For three years, Stella’s body had been occupied by another soul. During that time, that impostor married Stella’s archenemy, Julian, and endured three years of bullying at his hands. But once Stella finally regained control of her own body, she wasted no time in seeking revenge. When Julian choked her for the sake of another woman, Stella retaliated by kicking him until he was broken. And when faced with Julian’s entire family—who had always treated her like a slave—she declared with pride, “I don’t want Julian, this useless man!” Everyone assumed she was just playing hard to get, after all, they believed she loved Julian deeply; otherwise, she would never have spent five billion to marry him. However, to their shock, Stella fiercely withdrew all her financial support and cut off every tie. As she grew bolder and more aggressive, Julian sneered, “Our relationship isn’t something you can change by playing hard to get.” But Stella simply kicked him to the ground and gave him an ultimatum: “Choose between death and divorce!” Meanwhile, the public all predicted that the powerful man she had dumped would surely retaliate fiercely. Yet before that man could even return, Stella had already fled the country overnight. On a foreign street, she grabbed Sebastian by the collar and demanded angrily, “Why didn’t you stop me back then? Marrying that useless man—it disgusts me just thinking about it!”

Chapter 1"You want her dead? Then I'll send you straight to hell to keep her company!" (Author's Note: This guy is not the male lead!)Stella Channing's cold eyes fluttered open. She stared at Julian Sinclair's moving lips, her mind completely blank for a fleeting second."Keep who company?"She spoke with a chilling, icy tone.What was going on? Wasn't she sleeping? Why was Julian in her room?Suddenly...A massive wave of unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.The memories struck fast and hard, flashing like chaotic movie scenes that made Stella's head throb with agonizing pain.Julian choked her with a ruthless glare. "Are you playing dumb with me?""You ran over the only viable kidney donor for Ivy just so she'd be left waiting to die!""Stella, how could you be so sick!"Ivy Sloane's blood type was extremely rare, making it nearly impossible to find a suitable transplant.Thinking of the car accident from that morning, Julian tightened his agonizing grip around Stella's throat.Stella remained silent.As the memories fully integrated, the icy chill in her eyes instantly morphed into a deadly glare.It was absolutely unbelievable.She had merely gone to sleep, yet her body had been hijacked by another soul for three entire years!The invading soul in her body had fallen madly in love with her sworn enemy, Julian Sinclair.She had even gone to desperate lengths to marry him.The bitter feud between Julian and herself back in college was the stuff of legends.Forced into the marriage due to family pressure, he absolutely despised the union.He carried a torch for his deceased first love, Rainey Fitzgerald.Now, the woman by his side suffering from kidney failure, Ivy Sloane, was an exact lookalike of Rainey.Three years ago, the moment she returned from abroad, Julian had been completely captivated by her.So for the past three years, the days her body was occupied by that foreign soul were filled with nothing but endless torment and humiliation.And now, this unfolding drama...Julian was convinced she had deliberately run over Ivy's matched donor and looked ready to murder her.Julian snarled, "Wasn't killing Rainey enough for you? Now you want Ivy dead too!"Hearing him bring up Rainey's death, Stella's eyes narrowed dangerously."Take your hands off my neck," she warned in a lethal whisper.Julian paused."Then take two steps back," Stella commanded.Her tone possessed a freezing authority that hadn't been heard in three years.Julian, still gripping her throat, froze for a second before the fury in his eyes blazed even brighter.The grip tightened, a clear murderous intent radiating from him.Stella looked up, the piercing chill in her eyes striking Julian with predatory force.He was taken aback, and before he could even process the shift, Stella acted.She brought her knee up and slammed it brutally into his stomach.Julian let out an agonizing grunt, instantly releasing Stella's neck and stumbling back two steps.He steadied himself, looking at Stella with rapidly shrinking pupils.Not giving him a single second to recover, Stella landed another vicious kick square in his gut.Julian, having just found his footing, was sent crashing onto the floor.The excruciating pain in his abdomen contorted his bruised face, cold sweat beading on his