Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 861

The moment Stella mentioned Melissa, Ronald reached out and ruffled her hair, the way you’d tousle a kitten’s ears.

“So, what about her?” he asked.

Stella frowned. “Mom said Melissa is definitely behind this and told me to deal with it.”

“And what do you want to do?”

Stella hesitated. How was she supposed to deal with it? They weren’t even sure Melissa was the culprit—wouldn’t it be reckless to just jump to conclusions?

Ronald could tell she was struggling with it. His voice was low, thoughtful. “People rarely show you who they truly are on the inside.”

“Huh?” Stella blinked.

He gave her a knowing look. “Whatever secrets someone keeps, only they really know. What they show the world is usually just a mask.”

Stella’s eyes widened. So, everything Melissa did that day—could it all have been an act, hiding something deeper? Compared to Regina, Melissa definitely seemed more likely to pull something like this, but still, something felt off.

“You sleepy?” Ronald asked.

“Nope,” Stella muttered. Her mind was spinning—how could she sleep?

Ronald sighed, gently pinching her cheek. “Leave it. Let Idris look into it. Once we know the full story, we’ll decide what to do, okay?”

Stella let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. If Idris was on it, she could relax a bit.

“Try to get some rest.”

“Only if you hold me,” she countered, stretching out her arms for a hug.

Ronald shook his head in mock exasperation, set his paperwork aside, and climbed into bed, wrapping her up in his arms. Stella snuggled in, wishing she could just stay here forever, not have to worry about anything. Since coming back to Ronald, she felt like she was becoming her old, carefree self again.

Ronald had just lulled her into sleep when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, hit decline, and gently slipped Stella’s head onto the pillow before stepping out of the room to take the call.

“Don’t worry about my sister,” Stella said. “But if the Black Gate crowd finds out you’re with Hull, that’ll be a whole other can of worms.”

“What do you mean?” Susanna’s voice rose.

“Black Gate’s a mess these days. Either way, this could actually work out for your mom.”

Susanna fell silent for a moment. She knew Stella wouldn’t lie about something like that.

“I just worry about Yvonne. She’s been worried sick over me,” Susanna admitted.

Stella didn’t say anything, but she was worried about Yvonne too. This whole thing was a nightmare.

After a few more words, Susanna hung up, and Stella stared at her phone. She hadn’t been tired before—Ronald had just about managed to soothe her to sleep—but now, after Susanna’s call, she was wide awake again.

Finally, she sighed and decided to call Yvonne.