CHAPTER 114: CHAPTER 114: STELLA, HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE ME?

Stella saw him and inexplicably felt a sense of nervous tension.

"I’m sorry, I don’t really know how." Her voice was tight.

He smiled, "Relax, I’ll teach you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped forward, wrapped one hand around her waist, and took her right hand with the other. His palm was warm!

Their bodies instantly drew close, and Stella became stiff.

"Follow my steps, don’t be nervous, relax your body." His voice whispered in her ear, warm breath brushing against her cheek.

She smelled a faint scent of pine mixed with a bit of tobacco on him, unexpectedly pleasant.

With his guidance, she slowly relaxed, her steps matching his rhythm. His movements were steady, leading her adeptly through the crowd.

She looked up at him, the features beneath the mask indistinct, yet the sense of familiarity grew stronger.

An absurd thought in her mind grew wild like weeds, this man... why does he remind her of him?

Mr. Chancellor’s gaze was fixed on her flushed face, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, momentarily dazed. This was their first dance together, something he never imagined could be so... beautiful.

He drew nearer, nearly enveloping her wholly in his arms.

Perceiving the excessive intimacy, Stella’s heartbeat accelerated fiercely, "I’m sorry, I’m a bit tired."

She abruptly pushed him away.

Mr. Chancellor paused his steps, standing steady, looking at her with an apologetic expression.

"I apologize for being impolite just now." His voice returned to a normal volume, still magnetic but less constrained.

"Today is Thanksgiviette, why don’t you make a wish, and I’ll make it come true for you as an apology!" His tone carried a hint of playful arrogance.

Stella looked at him, feeling this man was exceedingly overbearing, she sneered coldly.

"Then turn a real phoenix out." She lifted her chin, pointing to the enormous chocolate phoenix sculpture, "Let everyone witness its majesty."

"Sure." He smiled confidently, "If I succeed, would you give me a kiss?"

Stella was momentarily speechless, reminded of the black-clad figure from that night, involuntarily stepping back!

He raised his hand, pointing northwest. "In a moment, it will fly out from there."

Just ten seconds later, in the night sky, a colorful "phoenix" gradually flew out, its gigantic form with wings spread, glowing under the night, looking incredibly real, not like a kite.

Everyone was stunned, dancers in the ballroom paused to watch the large phoenix.

"Look! It’s a phoenix!"

"Oh my! It truly is the Divine Phoenix!"

Exclamations rose one after another.

Stella was equally astonished, how could this be? It was clearly just a kite... yet how had he prepared it in advance?

The "phoenix" circled twice in the sky, suddenly disintegrating.

It transformed into small objects, cascading down from above, the crowd enthusiastically reaching to catch them.

Instinctively, Stella raised her eyes and extended a hand, a pink object gently fluttered into her palm.

She opened her hand.

It was a small, pink paper airplane.

Her heart reverberated fiercely.

She looked up at the sky, seeing that scattered throughout were nothing but paper airplanes.

Dense, in various colors... like a sudden paper airplane rain.

Her eyes instantly reddened, frozen in place.

Seeing her slight trembling, he could no longer restrain himself, stepped forward, and cupped her face, pressing a kiss on her slightly parted red lips, the long-lost beauty overwhelming.

Her heart thumped intensely, the familiar sensation so brutal it hurt.

Abruptly, she forcefully pushed him away, with such power that he staggered.

"Mr. Chancellor, please respect yourself!" Her voice sharp, unwilling to expose him yet laced with subtle hoarseness and panic.

She turned to flee.

He grasped her wrist firmly, the forcefully unshakeable.

"I’m sorry, earlier I... please don’t go!" His voice low, imbued with evident remorse.

Stella violently shook off his hand, turned around, back to him, breathing heavily, unwilling to remain here any longer.

A voice sounded behind her. No longer the low, magnetic tones of Mr. Chancellor, but searingly familiar.

"Stella, are you abandoning your little brother?"

Her entire body chilled, feet glued to the ground.

He called out again, voice laden with anguish, caution, infinite longing, and guilt.

"Stella, I’m sorry."

"I had a car accident before..."

"Then, I forgot you, forgot everything."

His words, like dull blades, painfully carved her heart.

She halted, body trembling violently.

That name.

Stella!

"I broke the promise, didn’t come back for you. Later when you came to Meritopia looking for me, I lost you for twelve years."

"A whole twelve years!"

"Could you forgive your little brother? Stella... Stella, could you return to me?"