forehead.Stella sat up, glaring down at the man on the floor with absolute disdain.She reached up, wiping her neck in disgust where Julian had touched her. "I told you to let go and step back. Why didn't you listen?"Julian was breathing heavily, unable to believe his own ears. What was she saying?How dare she...He looked up, meeting Stella's disgusted, indifferent gaze, and his breath hitched. "You..."What was with this attitude?Remembering her pathetic submission over the last three years, Julian blurted out without thinking, "You're not Stella!"Staring at the woman radiating an overwhelming, dominant aura, Julian suspected she wasn't Stella Channing at all, just someone with her face.Stella's personality was never like this.But seeing her still wearing that oversized, tacky black t-shirt, he felt a flicker of uncertainty.Faced with Julian's doubt, Stella narrowed her eyes.She raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap right across his face.Julian was stunned.As his ears rang from the impact, Stella slapped him again.Her sharp voice echoed from above. "Who am I? Did spoiling you for three years make you forget who I really am? Did you honestly think I went soft?"The words 'who I really am' caused Julian's face to drain of color.He looked up in sheer horror. "You..."Stella stood up, her towering, commanding presence sending shivers down his spine.Before Julian could process this earth-shattering shift, Stella stomped her foot directly onto his hand.It was the exact hand he had just used to choke her.As the bones ground together, Julian's heart seized. "What are you doing?!"Stella pressed her lips into a thin line, adding crushing weight to her foot until a sickening snap echoed through the room.A horrific scream tore through the silence of the mansion.Stella lowered her gaze, her tone dropping like a descending demon. "Now, do you remember who I really am?"Julian's knuckles were crushed and dislocated. The agony radiating from his shattered hand made his face turn deathly pale.He struggled to look up at her, the memory of her formerly gentle face now completely overshadowed by this ruthless glare.The familiar sense of danger finally dragged his memory back to her true nature.It reminded him of just how merciless she had been when they were enemies in college!This was the true face of the formidable Ms. Channing!Raised by her fiercely commanding grandmother to be an absolute force of nature, how could she ever be a pathetic pushover?It was just that for the past three years of their marriage...Perhaps out of guilt over Rainey's death, or because her blinding love for him made her docile, he had genuinely forgotten her true colors.Not only him, but the entire Sinclair family had forgotten.Watching Julian's face contort with furious venom, Stella's gaze turned predatory."You want me to accompany a Sloane family brat to the grave? Who gave you the audacity?""Shut up!"Julian's lips trembled from the excruciating pain.But hearing the words 'brat' infuriated him further.He absolutely despised anyone degrading Ivy's origins. She might not have been born to Mrs. Sloane, but she was personally raised by her.It was bad enough she looked down on Rainey back in school, but now she was humiliating Ivy too.Stella removed her foot from his broken hand. Just as Julian thought he had earned a moment of freedom, she struck again.The next second, she grabbed his tie and yanked it tight.Julian let out a stifled gasp as the fabric dug into his throat, cutting off his air supply entirely.The butler and maids hiding in the shadows had initially been paralyzed by Stella's sudden transformation.Snapping back to reality, they rushed forward to intervene. "Mrs. Sinclair, please let him go! If the Manor finds out about this, they will never forgive you!"Hearing them use Sinclair Manor as a threat, Stella shot them a lethal glare.The approaching servants froze in their tracks, utterly terrified by her predatory gaze. None of them dared to take another step.They had never seen this side of Stella and were completely petrified.Stella was highly satisfied with their reaction.She turned back to Julian, whose face was turning a bruised purple from the lack of oxygen.Her tone grew even sharper. "You treasure her that much? How about I just hand over my position in the Sinclair family to her?"Hearing this, Julian's expression faltered.The brief flash of joy in his eyes was instantly buried under an undeniable, suffocating panic.He didn't dare divorce Stella.When he didn't answer, Stella used his tie to reel him in closer.Her breath brushed against his neck. It was warm, yet it sent a freezing chill straight to Julian's bones.She