Chapter 30 Before dawn had even broken, Irene was already bouncing out of bed. She shook Stella hard, ignoring the fact she was still fast asleep. "Mom, wake up! Hurry!" Irene urged anxiously. "I'm going out with Ms. Jansen today. Help me dress up and take me there! I don't want to be late." Stella's head throbbed as the noise pulled her awake. But Irene didn't care. The moment she saw Stella's eyes open, she tugged at her hand. "Help me brush my teeth and wash my face, or Ms. Jansen will get impatient," she commanded. Without a word, Stella sat there for a long moment. Finally, she got up quietly and helped her daughter get ready. By the time they reached the living room, Harvey was already waiting. Dressed in pale loungewear, he twirled his car keys around his fingers. "There you are." He glanced at them both and smiled faintly. "Come on. I'll drive you." "Harvey, how did you..." Stella frowned. She didn't expect him to know what Irene was doing today. "Look at you. You look half-dead from lack of sleep," Harvey simply shrugged. "If you drove, I'd be worried you'd crash. I've got nothing else to do, so just let me take you." He didn't explain further, only smiled and headed toward the door. His mind was clearly made up. Yesterday had already told him more than he wanted to know. Harvey had expected Stella's life to be hard, but this was worse than he ever imagined. Like she'd been hollowed out, turned into a puppet with no will of her own. He wanted to face Ernest and Sylvia himself. He wanted to see what kind of monsters could bring Stella to this. Stella pressed her lips together and followed, while Irene skipped happily between them. Irene was too naive to notice anything, not the tension between Stella and Harvey. All she cared about was that Sylvia was waiting and that her uncle was driving her there. To her, if only Stella weren't tagging along, it would've been perfect. Harvey's car glided down the road. Outside, scenery flickered past in silence. The only voice inside came from Irene, giggling into the phone with Sylvia. Stella sat wordless, anxiety gnawing at her. Harvey knew something, and that much was clear. Stella knew that when he set his mind on something, no one could stop him. Not her. Not even her uncle. This time, though, Harvey wasn't planning some reckless strike. He just wanted to lay eyes on the woman who had shoved Stella to the margins, stripped her of every shred of worth. After all, to fight, you had to know your enemy. "We're here," Harvey spoke up. 1/3 The sudden stop jolted Stella out of her thoughts. She turned, and saw a black Cayenne parked at the curb. Beside it stood Ernest, tall and sharp in a dark suit that sharpened his natural coldness. Yet the moment Sylvia appeared, his edges melted like ice against fire. His gaze softened, unmistakably tender. "Ms. Jansen!" Irene squealed, wriggling in her seat. "Mom, unbuckle me! Quick!" Stella freed her from the child seat and watched silently as Irene flew into Sylvia's arms. Sylvia knelt, catching her in a practiced embrace so natural that, to any passerby, they looked like mother and child. "Harvey, let's just go." Stella's voice was flat. She couldn't stand here and watch any longer. She had already chosen to let go. Already decided this bond wasn't worth her blood and tears. But seeing Irene nuzzle so trustingly into Sylvia's arms still made her chest twist. "Not yet," Harvey smiled. "It's been years since I saw Ernest. What kind of man would I be if I didn't at least say hello?" Before Stella could stop him, he had already unbuckled and stepped out of the car. Panic pricked at her, and Stella had no choice but to follow. Not for Ernest, not even for Sylvia-but for her family. The Spencers couldn't withstand another earthquake. "Hello Ernest. Long time no see," greeted Harvey. The words stirred old memories. Back then, Harvey hadn't gone abroad yet. He would often greet Ernest like this, but Ernest had never once acknowledged his familiarity. And now was no different. "Hello, Mr. Spencer." Ernest gave him a curt nod. Harvey's smile only grew warmer. "Didn't expect you to be so well-informed," he said. "I only took over at the Spencer Group yesterday. Word hasn't even gone public, but here you are, already in the know." Ernest's tone was cool. "The Spencers aren't the powerhouse they once were. Picking up scraps of inside news isn't exactly difficult." "True enough." Harvey tilted his head. "But arrogance always comes at a cost, doesn't it?" Ernest's eyes sharpened. "So what are you trying to say?" For the first time, he faced Harvey fully, expression serious. The air between them crackled, sharp as drawn blades. Stella's stomach tightened. She wanted to smooth things over, but she knew one wrong word would only inflame Harvey further. She could only stand there, eyes pleading with him to back down. He didn't look at her. Didn't look at Ernest's scowl either. Instead, Harvey smiled faintly. "I just think a man ought to pay his mistakes." So that was it. Ernest understood right away. He was here to fight for Stella. His lips curved, but his words cut like a knife. "And some mistakes... were never meant to exist in the first place." for 2/3 So to Ernest, her care, her devotion, her very existence-was nothing but a mistake. Why give her a false hope, only to watch her chase it forever? Her lips trembled. She couldn't let the tears fall here, not in front of them. "Let's go, Harvey," Stella murmured. "I'm tired." Without another glance back, she turned and walked away. Harvey followed immediately. He hadn't managed to confront Sylvia today, but that didn't matter. To him, nothing mattered more than Stella.