Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 182

The air inside the car was so still, it felt almost suffocating.

After a long moment, Kirk looked as if he’d aged years in an instant. He reached out, gently wiping away his daughter’s tears with both reverence and an endless guilt.

His voice was low and gravelly as he said, “Yvonne, I understand.”

Yvonne closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, an icy calm remained, as though she was made of winter itself.

She nodded, her voice slipping back into that unsettling, cold indifference. “Don’t forget to cut off a lock of her hair and take it to my mother’s grave.

“I want her to know–the debt she owes is about to be collected.”

“Okay,” Kirk muttered heavily, shutting his eyes. Just uttering that word seemed to sap what little strength he had left.

*****

By the time Stella finally made it back to her hospital room, it was already late. She was bone tired from spending most of the day exploring the antique street.

“Stella, I swear, today really opened my eyes. All those shop owners were hilarious, and their stories were so interesting and unexpected,” Erica said.

She followed close behind Stella, chirping away nonstop, as lively as a lark just let out of its cage. “There’s this shop that swore he had got a beat–up bike.

“He claimed it was the royal ride a medieval king used to ferry supplies to his yacht. Pulled from a shipwreck, he said. A top–of–the–line medieval bicycle? Did His Majesty pedal it on a world tour?”

Erica was laughing so hard that she practically folded in half, her bizarre, contagious giggle echoing sharp and clear down the quiet hospital corridor.

The sheer volume and distinctiveness of her voice quickly got the attention of the nurse on duty.

The nurse pushed the door open with a frown and swept the room with a stern glance. “VIP ward or not, hospital rules still apply–no loud shouting. Keep it down, please.”

Erica just stood there, stunned into silence.

Her laughter was cut off in an instant, her face freezing up, totally dumbstruck and clueless.

Stella couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing at Erica’s totally defeated look. She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with barely contained giggles.

Erica shot the nurse a glare, then turned to Stella with a look of utter betrayal. “Stella, you’re still laughing?

That’s it, friendship over–for the next three minutes.”

Stella wrestled her smile down, cleared her throat, and put on a totally straight face to comfort Erica. “Come on, the nurse definitely wasn’t talking about you.

“And even if she was- it’s basically a compliment. Your laugh is one–of–a–kind, packed with pure vitality. Yep, super lively.”

Erica rolled her eyes, then gave a fake grin. “Wow, thanks–really feeling the emotional support here.”

Honestly? That so–called comfort felt like Stella had hit her right in the heart with a bullseye–savage as ever.

Once the bewildered nurse was gone, Stella looked at the fuming girl, still sulking like a cat with its fur all puffed up.

Grinning, she pulled Erica into a warm hug, giving her a comforting squeeze–just like smoothing down a bristling kitten.

“There, there, Erica. Your laugh is honestly the best. If people don’t get it, that’s their loss. Let them talk; it’s just bad reviews,” Stella said warmly.

With Stella’s hug and gentle words, Erica couldn’t keep up her pout any longer–she broke and let out a snort of laughter.

“Alright, alright, I’m generous enough to let it go. Hungry? Should I swing by the cafeteria and snag you some of that classic hospital grub?” she suggested.

Stella glanced at the wall clock–the hands were almost at 10:30. “It’s getting late. You should head home. It’s not safe out there after this hour.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Erica asked, still looking worried.

“Relax; it’s just a few steps,” Stella said, pointing to the hospital’s mini supermarket nearby. “I’ll just grab some bread and milk.”

“Alright, then. I’m really heading out,” Erica said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll come pick you up for your grandpa’s birthday party that day.”

“Okay, take care on your way home,” Stella said warmly.

After their little exchange, Erica waved goodbye and headed out.

Stella lounged on the bed for a little while, just about to get up and hit the cafeteria for dinner, when the hospital room door was suddenly yanked open from the hallway.

“Erica, did you forget something-” Stella began, glancing up mid–sentence.

But as she lifted her gaze, her words caught in her throat.

The instant she recognized who was standing there, the smile vanished from Stella’s lips–her whole body went rigid, eyes darkening with fierce alertness.

Leaning lazily against the doorframe, wearing the same hospital gown, Sylvia watched her with cool, unhurried amusement.

Sylvia wore a faint, almost teasingly familiar smile, her tone carrying the warmth of an old friend. “Well? Am I

not welcome to come in and sit for a while?”

Stella tamped down her bubbling wariness, her expression perfectly blank as she stepped aside. “Come in, have a seat,” she replied, voice emotionless and impossible to read.

Sylvia sauntered in, her gaze gliding over the room like she was just idly looking around–but it was clear she was inspecting every inch with cool precision.

Other than Stella’s toiletries and a fruit basket brought by visitors, the room was bare–no hint of anything truly personal.

The subtle smile at the corner of Sylvia’s lips deepened, and whatever lingering doubts hid in her eyes melted away entirely.

Stella didn’t even notice the tiny change in Sylvia’s look. Once Sylvia was seated in the chair opposite her, Stella went straight for bluntness, her voice cool and remote. “So, what brings you here?”

Sylvia skipped all pretense. She leaned in a bit, looking chill but carrying a kind of silent pressure. “I want you to do me a small favor.”

Stella raised an eyebrow, thinking for a second she’d heard wrong. “You? Asking me for help?” Her tone was openly incredulous–like the whole idea was absolutely absurd.

“Yep. You,” Sylvia answered, that smile never budging.

Then, with a neat shift, she added, “Actually, it’s more like I want you to connect me with your good friend Erica–I need her help with something.”

Stella shut her down without a second thought. “No way. I never make decisions for Erica. Seriously, don’t

even try.”

Her refusal was swift and ruthless, her glare sharp enough to cut glass.

Sylvia took Stella’s reaction in stride. Leaning back and settling into her seat, she looked completely at ease, her tone measured–almost like she was patiently laying out her case, coaxing Stella without making it obvious.

“No need to shut me down so fast. Why not hear what I’m offering first? Who knows? Maybe it’ll make you rethink,” Sylvia said.

Stella shot her a cold, challenging look–basically daring her to show what else she had up her sleeve. But all she said, in that flat voice, was, “Let’s hear it.”

“I can get Ernest to-” Sylvia lingered on the words, making sure Stella caught every single one.

“Call off everything he’s got going against the Spencer family and Lumière Group–totally, forever. And I promise you, he won’t even dare to mess with them again. Not now, not ever,” she continued.

Stella sneered to herself, ‘Please, that’s old news. I already got Ernest’s notice about calling off the pressure on the Spencer family and Lumière Group.‘

Sylvia picked up on her thoughts, a knowing smile on her lips as she added before Stella could respond. “I know you probably already heard he’s backing off. But what if I told you—”

Her voice suddenly dropped, low and dangerous, as she leaned in, her posture turning sharply aggressive.

“I could make Ernest target the Spencer family all over again? And this time, he’d unleash everything the Lloyd Group has–no matter the price, no matter the fallout–until the Spencer family is completely destroyed,” she added.

Her eyes, still fixed on Stella, instantly lost all trace of warmth–the glimmer of a smile gone, leaving only an icy chill, cold enough to cut straight to the bone.

“So, tell me does that possibility tempt you enough to reconsider my request?” Sylvia asked, her voice icy and menacing.