Chapter 1

"Is Charles home yet?" Stella McWell asked Marimar, the maid, while looking around the living room. She had just woken up and noticed her husband, Charles Cooper, wasn't in their bed.

"Why are you asking me about your husband?" Marimar replied sharply.

Stella bit her lip, holding back her reply. Even though they were close in age, Marimar was still a maid. But Marimar acted like they were the same. It hurt that even Charles and his sister treated her like a servant.

Instead of responding to Marimar's sarcasm, Stella went to the kitchen. She knew Marimar wouldn't cook for her when Charles wasn't around. Marimar only acted nice when Charles was there.

Marimar followed Stella into the kitchen and commanded, "Hurry up and clean the dishes. Miss Sophie and Madam Magda are coming."

Stella continued cooking eggs, pretending not to hear. Marimar meant Charles' sister and stepmother. Stella had gotten used to their mean behavior in the three years she'd been with Charles. She put up with it because she loved him.

Marimar sneered when Stella ignored her. She was actually impressed by how patient Stella was. In all the time Stella had been married to her boss, Marimar had never seen any of Stella's friends or family visit. The only person Stella seemed close to was Charles' grandfather, which probably explained why she married Charles in the first place.

Before Stella could finish eating, Sophie and Magda arrived. They went straight to Stella and didn't even let her finish her meal before speaking rudely.

"Do you know why Charles didn't come home last night?" Sophie asked mockingly.

"How would she know? She's stupid," Magda scoffed, laughing as she took Stella's plate and threw away the remaining food.

Stella tightened her fist on her lap but kept her face calm as she stood up. "Why are you here?"

Sophie glared at Stella. Stella seemed like a robot when she talked to them; she was almost as distant as Charles. The only time Stella showed emotions was when Charles was around. Even now, her eyes didn't show any emotion at all.

"This is my son's house, so you can't ask us anything!" Magda snapped.

A smirk played on Stella's lips as she looked at Magda. "You're just his stepmother."

"How dare you?! You're rude and arrogant, even though you have nothing to be proud of in our family! Who do you think you are to talk to my mother like that?" Sophie shouted, pulling on Stella's long hair.

Stella tried to pry her hair from Sophie's grasp, feeling the pain but refusing to beg. When Sophie wouldn't let go, Stella grabbed Sophie's hair, not to fight back but to make her release her hold. Stella, being taller than Sophie, knew she had the advantage if they got into a fight. In the struggle, Stella accidentally pulled Sophie's hair harder.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Stella froze at Charles' angry voice. Sophie quickly let go, but Stella still had a tight grip on Sophie's hair.

"Charles, help Sophie! Oh my God, your horrible wife is attacking her!" Magda shouted.

Hearing the commotion, Stella let go of Sophie's hair. But before she could completely release her, Charles shoved her hard, causing her to fall to the floor.

Charles hesitated when he saw Stella fall but quickly focused on Sophie, checking if she was okay.

"Charles, why is she treating me like this? I cooked for her, but she threw it away and said it was bad. She wasn't happy and pulled my hair too," Sophie cried, seeking sympathy from Charles.

Despite the pain in her hip, Stella struggled to stand and distance herself from Charles. She knew he was furious and wouldn't listen to her explanation. He would only get angrier and accuse her of lying.

Charles' expression darkened when he saw the food in the trash. He glared at Stella.

"Charles, don't be mad at Stella. It's my fault for not teaching Sophie well," Magda intervened, stepping between Charles and Stella.

"Mom, why do you always take Stella's side? I've tried my best to get along with her, but she has such a bad attitude!" Sophie complained to Magda.

Stella lowered her head sadly. Sophie and Magda were experts at playing the victim to ruin her relationship with Charles. She had hoped things would get better after they moved houses, but the troublemakers followed her. They hated her because they thought she was poor and called her a gold digger, wishing Charles would marry his first girlfriend, who was now abroad.

"Leave us alone for now," Charles ordered Magda firmly.