whispered softly in his ear, "If that's what you want, I can make it happen."The words were spoken lightly, but they reeked of danger. Julian stared at her in sheer disbelief.Make it happen? No, that was impossible!This infuriating woman knew perfectly well he couldn't afford to divorce her. Was she just playing hard to get?Gritting his teeth, Julian snapped, "Cut the fake act."Three years ago, she had practically threatened to die if he didn't marry her, bringing a five hundred million dollar dowry. Now she was talking about stepping aside? She was full of tricks.Unfortunately for her, no matter what tactics she used, he would never fall for her.Besides, he only wanted to save Ivy's life; he had never actually considered divorcing Stella to marry her.Lawrence and the Sinclair elders would never allow it anyway.Seeing Julian's conflicted, pathetic hesitation, Stella shoved him away in absolute disgust and stood up.Julian stumbled to his feet.Before Stella could speak, he gritted his teeth and declared, "Your place in the Sinclair family is permanently yours. But beyond that title, don't expect anything else from me."As he spoke, he cradled his mangled hand and collapsed onto the sofa.The bones were horribly dislocated, his entire hand was swelling, and his stomach throbbed in agony.Stella raised an eyebrow.Before she could respond, Julian added, "I never planned on marrying her, so she won't threaten your status in this family."Stella scoffed. "Is it that you never planned to, or that you don't have the guts to?"The Sinclair family despised her, yet they desperately clung to her five hundred million dollars to save their own reputation.Over the past three years, no one had realistically threatened her position as his wife.But while her title remained safe, the endless humiliation in the shadows had never stopped!Her blunt mockery made Julian's face darken with rage.Stella looked down at him with a smirk. "Such a prestigious position. If I'm giving it up, I should fetch a pretty good price for it, right?"Julian remained silent.His expression turned incredibly grim.What the hell did this woman mean? Was she stepping aside, or did it sound like she was selling it?No, she couldn't be...She had to be throwing a tantrum because all his attention had been focused on Ivy lately!But that was only because Ivy was severely ill, wasn't it?Julian glared at her. "Our relationship isn't something you can fix by playing hard to get."Throwing this sudden fit—if it wasn't playing hard to get, what was it?Three years ago, she bailed out the nearly bankrupt Sinclair family with five hundred million dollars just to marry him.Now she was offering to surrender her place? It was impossible.Hearing the phrase 'playing hard to get,' Stella let out a cold laugh."Do you really think someone like you is worth me playing games for?"Julian fired back, "You've spent plenty of energy on me over the last three years."Stella remained silent.Memories of the foreign soul doing incredibly stupid things in her body to appease him flashed through her mind, turning her eyes ice-cold.She marched over to Julian and stomped her foot directly onto his wounded abdomen. Julian let out a gut-wrenching scream.This woman was a lunatic!Stella leaned in. "Death or divorce. Pick one!"In that moment, she looked absolutely merciless.Julian's face cycled through shades of pale green from the pain. Staring at the deranged woman before him, he couldn't form a single word.Disgusted by his pathetic state, Stella scoffed, removed her foot, and turned to sit on the opposite sofa.She leaned back with the lazy elegance of a queen, staring him down as she enunciated every word. "Not only that, but the five hundred million dollars I lent the Sinclair family must be returned to me immediately, down to the last cent. Also, all our current collaborative business projects..."Stella paused for effect.Watching Julian's face turn completely ashen, her smirk deepened. "...will be terminated immediately!"Her ruthless, commanding tone left absolutely no room for negotiation.Chapter 2"You want her dead? Then I'll send you straight to hell to keep her company!" (Author's Note: This guy is not the male lead!)Stella Channing's cold eyes fluttered open. She stared at Julian Sinclair's moving lips, her mind completely blank for a fleeting second."Keep who company?"She spoke with a chilling, icy tone.What was going on? Wasn't she sleeping? Why was Julian in her room?Suddenly...A massive wave of unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.The memories struck fast and hard, flashing like chaotic movie scenes that made Stella's head throb with agonizing pain.Julian choked her with a