioning, the red sports car still shattered the glass of the coffee shop. The calm street was thrown into chaos, filled with screams as all the customers rushed out of the cafe. The incident was so sudden that amid the surrounding chaos, Stella, still shaken, stood there stiffly. Seeing the man lying unconscious on the ground, she hesitated for a moment, then quickly borrowed a passerby's phone to call an ambulance. By the time Stella finished giving her statement to the police, it was already 2 hours later. Aaron had completed surgery and was now in a separate intensive care room. Pushing open the door to the hospital room, a faint scent of disinfectant filled the air. Still under the effects of anesthesia, Aaron lay quietly in the hospital bed. Stella sat on a nearby chair, her thoughts complex. She hadn't expected Avery to harbor such deep resentment toward her, to the extent of resorting to this. As for Aaron, he had taken the blow intended for her. After some time passed, the man on the bed blinked their eyelashes and slowly opened their eyes. Aaron's lips were pale, and he winced from the piercing pain in his leg. Frowning, he glanced at Stella beside the bed, his voice somewhat hoarse, "How are you?" "I'm fine," Stella sighed in relief, adding, "After you lost consciousness, the police took Avery away." Aaron had injured his leg and bumped his head, while Avery had only sustained minor injuries. "Mm-hmm," Aaron responded with a hint of indifference. Stella furrowed her brow and continued, "I've already called Kate; she'll be here soon." Since Aaron's father underwent heart surgery and hadn't been in great health, Claire had accompanied him abroad for recuperation recently. With Claire gone, Kate had gone to L.A. with classmates, also away from Seattle. "I've arranged for a caregiver for you, right outside the door. Now that you're awake, you can call her if you need anything." The reason Stella stayed in the hospital was because Aaron got injured protecting her. Just now, Stella had used the nurse's phone to message Ethan, but he hadn't replied. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea. At Aaron's words, his eyes darkened as he looked at her. "Are you leaving already? Can't you stay with me for a while?" "Thank you for saving me." Stella's expression turned solemn as she glanced at Aaron's leg. "The doctor said you'll need another surgery on your leg, and if it's not handled well, there's a small chance of long-term complications. When I accompanied my mentor to Germany for an exchange before, I met a doctor who's very skilled in leg surgeries—" "But you know this isn't what I wanted," Aaron abruptly cut off her attempt at 'making amends'. The moment he woke up just now, Aaron was even somewhat grateful. Even if this leg couldn't be fixed, he felt that at least they had some connection again. Even if it was based on a ridiculous debt of gratitude. Stella's tone was slightly solemn. "Then what do you want?" At Aaron's words, her expression froze for a moment. Yeah, what did he want? She was doing fine now, every time he looked at her from a distance, she seemed genuinely relaxed. The more he understood this, the more he felt an indescribable jealousy deep in his heart. "Is there really no chance for us anymore?" His throat felt constricted, and after a long silence, he finally asked the question with difficulty. She seemed increasingly unfamiliar, the shy and obedient girl he had first met in their youth, now slipping away from him like sand through his fingers. Aaron once again realized how impenetrable her barriers were, and he had never been able to break through them. Stella stood up, her voice soft but undeniably firm. "Yes, there is no chance." Even though Aaron had saved her, it didn't mean there could be any future between them. She wouldn't repay a debt with emotions, no matter if he called her heartless. There was no trace of wavering in her. After a moment of endurance, Aaron self-deprecatingly spoke, "If I hadn't returned home back then..." He stopped himself before finishing his sentence. Stella shook her head. "Even if that's the case, it wouldn't change anything." After saying this, she smiled briefly and continued, "As long as Ethan is around, he's my endpoint." "Him?" Aaron's eyes reddened. "Who do you think orchestrated your return to Seattle back then? Do you really think Ethan is innocent? If it weren't for him secretly helping William, how could we have ended up like this?" These were words he had never spoken to her before. Because Aaron understood that even if he did, he would lower himself in front of her. But now, he had no more reservations. The sudden outpouring of words left Stella momentarily stunned. The hospital room fell into a quiet silence. After a while, Stella spoke again, "Aaron, do you remember why I agreed to be with you?" "That Christmas, I received a jade Buddha sent by Director Moore," she paused, "I thought it was sent by you through her." Aaron seemed to freeze, murmuring, "So, it was Ethan?" Stella nodded calmly. Aaron suddenly felt a bit absurd. "Are you telling me all this now to explain that without Ethan, you wouldn't have been with me at all?" "If that's what you think, maybe you're right." She lowered her eyes, saying no more. Looking into her calm, steady eyes, Aaron laughed, "You're really heartless, even destroying my last bit of hope." He couldn't bear to see her with Ethan time and again, even defying his parents' objections to leave Seattle. Simply because he thought that way, he could still live with memories. But now she was telling him that it all began with a misunderstanding. He was merely a stand-in mistaken for Ethan, a damn ridiculous stand-in at that. "This is unfair," Aaron looked at her intensely, "If Ethan had been in my place, would you have forgiven his deception?" Stella had come along with the ambulance. After leaving the hospital, her phone was damaged in the accident. She walked aimlessly along the streets for a while. When she snapped out of it, she realized she was standing in a somewhat familiar place. 10 years had passed. Jefferson High School had also moved to a new campus. The old campus had long been abandoned, repurposed into a public library. The original walls were dismantled, replaced with smooth pavement. The original wall had been torn down and replaced with smooth stone tiles, but Stella still recognized the spot where she stood as the place Ethan had once climbed. It was because of the lush banyan tree overhead. Time had flown by, and the surroundings had changed completely. Only this tree remained, as if it had captured all the moments of the past, bringing her thoughts back to those times. When she first arrived at Jefferson High School, she felt timid and out of place, even wanting to run back to Mountside County. Whenever she felt down, she would walk laps around the playground. In a secluded corner of the playground, hidden behind a large tree, Stella had caught Ethan attempting to skip class more than once. Looking back, he was far more carefree then than he was now. After sorting out her complex emotions, Stella hailed a cab on the roadside and returned home. Opening the door, she found the living room darkened. A silent figure of a man sat still on the sofa, with a fading red glow on the coffee table. Stella caught a whiff of acrid smoke. "I'm back," she said. Ethan didn't get up, his voice devoid of emotion. "Did you go to the hospital?" He knew what had happened and where she had gone. He had received Stella's text while still in the car. He had instructed the driver to detour to the hospital to find her but stopped at the hospital entrance. "Boss, are we not going in?" "Let's go back to the villa." As he gathered his thoughts, Ethan heard Stella murmur in acknowledgment, and she turned on the lights in the living room. The man turned his head towards her. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Stella met his gaze, thought for a moment, then asked, "After I returned to Seattle, did you get involved in Aaron and Avery's scandals?" Before being taken away by the police, Avery looked despondently at Aaron being loaded into the ambulance. She suddenly turned her head and said to Stella, "Do you think there wasn't someone else behind those rumors back then?" At first, Stella didn't understand, but later, Aaron's words clarified things for her. She didn't know why Avery had suddenly reminded her, perhaps she had really given up on Aaron at that moment, or maybe she just wanted to create a rift between her and Ethan. Ethan furrowed his brow, paused for a long while, and said in a low voice, "Just made the hot topics trend for a couple more days." "Okay," Stella nodded, then asked, "What about you and William?" Ethan pursed his lips lightly. "Some connections, but not close." "Not close?" Stella chuckled lightly as she looked at him, her gaze calm.