"Charles, calm down first before you talk to her, or you might end up hurting each other," Magda tried to reason with him.

"I'm sorry," Stella interjected, her voice gentle.

Sophie and Magda paused, surprised by Stella's apology.

"Sophie, I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling well, so I lost my patience," Stella continued, keeping her head bowed.

Seeing Stella appear submissive and apologetic, Sophie grew even more irritated. She needed to act quickly before Charles calmed down. "Charles, I don't believe she's sincere. She does this every time because she's afraid you'll leave her," she accused.

Charles sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. Exhausted and deprived of sleep, he had come home to rest, only to find chaos waiting for him.

"Please forgive me, honey. I promise it won't happen again!" Stella lifted her hand like she was swearing. Tears filled her eyes, not from sadness, but from the sharp pain in her stomach. It was a strange feeling she'd never had before, and she didn't know why it was happening now.

Noticing Charles' headache, Sophie hurried over. "Charles, I'm sorry. Just rest for now, okay?"

Charles let Sophie lead him to his room. He didn't want to talk to Stella right now because he was afraid he might do something he'd regret later.

Stella sank into her seat once Sophie and Charles left. Magda stayed, seemingly enjoying Stella's misery.

"Does it hurt? If you had given up earlier, you wouldn't be going through this," Magda taunted, smiling at her.

"Please, just leave me alone," Stella weakly pleaded. She was tired and didn't have the strength to argue.

Magda sneered at her before turning to follow Sophie. Even though she was just their stepmother, the siblings loved her, especially Sophie. They had seen her as their mother since their parents split up. Sophie was still young then, and there was a big age gap between her and Charles. Now, their father was gone, leaving only their controlling grandfather, who was also close to death.

Slowly, Stella walked out of the kitchen, clutching her stomach and feeling anxious about her strange condition. She had no one to depend on but herself. She didn't want to get seriously sick; dealing with a broken heart was already enough. She took out her phone and made a call.

Magda smiled as she watched Stella leave. She told Marimar to follow and see where Stella was going.

"Charles, are you okay?" Sophie asked, concerned, once Charles was in bed.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone."

Feeling guilty, Sophie looked at Charles. She struggled to accept Stella as her sister-in-law. Charles had always given her everything she wanted, but that changed when he married Stella. She couldn't stand how Stella had become more important to him. Earlier, Stella had let Sophie win, but it didn't lessen her resentment.

Magda hurried into Charles' room. "Charles, Stella left. She looked really upset about what happened earlier."

Charles quickly reached for his phone on the bedside table, planning to call his wife, but before he could dial, a call came in.

"Babe, I miss you!" a high-pitched voice said from the other end.

"Is that Liz?" Sophie asked, sounding excited.

Charles nodded and silently handed the phone to Sophie before heading to the bathroom.

"Hello, Liz!" Sophie exclaimed with excitement, thrilled to hear from her friend.

"Where's Charles?" Elizabeth's voice came through the phone.

Sophie pouted, feeling a bit ignored by her friend. "You just spent the night with Charles, and now you act like you don't know me," she sulked.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Maybe you forgot you were the first person I met when I returned."

Sophie smiled. She appreciated how Elizabeth always looked out for her, even when she was abroad.

"Where's your mean sister-in-law?" Elizabeth asked.

Sophie grinned widely as she recounted the earlier events to Elizabeth. She moved away from the bathroom door to ensure Charles couldn't overhear her.

"She's having a hard time with just you. How will she handle it when I arrive?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Great idea. Why don't you come over now? She's gone, and Charles isn't feeling well. It's a good chance to be alone with him," Sophie proposed eagerly.

Elizabeth smiled, liking Sophie's suggestion. She quickly changed her clothes to visit Charles.

Sophie kept smiling even after the call ended. As she was about to place Charles' phone on the bed, a message popped up. Her eyes widened when she saw it was from Stella. She hurriedly deleted the message without reading it just as the bathroom door opened.