ruthless glare. "Are you playing dumb with me?""You ran over the only viable kidney donor for Ivy just so she'd be left waiting to die!""Stella, how could you be so sick!"Ivy Sloane's blood type was extremely rare, making it nearly impossible to find a suitable transplant.Thinking of the car accident from that morning, Julian tightened his agonizing grip around Stella's throat.Stella remained silent.As the memories fully integrated, the icy chill in her eyes instantly morphed into a deadly glare.It was absolutely unbelievable.She had merely gone to sleep, yet her body had been hijacked by another soul for three entire years!The invading soul in her body had fallen madly in love with her sworn enemy, Julian Sinclair.She had even gone to desperate lengths to marry him.The bitter feud between Julian and herself back in college was the stuff of legends.Forced into the marriage due to family pressure, he absolutely despised the union.He carried a torch for his deceased first love, Rainey Fitzgerald.Now, the woman by his side suffering from kidney failure, Ivy Sloane, was an exact lookalike of Rainey.Three years ago, the moment she returned from abroad, Julian had been completely captivated by her.So for the past three years, the days her body was occupied by that foreign soul were filled with nothing but endless torment and humiliation.And now, this unfolding drama...Julian was convinced she had deliberately run over Ivy's matched donor and looked ready to murder her.Julian snarled, "Wasn't killing Rainey enough for you? Now you want Ivy dead too!"Hearing him bring up Rainey's death, Stella's eyes narrowed dangerously."Take your hands off my neck," she warned in a lethal whisper.Julian paused."Then take two steps back," Stella commanded.Her tone possessed a freezing authority that hadn't been heard in three years.Julian, still gripping her throat, froze for a second before the fury in his eyes blazed even brighter.The grip tightened, a clear murderous intent radiating from him.Stella looked up, the piercing chill in her eyes striking Julian with predatory force.He was taken aback, and before he could even process the shift, Stella acted.She brought her knee up and slammed it brutally into his stomach.Julian let out an agonizing grunt, instantly releasing Stella's neck and stumbling back two steps.He steadied himself, looking at Stella with rapidly shrinking pupils.Not giving him a single second to recover, Stella landed another vicious kick square in his gut.Julian, having just found his footing, was sent crashing onto the floor.The excruciating pain in his abdomen contorted his bruised face, cold sweat beading on his forehead.Stella sat up, glaring down at the man on the floor with absolute disdain.She reached up, wiping her neck in disgust where Julian had touched her. "I told you to let go and step back. Why didn't you listen?"Julian was breathing heavily, unable to believe his own ears. What was she saying?How dare she...He looked up, meeting Stella's disgusted, indifferent gaze, and his breath hitched. "You..."What was with this attitude?Remembering her pathetic submission over the last three years, Julian blurted out without thinking, "You're not Stella!"Staring at the woman radiating an overwhelming, dominant aura, Julian suspected she wasn't Stella Channing at all, just someone with her face.Stella's personality was never like this.But seeing her still wearing that oversized, tacky black t-shirt, he felt a flicker of uncertainty.Faced with Julian's doubt, Stella narrowed her eyes.She raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap right across his face.Julian was stunned.As his ears rang from the impact, Stella slapped him again.Her sharp voice echoed from above. "Who am I? Did spoiling you for three years make you forget who I really am? Did you honestly think I went soft?"The words 'who I really am' caused Julian's face to drain of color.He looked up in sheer horror. "You..."Stella stood up, her towering, commanding presence sending shivers down his spine.Before Julian could process this earth-shattering shift, Stella stomped her foot directly onto his hand.It was the exact hand he had just used to choke her.As the bones ground together, Julian's heart seized. "What are you doing?!"Stella pressed her lips into a thin line, adding crushing weight to her foot until a sickening snap echoed through the room.A horrific scream tore through the silence of the mansion.Stella lowered her gaze, her tone dropping like a descending demon. "Now, do you remember who I really am?"Julian's knuckles were crushed and dislocated. The agony radiating from his shattered hand made his face turn deathly pale.He struggled