Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 152

Before Sean could respond, Ernest turned and left.

“Hey,” Erica nudged Stella with her shoulder, whispering, “You think that scumbag is actually sticking up for you?”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Yeah, probably. Who cares anyway? You’re splitting up, so it doesn’t matter.”

They walked to the elevator, but the man was already gone.

The indicator for the private elevator, however, showed it was on its way down.

Erica pouted, ready to launch into a new round of complaints.

Ding!

A notification chimed.

Stella pulled out her phone. It was a text from Ernest.

Ernest: [I’ll meet you at city hall.]

Stella replied: [Okay.]

*****

Half an hour later, the Maserati pulled up to city hall. A sleek, understated Cayenne was already parked there.

In the driver’s seat, a man leaned his arm against the open window. His dark, tousled hair moved in the breeze, and his unfocused eyes seemed to catch the light, giving him a ruggedly handsome look.

Seeing them arrive, Ernest got out of his car and walked straight into the building without a word.

He was clearly committed to giving her the silent treatment.

“Let’s go,” Erica said, grabbing Stella’s arm and marching forward with determination.

If you didn’t know they were there for a divorce, you might have thought they were two star–crossed lovers, defying the world to be together.

Inside the divorce office, Stella and Ernest sat in chairs on opposite sides of the room, a vast, invisible chasm between them.

Erica waited outside.

Across the desk, a uniformed clerk, having reviewed their situation, began cautiously, “Divorce isn’t something to be taken lightly, especially when you have a child. Even if you aren’t thinking about yourselves,

you have to consider the child.”

“A broken home can cause a child so much…”

Stella, disgusted, cut her off. “There’s nothing to consider. My mind is made up.”

Ernest added, “Same here.”

The clerk, seeing the icy distance between them, knew that trying to reconcile them was a lost cause and simply nodded.

“You will now enter a three–month waiting period. If you still feel the same way after that, you can come back with your marriage certificate to finalize the divorce.”

“Thank you,” Stella said, grabbing her marriage certificate and walking out.

Erica shot up from her seat as soon as she saw Stella emerge. “So? Is it done?”

“It’s not that simple,” Stella said with a weary smile. “There’s a three–month waiting period. We can only finalize everything after that time has passed.”

“What?” Erica exclaimed, bewildered. “If you’ve both decided, why is there a waiting period? Isn’t there some way to fast–track this?”

Just as Stella was about to answer, a sharp, critical voice cut through the air from nearby.

“You’re a pretty little thing, but you’ve got a nasty heart, don’t you?”

Both women turned in confusion.

Haven’t you ever heard you shouldn’t meddle in other people’s marriages? It’s a rotten thing to do, encouraging a divorce.”

Erica was baffled for a second before firing back.

“Whoa, hold on,” she said, making a ‘time out‘ gesture before turning to the older woman who was running her mouth. “Do you even know what’s going on, or do you just like the sound of your own voice?”

“Hey!” the woman snapped. “What kind of way is that to talk, young lady?”

Erica’s “Hey!” was even louder. “Oh, so you can dish it out, but I can’t take it?”

The woman was momentarily stunned.

As the undefeated queen of her neighborhood’s verbal sparring matches, she’d never encountered someone with such intense fighting spirit. Her competitive drive instantly kicked in.

“I guess someone needs to teach you some respect for your elders!”

“Please. Lady, don’t start something you can’t finish.”

Chapter 152

They stood a few feet apart, staring each other down. You could practically see the sparks flying between them, and the atmosphere was electric.

Feeling completely out of place in the middle of this bizarre showdown, Stella was speechless.

‘What is even happening?‘ she wondered.

She decided to offer a piece of advice. “Erica, don’t you dare slap her.”

A single slap from her might actually kill the woman.

Erica’s triumphant smile vanished. Taking away her signature move cut her combat power in half.

“You’ll

assault.

get what’s coming to you for encouraging divorce!” the woman yelled, launching an immediate verbal

“Oof!”

Erica clutched her chest dramatically as if she’d been mortally wounded.

“Time out! Halftime! I need to consult with my support team!”

The woman crossed her arms, looking down on her with a scornful huff. “Go on, bring it. I was winning arguments in town squares when you were still in diapers.”

Erica’s lip twitched. “Wow, so you’re really old, then.”

“Why you…” The woman’s face turned beet red with anger.

Ignoring her, Erica rushed back to Stella’s side. “Stella, Stella, enemy fire is too heavy! I need tactical support!”

“Me?” Stella pointed at her own nose, a “you can’t be serious” look on her face. “You think I can do this?”

She’d had some wild times growing up with her brother, but nothing had prepared her for this.

“Totally,” Erica said, patting her chest. “Just follow my lead.”

“Alright, fine.” Stella couldn’t say no to her.

A couple of minutes later, the halftime break was over, and the combatants took their places again.

“Encouraging a divorce…”

The woman tried to repeat her opening line, but she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of clapping and stomping next to her.

“Back! Back! Back!” Stella chanted, her face flushed with embarrassment. She clapped her hands and stomped her feet, looking like she was performing some bizarre ritual to ward off evil spirits.

Seizing the opportunity, Erica delivered the final blow. “Question! What’s so great about marriage?”

195-

Lu bacchi

“Answer!” the woman shot back on instinct. She was about to list the benefits, but as she thought about her own life, her mind drew a complete blank. “The benefits of marriage are… well, there’s…

“I’m starting the countdown. If you can’t answer, you forfeit the match,” Erica declared, piling on the pressure.

“The benefits are…”

“Three!”

“There’s…”

“Two!”

“Um…”

“One!” Erica shouted.

Stella stepped in as the announcer. “Congratulations to this contestant on winning today’s debate!”

She raised Erica’s hand in victory, a brilliant, genuine smile spreading across her face, illuminated by the sun.

It was a smile Ernest had never seen before.