Chapter 6

*SLAP!*

A sharp, violent crack echoed through the bedroom.

Mom’s hand hung in the air, trembling with fury, having delivered a savage slap across Stella’s cheek.

Pointing a shaking finger in Stella's face, Mom screamed:

"Stella Vance, listen to the vile poison coming out of your mouth!"

"Since the day she came home, how much have you taken from her? You are a year older than her, yet you demanded to be treated like the baby sister, and we forced her to give in! You are adopted, yet you lived like royalty while my own flesh and blood suffered in the shadows!"

"You took her clothes, her food, you even tried stealing her boyfriends before—do you think I was completely blind?!"

"She stepped aside for you every single time! Instead of showing a shred of gratitude, you stand there wishing death upon her?!"

Stella was knocked sideways by the force of the blow, her cheek swelling into a bright crimson welt.

In all her twenty-eight years, she had never been hit. Least of all in front of Chase.

Clutching her burning face, tears of humiliation poured down her cheeks.

Yet she still dared to scream back:

"You hit me?! You actually hit me for her?!"

"Growing up, whenever I fought with Elena, you always took my side! Who cared about bloodlines or birth order? You chose me! If she's upset, I can make it up to her later! Why are you all turning on me now?!"

Desperate to prove that Elena was making a mountain out of a molehill, Stella frantically grabbed the engagement ring on her finger.

With one effortless tug, the diamond ring slid smoothly off her knuckle.

"Isn't it just about the damn license? We can sign it another day!"

"And here's her stupid ring! Take it!"

She hurled the ring onto the vanity table, where it clattered noisily.

Chase, who had been watching in grim silence, locked his eyes onto the ring that had just come off without the slightest resistance.

His pupils shrank.

"It came off just like that?"

His voice was terrifyingly calm. "So all that crying about it being stuck... your finger swelling up, you screaming in pain... it was all an act?"

A sudden memory hit Chase like a freight train.

The Dollar Tree.

The morning he drove Elena to her dress fitting, Stella had insisted on riding along. She had made him pull over near a discount dollar store, dragging them inside to look around.

At the time, he thought she was just being whimsical.

"That cheap plastic ring... you bought it that morning, didn't you?"

"You planned this whole thing. You bought a decoy ring so you could force Elena to give you the real diamond today. Isn't that right?"

The trap snapped shut around her.

Stella’s face drained of all color. She couldn't find a single word to defend herself.

She looked at Chase with tear-filled eyes, trying to summon that familiar, helpless pout:

"Chase... it’s just a ring! You said it yourself—Elena always gives in to me! Why does it matter if I wear it? Why are you yelling at me..."

"I told her to accommodate you, not to let you treat her like your doormat!" Chase roared, his voice shaking the walls.

Backed into a corner, Stella snapped, dropping all pretense and screaming back hysterically:

"Isn't that exactly what you meant?!"

Her screech was deafening, mascara running down her flushed face.

Her wild eyes darted between Chase and my parents:

"You told her to give in, which meant you gave me permission to walk all over her! Now that she’s had enough and walked out, you suddenly pretend you’re saints and blame me for everything? You think this is all my fault?!"

"Mom and Dad favored me my entire life, so why wouldn't I think I was entitled to take her things?! And you, Chase! You were supposed to be her fiancé! Yet you always took my side, making her take the ugly gifts I rejected!"

"You all treated me like I was more important than her!"

Chest heaving, Stella broke down into a frenzied scream:

"When we were stepping on her, we did it together!"

"Now that the consequences are here, I'm the only monster? None of you get to play the victim! You're all just as guilty as I am!"