to look up at her, the memory of her formerly gentle face now completely overshadowed by this ruthless glare.The familiar sense of danger finally dragged his memory back to her true nature.It reminded him of just how merciless she had been when they were enemies in college!This was the true face of the formidable Ms. Channing!Raised by her fiercely commanding grandmother to be an absolute force of nature, how could she ever be a pathetic pushover?It was just that for the past three years of their marriage...Perhaps out of guilt over Rainey's death, or because her blinding love for him made her docile, he had genuinely forgotten her true colors.Not only him, but the entire Sinclair family had forgotten.Watching Julian's face contort with furious venom, Stella's gaze turned predatory."You want me to accompany a Sloane family brat to the grave? Who gave you the audacity?""Shut up!"Julian's lips trembled from the excruciating pain.But hearing the words 'brat' infuriated him further.He absolutely despised anyone degrading Ivy's origins. She might not have been born to Mrs. Sloane, but she was personally raised by her.It was bad enough she looked down on Rainey back in school, but now she was humiliating Ivy too.Stella removed her foot from his broken hand. Just as Julian thought he had earned a moment of freedom, she struck again.The next second, she grabbed his tie and yanked it tight.Julian let out a stifled gasp as the fabric dug into his throat, cutting off his air supply entirely.The butler and maids hiding in the shadows had initially been paralyzed by Stella's sudden transformation.Snapping back to reality, they rushed forward to intervene. "Mrs. Sinclair, please let him go! If the Manor finds out about this, they will never forgive you!"Hearing them use Sinclair Manor as a threat, Stella shot them a lethal glare.The approaching servants froze in their tracks, utterly terrified by her predatory gaze. None of them dared to take another step.They had never seen this side of Stella and were completely petrified.Stella was highly satisfied with their reaction.She turned back to Julian, whose face was turning a bruised purple from the lack of oxygen.Her tone grew even sharper. "You treasure her that much? How about I just hand over my position in the Sinclair family to her?"Hearing this, Julian's expression faltered.The brief flash of joy in his eyes was instantly buried under an undeniable, suffocating panic.He didn't dare divorce Stella.When he didn't answer, Stella used his tie to reel him in closer.Her breath brushed against his neck. It was warm, yet it sent a freezing chill straight to Julian's bones.She whispered softly in his ear, "If that's what you want, I can make it happen."The words were spoken lightly, but they reeked of danger. Julian stared at her in sheer disbelief.Make it happen? No, that was impossible!This infuriating woman knew perfectly well he couldn't afford to divorce her. Was she just playing hard to get?Gritting his teeth, Julian snapped, "Cut the fake act."Three years ago, she had practically threatened to die if he didn't marry her, bringing a five hundred million dollar dowry. Now she was talking about stepping aside? She was full of tricks.Unfortunately for her, no matter what tactics she used, he would never fall for her.Besides, he only wanted to save Ivy's life; he had never actually considered divorcing Stella to marry her.Lawrence and the Sinclair elders would never allow it anyway.Seeing Julian's conflicted, pathetic hesitation, Stella shoved him away in absolute disgust and stood up.Julian stumbled to his feet.Before Stella could speak, he gritted his teeth and declared, "Your place in the Sinclair family is permanently yours. But beyond that title, don't expect anything else from me."As he spoke, he cradled his mangled hand and collapsed onto the sofa.The bones were horribly dislocated, his entire hand was swelling, and his stomach throbbed in agony.Stella raised an eyebrow.Before she could respond, Julian added, "I never planned on marrying her, so she won't threaten your status in this family."Stella scoffed. "Is it that you never planned to, or that you don't have the guts to?"The Sinclair family despised her, yet they desperately clung to her five hundred million dollars to save their own reputation.Over the past three years, no one had realistically threatened her position as his wife.But while her title remained safe, the endless humiliation in the shadows had never stopped!Her blunt mockery made Julian's face darken with rage.Stella looked down at him with a smirk. "Such a prestigious position. If I'm giving it up, I should fetch a pretty good price for it, right?"Julian