Left Them Loved Myself (Stella Spencer) novel Chapter 191

Chapter 191

After a while, the playful banter died down. Erica grinned as she set the gift box she’d brought on the table, casually explaining to Stella. “This is a present for Richard.”

“What’s inside?” Stella asked.

Harvey, who was rubbing his back with a grimace, also turned to look.

Seeing their curiosity, Erica didn’t hold back. She opened up the box for them. “Here, this took me forever to dig up.”

They both craned their necks to see, and when they realized it was a photo book full of pretty girls, they went completely.

silent.

Stella couldn’t help but twitch a smile. “Erica, isn’t this gift a bit much?”

Harvey tried to hold in his laughter but couldn’t help teasing, “Trust you to come up with something like this.”

Erica shot back, not convinced. “Come on, what’s wrong with this gift? It’s totally great.”

Guy’s never really changed; they were always eighteen at heart.

Obviously, Erica couldn’t go find a real girl for him–and she wouldn’t even if she could. But snagging Richard a rare, out- of–print photo book for some eye candy? That was perfectly fine.

After hearing Erica’s explanation, Stella really couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Maybe,” Stella tried to suggest, “you should pick another gift?”

“Why?” Erica replied, baffled, and casually sold out her dad. “I’ve even caught Dad checking out these photo books at home. Richard would totally like them too, right?”

Harvey struggled to keep his mouth straight, snorting, “Forget whether my grandpa likes it or not–just ask yourself if you can handle the consequences.”

If Erica’s dad found out about this, he’d kick her out in the name of family honor.

“Alright then,” Erica let out a disappointed sigh. “Guess I need to rethink the whole gift thing.”

Stella wiped the sweat from her brow. “Seriously, don’t bother. I’ll help you come up with something at lunch.”

“Deal.” Erica chirped right back, throwing her arms around Stella. “I knew you were the best.”

Stella was starting to suspect that Erica never had a real gift in mind and was just handing the whole thing off to her.

Stella gently patted Erica on the head, decided not to push it, and steered the conversation away. “Has Sylvia tried to contact you?”

As soon as she said that, the room fell into a heavy silence. Tension crept into the air.

Harvey’s grin disappeared. He frowned hard. “What’s she after with you two?”

He’d said you two instead of just you, making it obvious Harvey suspected Sylvia had reached out to Stella, too.

“Harvey?” Stella called out, trying to reassure him. “It’s really not a big deal. You don’t have to be so tense.”

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Then she gave him a quick rundown of what had happened.

After hearing everything, Harvey’s eyes grew cold, and a mocking smile tugged at his lips. “I didn’t expect her ambition to be this big.”

“What do you mean?” Stella asked, still confused. Erica, meanwhile, looked innocent.

Harvey let out a sigh and patiently explained, “As a jewelry designer, if she’s got enough big names in the entertainment industry backing her up, her future will be a whole lot smoother.”

These days, hype was king.

Even with jewelry design contests, it was not just about talent; if one had a big name, they would get better scores no matter what. That was just how it went.

People were all the same. Everybody wanted to be famous or rich. Weighing out what’s worth it was just human nature.

“The Jansen family might be second–tier, but does Sylvia really need to latch onto Yvette?” Stella frowned, still confused.

Erica was totally lost.

Harvey nodded at Stella’s words. “Sure, maybe right now she doesn’t need Yvette, but what about later? What if she launches her own entertainment company and it really takes off?”

Harvey hadn’t spent much time with Sylvia, but he could tell she wasn’t the type to only care about short–term gains. She definitely thought bigger than that.

Besides, with the Jansen and Lloyd families giving her their full support, Yvette wouldn’t be stuck in the shadows for long once she stepped into showbiz. She’d blow up fast–no doubt about it.

With such a well–laid plan in place, once Sylvia set up her own entertainment company, it wouldn’t be long–two, maybe three years tops–before she’d be calling the shots in the industry.

Letting his mind run wild, Harvey couldn’t help but admit–this girl was ambitious as hell.

As that thought crossed his mind, Harvey looked over at the silent Stella and, out of nowhere, started to worry whether Stella really stood a chance against Sylvia.

It was like Stella could totally read his mind. She flashed Harvey a little smile. “We’re not enemies, and there’s nothing for us to fight over. Trust me, we won’t be clashing anytime soon.”

‘And even if we do go head–to–head, it’s not set in stone that I’d be the one to lose,‘ Stella thought to herself.

She kept those words in her head, but last night’s run–in with Sylvia had already made her point loud and clear.

Now that Stella was about to divorce Ernest, Harvey realized maybe he was worrying for nothing. “Yeah, fair enough. Just- once all these headaches are behind you, don’t get mixed up with her again, alright?”

Stella nodded. “Okay.”

Once they finally finished talking, Erica jumped in eagerly. “It’s about time I get a turn to talk, right? So, Sylvia hasn’t reached out to me, but she did talk to my dad.

“No clue what that was about. When I asked him, he said she’s trying to wedge Yvette into the talent show I’m about to be

on.”

Erica let out a long breath, finally feeling relieved. She’d been dying to get a word in edgewise and was about to burst.

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