And for her? Not even a single phone call.

Had they forgotten their own birthdays? No, how could they forget when she shared her birthday with Ursula?

In the end, it boiled down to simple apathy.

But that was okay, she hadn't cared about them for the longest time either.

Yet, why was Cloudia now hesitating to sign the agreement?

"What's on your mind?"

Ronald caught her being quiet and drifting further into her thoughts; he decided to pull her back to reality.

Stella confessed, "Nothing much, just that it's been years since I last received a birthday present."

Ever since she stepped out of Ronald's life, birthday presents had become a thing of the past.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ronald pulled her into an embrace. She could instantly feel his uneven breath against her, his magnetic voice tinged with a certain depth, "Promise me you won't wander off again?" Tears unbiddenly welled up in Stella's eyes.

"I promise, never again."

Damn the Schultz family for being decimated; now, she had no reason to stray from Ronald's side anymore.

Ronald's embrace tightened.

"Ronald, I'm sorry." Stella wrapped her arms around his lean waist, nuzzling her head against his chest.

Ronald responded by gently rubbing the top of her head, an unspoken forgiveness.

Apologies were unnecessary; back then, he was swamped managing the family's assets, leaving him unable to protect her from the clutches of the Schultz scum.

...

When Stella returned to her office, it was already half an hour later.

Tabitha noticed the striking necklace adorning her boss's neck.

"Wow, Boss, that necklace is stunning. Looks familiar...wasn't it featured on the cover of..."

"Aurora," Stella cut in.

Tabitha gasped in disbelief. Hearing the name of the necklace, she took a sharp breath.

Aurora, of all things...

What kind of person was their boss to own such a priceless piece?

The value of this diamond was overhyped to over ten million! Even the Larkin family might not afford it. Could it have been that man?

Stella gave Tabitha a glance, "Is it pretty?"

Tabitha nodded, "It's pretty, truly."

How could such a valuable piece not be? Stella smiled; she thought so too.

"Is Cloudia still around?"

"Yes!"

The brief joy at mentioning Cloudia quickly faded from Stella's face.

In Stella's office.

Cloudia's impatience at waiting for Stella for too long was evident on her face, and as the door opened, it was unable for her to mask it quickly enough.

She forced a smile, "Where have you

been? I've been waiting for a while. People in the studio have been trying

to reach you but you didn't answer."

The matter of phone calls irked Cloudia. To reach her, they had borrowed dozens of phones from the hospital, all to be blocked by Stella. Such cold-heartedness was rare.

Once Ursula's health improved, she

resolved to have a stern talk with the family that raised Stella. How had they nurtured her to be this way? Did they even know how to raise a child?

Stella tossed her bag onto the desk, "Out with it. What do you want?"

It had to be about Ursula; what else could it be?

As she sat down, the Aurora caught

the sunlight coming through the

window, incredibly stunning,

dazzling enough to draw Cloudia's

attention, "Your necklace, is it..."

Aurora, it had to be!

Cloudia remembered seeing it at an auction once. But how could such an astronomically priced piece end up around Stella's neck?

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