remained silent.His expression turned incredibly grim.What the hell did this woman mean? Was she stepping aside, or did it sound like she was selling it?No, she couldn't be...She had to be throwing a tantrum because all his attention had been focused on Ivy lately!But that was only because Ivy was severely ill, wasn't it?Julian glared at her. "Our relationship isn't something you can fix by playing hard to get."Throwing this sudden fit—if it wasn't playing hard to get, what was it?Three years ago, she bailed out the nearly bankrupt Sinclair family with five hundred million dollars just to marry him.Now she was offering to surrender her place? It was impossible.Hearing the phrase 'playing hard to get,' Stella let out a cold laugh."Do you really think someone like you is worth me playing games for?"Julian fired back, "You've spent plenty of energy on me over the last three years."Stella remained silent.Memories of the foreign soul doing incredibly stupid things in her body to appease him flashed through her mind, turning her eyes ice-cold.She marched over to Julian and stomped her foot directly onto his wounded abdomen. Julian let out a gut-wrenching scream.This woman was a lunatic!Stella leaned in. "Death or divorce. Pick one!"In that moment, she looked absolutely merciless.Julian's face cycled through shades of pale green from the pain. Staring at the deranged woman before him, he couldn't form a single word.Disgusted by his pathetic state, Stella scoffed, removed her foot, and turned to sit on the opposite sofa.She leaned back with the lazy elegance of a queen, staring him down as she enunciated every word. "Not only that, but the five hundred million dollars I lent the Sinclair family must be returned to me immediately, down to the last cent. Also, all our current collaborative business projects..."Stella paused for effect.Watching Julian's face turn completely ashen, her smirk deepened. "...will be terminated immediately!"Her ruthless, commanding tone left absolutely no room for negotiation.Chapter 3"You want her dead? Then I'll send you straight to hell to keep her company!" (Author's Note: This guy is not the male lead!)Stella Channing's cold eyes fluttered open. She stared at Julian Sinclair's moving lips, her mind completely blank for a fleeting second."Keep who company?"She spoke with a chilling, icy tone.What was going on? Wasn't she sleeping? Why was Julian in her room?Suddenly...A massive wave of unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.The memories struck fast and hard, flashing like chaotic movie scenes that made Stella's head throb with agonizing pain.Julian choked her with a ruthless glare. "Are you playing dumb with me?""You ran over the only viable kidney donor for Ivy just so she'd be left waiting to die!""Stella, how could you be so sick!"Ivy Sloane's blood type was extremely rare, making it nearly impossible to find a suitable transplant.Thinking of the car accident from that morning, Julian tightened his agonizing grip around Stella's throat.Stella remained silent.As the memories fully integrated, the icy chill in her eyes instantly morphed into a deadly glare.It was absolutely unbelievable.She had merely gone to sleep, yet her body had been hijacked by another soul for three entire years!The invading soul in her body had fallen madly in love with her sworn enemy, Julian Sinclair.She had even gone to desperate lengths to marry him.The bitter feud between Julian and herself back in college was the stuff of legends.Forced into the marriage due to family pressure, he absolutely despised the union.He carried a torch for his deceased first love, Rainey Fitzgerald.Now, the woman by his side suffering from kidney failure, Ivy Sloane, was an exact lookalike of Rainey.Three years ago, the moment she returned from abroad, Julian had been completely captivated by her.So for the past three years, the days her body was occupied by that foreign soul were filled with nothing but endless torment and humiliation.And now, this unfolding drama...Julian was convinced she had deliberately run over Ivy's matched donor and looked ready to murder her.Julian snarled, "Wasn't killing Rainey enough for you? Now you want Ivy dead too!"Hearing him bring up Rainey's death, Stella's eyes narrowed dangerously."Take your hands off my neck," she warned in a lethal whisper.Julian paused."Then take two steps back," Stella commanded.Her tone possessed a freezing authority that hadn't been heard in three years.Julian, still gripping her throat, froze for a second before the fury in his eyes blazed even brighter.The grip tightened, a clear murderous intent radiating from him.Stella looked up, the piercing