The desperate call still lingered in her ears, tearing at her nerves, leaving her struggling on the brink of love and pain.

It turned out, he forgot her after the accident, not due to inherent indifference!

At that moment, the clock tower in the square suddenly exploded, shattering her emotions.

Debris flew down, the square descended into chaos, and the crowd scattered amidst screams.

Aiden Fordham rushed forward immediately, shielding her in his arms, guiding her away from danger.

"Are you hurt?" His deep eyes were full of tension, carefully checking for any injuries, his voice was strained, revealing his fear.

Stella abruptly turned her head, avoiding his touch, her voice filled with resistance, "I don’t need you to interfere, Aiden, stay away from me!"

Then, she sneered coldly, cutting to the bone.

"Don’t bother doing these meaningless things again, I said, I will never forgive you! Everything with my dear brother is left in Meritopia, in this world...there is no dear brother anymore!"

Aiden fell silent for a moment, then spoke again, "No, it’s not like that, Stella, come back with me."

"Aiden, do you think a few donuts and paper airplanes can repair the cracks between us, are you too naive? Or do you still think God N is worthless in front of you?"

Her tone was calm, but each word carried venom.

Aiden panicked, "Stella, tell me, how can I... get your forgiveness?"

Stella’s eyes were icy, her cold lips moved again, "Aiden, listen carefully, I’ve helped The Fordham Group through their crisis as repayment for saving my life years ago. From now on, there are no ties between us."

"I won’t interfere with your life anymore, so please, get out of my world!"

The word "get out" was spoken lightly, yet it weighed like thousands of pounds on Aiden’s heart.

The last glimmer of hope on his face dimmed, leaving only pallor and pain.

At this moment, Tom Summers walked over quickly, looking at her with concern, "There are external enemies invading, and they are armed, are you hurt?"

She shook her head, feeling a sharp pain in her palm, clutching tightly a pink paper airplane.

Tom was making a call, "Prepare the private jet," then he left with her.

Aiden just watched her, moving further and further away from him.

Keegan Lindsey hurried to Aiden’s side, "President Fordham, are you hurt?"

Aiden’s gaze was chillingly cold.

"Who did it?" He asked each word with the pressure of an impending storm.

Keegan’s expression was serious, "Probably the Chris Family, desperate, our people are handling it."

"Clean it up." Aiden’s voice was devoid of warmth, "Leave no one!"

...

Midnight.

Stella was already seated on the private jet, flying to another place; she looked towards the pitch-black sea.

In her mind, paper airplanes danced repeatedly in the sky.

And his desperate cry of "Stella."

It all felt like a dream, those paper airplanes, if they had flown into her life three months ago... she would have been overjoyed.

But life has no ifs, their life paths will never cross again, and the wounds he inflicted still bleed.

Before the Alice Plan is complete, she absolutely cannot let anyone become her weakness!

Suddenly, the computer screen flashed.

She opened the computer to have a look, her blood surged instantly, fists clenched tightly.

"Thorne, we’re going to a place first." Her tone was icy.

On the other side, Aiden was also sleepless, with unresolved annoyance between his brows.

Soon, he received a call from Seraphina.

"President Fordham."

On the other end, Seraphina’s voice was somewhat urgent, even a bit unstable.

"Speak."

Aiden unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the dark sea.

"Madam, she took that boy named Tom Summers, and flew by private jet to Shelldrake!"

Seraphina finished in one breath, the phone fell silent for a few seconds, only his slightly heavy breathing remained.

Aiden’s fingers slowly tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning white.

His expression rapidly turned cold, the surrounding air seemed to freeze slightly.

Shelldrake...

A map flashed through his mind quickly, the border city of F-Country, from there, a boat set out to sea, with only one destination—Mardale.

Mardale!

Aiden’s heart contracted suddenly, as if gripped by an invisible hand.

That dreadful place! Truly a hell on earth, one wrong step leads to eternal damnation.

Why does she want to go there?

"Prepare the private jet, we’ll set off immediately." Pause. "Get in touch with that madman."

"Yes!"

At this time, Quentin Lockwood sent an email, Keegan checked the email, then nervously brought over the tablet.

"President Fordham, not good, it turns out it wasn’t the Chris Family watching madam all along, but Erwin, the top of the three villains."

Aiden looked at the email content, his pupils contracted. "Rally all forces, head to Mardale."

Rescue the wife, there’s no time to lose!