novelxo Chapter 434
Stella had spent much time with Ronald lately, and everyone around Yorick knew it, too. Yorick and Stella's engagement was only a temporary arrangement, a mere convenience. They believed Yorick had never loved her. Now that the engagement was off, it seemed natural that they'd both move on. So why was Yorick drowning his sorrows with whiskey?
Julius glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't Ursula in Portis City? Who are you drinking for now?" Hanson said, "Yeah. What's the deal, man?"
They'd heard rumors while abroad that Stella had a new guy, but there hadn't been any talk of Ursula seeing someone else. Yorick's heart supposedly belonged to Ursula, so what could be troubling him this much?
Oh, right, wasn't there talk about Ursula battling several types of cancer? Shouldn't he be by her side instead of hitting the bar?
Mentioning Ursula seemed to deepen the worry on Yorick's face. He reached for Hanson's beer, but Hanson pulled it away.
"Come on, man. Spill it. What's going on?"
Yorick stayed quiet, cracking open another bottle and downing half of it in one go.
Hanson and Julius exchanged a glance. That was more serious than they thought.
Hanson set his beer down and sat beside Yorick. "Don't tell me you've fallen for Stella, that spiteful woman?"
Ursula had returned. If he weren't with her, did it mean Yorick had feelings for Stella? That didn't make sense; he always said Stella was trouble.
At Hanson's mention of "spiteful," Yorick's grip on the bottle tightened. With a sharp tone, he corrected, "She's not."
Hanson blinked. "Huh?"
Julius turned to him too, puzzled.
Yorick took another swig, and the pain in his eyes seemed more evident. "The real spiteful one was never Stella."
Hanson and Julius were speechless.
"Then who?" Hanson asked first.
The whole of Portis City blamed Stella for the chaos in the Larkin family, thinking her return threatened Ursula, the adopted daughter. If not Stella, then who?
Ursula?
As the thought crossed their minds, Hanson and Julius exchanged another look.
Julius asked, "What's going on with you and Ursula?"
"She... well..." Yorick's eyes flashed with a sharpness they'd never seen when he spoke of Ursula before. Now, it was different.
"The truth is that she almost got Stella killed."
The air in the room went still as Hanson and Julius processed the revelation.
"So that car accident, it was Ursula's doing?" Hanson asked, shocked. "Stella wasn't lying?"
They had always thought it was a case of the real daughter not accepting the adopted one. But now, it seemed like the adopted daughter was trying to keep the real one from coming home.
"Seriously, what's happening here?" Hanson was bewildered.
Ursula was far more dangerous than they ever imagined if that were the case.
Yorick closed his eyes, exuding a sense of despair. Memories flooded back-how everyone, including himself and the entire Larkin family, had called Stella crazy and selfish. They'd even said if she couldn't accept Ursula, she'd never see a penny from the family.
When looking back, those words were absurd. Who could make peace with someone who tried to end their life?
"So, what's your deal now?" Hanson asked, trying to untangle the mess.
Yorick sighed, "What's left to say? Stella's moved on. Ursula's a villain, but she's dying, too."
Hanson and Julius were at a loss. The situation was a mess, especially with the evident pain in Yorick's voice when he said, "Stella doesn't want me anymore."