chill in her eyes striking Julian with predatory force.He was taken aback, and before he could even process the shift, Stella acted.She brought her knee up and slammed it brutally into his stomach.Julian let out an agonizing grunt, instantly releasing Stella's neck and stumbling back two steps.He steadied himself, looking at Stella with rapidly shrinking pupils.Not giving him a single second to recover, Stella landed another vicious kick square in his gut.Julian, having just found his footing, was sent crashing onto the floor.The excruciating pain in his abdomen contorted his bruised face, cold sweat beading on his forehead.Stella sat up, glaring down at the man on the floor with absolute disdain.She reached up, wiping her neck in disgust where Julian had touched her. "I told you to let go and step back. Why didn't you listen?"Julian was breathing heavily, unable to believe his own ears. What was she saying?How dare she...He looked up, meeting Stella's disgusted, indifferent gaze, and his breath hitched. "You..."What was with this attitude?Remembering her pathetic submission over the last three years, Julian blurted out without thinking, "You're not Stella!"Staring at the woman radiating an overwhelming, dominant aura, Julian suspected she wasn't Stella Channing at all, just someone with her face.Stella's personality was never like this.But seeing her still wearing that oversized, tacky black t-shirt, he felt a flicker of uncertainty.Faced with Julian's doubt, Stella narrowed her eyes.She raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap right across his face.Julian was stunned.As his ears rang from the impact, Stella slapped him again.Her sharp voice echoed from above. "Who am I? Did spoiling you for three years make you forget who I really am? Did you honestly think I went soft?"The words 'who I really am' caused Julian's face to drain of color.He looked up in sheer horror. "You..."Stella stood up, her towering, commanding presence sending shivers down his spine.Before Julian could process this earth-shattering shift, Stella stomped her foot directly onto his hand.It was the exact hand he had just used to choke her.As the bones ground together, Julian's heart seized. "What are you doing?!"Stella pressed her lips into a thin line, adding crushing weight to her foot until a sickening snap echoed through the room.A horrific scream tore through the silence of the mansion.Stella lowered her gaze, her tone dropping like a descending demon. "Now, do you remember who I really am?"Julian's knuckles were crushed and dislocated. The agony radiating from his shattered hand made his face turn deathly pale.He struggled to look up at her, the memory of her formerly gentle face now completely overshadowed by this ruthless glare.The familiar sense of danger finally dragged his memory back to her true nature.It reminded him of just how merciless she had been when they were enemies in college!This was the true face of the formidable Ms. Channing!Raised by her fiercely commanding grandmother to be an absolute force of nature, how could she ever be a pathetic pushover?It was just that for the past three years of their marriage...Perhaps out of guilt over Rainey's death, or because her blinding love for him made her docile, he had genuinely forgotten her true colors.Not only him, but the entire Sinclair family had forgotten.Watching Julian's face contort with furious venom, Stella's gaze turned predatory."You want me to accompany a Sloane family brat to the grave? Who gave you the audacity?""Shut up!"Julian's lips trembled from the excruciating pain.But hearing the words 'brat' infuriated him further.He absolutely despised anyone degrading Ivy's origins. She might not have been born to Mrs. Sloane, but she was personally raised by her.It was bad enough she looked down on Rainey back in school, but now she was humiliating Ivy too.Stella removed her foot from his broken hand. Just as Julian thought he had earned a moment of freedom, she struck again.The next second, she grabbed his tie and yanked it tight.Julian let out a stifled gasp as the fabric dug into his throat, cutting off his air supply entirely.The butler and maids hiding in the shadows had initially been paralyzed by Stella's sudden transformation.Snapping back to reality, they rushed forward to intervene. "Mrs. Sinclair, please let him go! If the Manor finds out about this, they will never forgive you!"Hearing them use Sinclair Manor as a threat, Stella shot them a lethal glare.The approaching servants froze in their tracks, utterly terrified by her predatory gaze. None of them dared to take another step.They had never seen this side of Stella and were completely petrified.Stella was highly satisfied with their reaction.She turned back to Julian, whose face was turning a bruised purple from the lack of oxygen.Her tone grew even sharper. "You treasure her that much? How about I just hand over my position in the Sinclair family to her?"Hearing this, Julian's expression faltered.The brief flash of joy in his eyes was instantly buried under an undeniable, suffocating panic.He didn't dare divorce Stella.When he didn't answer, Stella used his tie to reel him in closer.Her breath brushed against his neck. It was warm, yet it sent a freezing chill straight to Julian's bones.She whispered softly in his ear, "If that's what you want, I can make it happen."The words were spoken lightly, but they reeked of danger. Julian stared at her in sheer disbelief.Make it happen? No, that was impossible!This infuriating woman knew perfectly well he couldn't afford to divorce her. Was she just playing hard to get?Gritting his teeth, Julian snapped, "Cut the fake act."Three years ago, she had practically threatened to die if he didn't marry her, bringing a five hundred million dollar dowry. Now she was talking about stepping aside? She was full of tricks.Unfortunately for her, no matter what tactics she used, he would never fall for her.Besides, he only wanted to save Ivy's life; he had never actually considered divorcing Stella to marry her.Lawrence and the Sinclair elders would never allow it anyway.Seeing Julian's conflicted, pathetic hesitation, Stella shoved him away in absolute disgust and stood up.Julian stumbled to his feet.Before Stella could speak, he gritted his teeth and declared, "Your place in the Sinclair family is permanently yours. But beyond that title, don't expect anything else from me."As he spoke, he cradled his mangled hand and collapsed onto the sofa.The bones were horribly dislocated, his entire hand was swelling, and his stomach throbbed in agony.Stella raised an eyebrow.Before she could respond, Julian added, "I never planned on marrying her, so she won't threaten your status in this family."Stella scoffed. "Is it that you never planned to, or that you don't have the guts to?"The Sinclair family despised her, yet they desperately clung to her five hundred million dollars to save their own reputation.Over the past three years, no one had realistically threatened her position as his wife.But while her title remained safe, the endless humiliation in the shadows had never stopped!Her blunt mockery made Julian's face darken with rage.Stella looked down at him with a smirk. "Such a prestigious position. If I'm giving it up, I should fetch a pretty good price for it, right?"Julian remained silent.His expression turned incredibly grim.What the hell did this woman mean? Was she stepping aside, or did it sound like she was selling it?No, she couldn't be...She had to be throwing a tantrum because all his attention had been focused on Ivy lately!But that was only because Ivy was severely ill, wasn't it?Julian glared at her. "Our relationship isn't something you can fix by playing hard to get."Throwing this sudden fit—if it wasn't playing hard to get, what was it?Three years ago, she bailed out the nearly bankrupt Sinclair family with five hundred million dollars just to marry him.Now she was offering to surrender her place? It was impossible.Hearing the phrase 'playing hard to get,' Stella let out a cold laugh."Do you really think someone like you is worth me playing games for?"Julian fired back, "You've spent plenty of energy on me over the last three years."Stella remained silent.Memories of the foreign soul doing incredibly stupid things in her body to appease him flashed through her mind, turning her eyes ice-cold.She marched over to Julian and stomped her foot directly onto his wounded abdomen. Julian let out a gut-wrenching scream.This woman was a lunatic!Stella leaned in. "Death or divorce. Pick one!"In that moment, she looked absolutely merciless.Julian's face cycled through shades of pale green from the pain. Staring at the deranged woman before him, he couldn't form a single word.Disgusted by his pathetic state, Stella scoffed, removed her foot, and turned to sit on the opposite sofa.She leaned back with the lazy elegance of a queen, staring him down as she enunciated every word. "Not only that, but the five hundred million dollars I lent the Sinclair family must be returned to me immediately, down to the last cent. Also, all our current collaborative business projects..."Stella paused for effect.Watching Julian's face turn completely ashen, her smirk deepened. "...will be terminated immediately!"Her ruthless, commanding tone left absolutely no room for negotiation.