Chapter 313

The butler went pale, panic in his eyes. “Sir, I—it’s—”

Stephanie tugged Sebastian’s sleeve lightly, jumping in. “They cleaned it earlier. It’s just too damn cold or threatening.”

The butler shot her a thankful look, letting out a shaky breath. She wasn’t lying—half an hour ago, the staff had cleared it. They’d been busting their asses all day, but with the cold biting and snow stacking up, it was pointless.

Sebastian eyed Stephanie’s soggy feet. “Go change your shoes.”

“On it,” she said with a quick nod, all chill.

A maid bolted off, grabbing a fresh pair of dry slippers in no time flat. Sebastian and Lorenzo had things to sort out, so they headed to the study after tossing out a few orders.

Stephanie was halfway up the stairs to swap her shoes when her phone buzzed—Ella, calling and sobbing her head off. Stephanie sighed. “I know it was an accident. Just not sure Lorenzo’s buying that.”

“What? What’re you saying?” Ella’s voice broke over the phone, panic spilling out. She’d been a wreck earlier—heart still racing, wishing she could zap back in time and wipe out that whole embarrassing mess. She’d never felt so humiliated.

Stephanie cut in, steady but firm. “Just stay away from him from now on.”

Lorenzo might act like some laid-back rich kid, but he was trouble—hard to figure out.

Ella’s words spilled out fast. “Wait, what? I didn’t mean to—did I actually tick him off? Stefi, you’ve got to back me up here, please!”

She’d figured it out by now: the people around Stephanie weren’t exactly warm and fuzzy. Even Tyler was stuck in the hospital with a bullet in him. That was how crazy it got.

Stephanie sighed. “Alright, I’ll say something. But you probably won’t see him again anyway.” She’d smooth things over, sure, but no guarantees it’d matter. She and Sebastian were headed back to Fiorenza soon—just a matter of time. And if Sebastian wasn’t around, Lorenzo wouldn’t be either.

Ella kept rambling, still rattled. “Oh my God, Stefi, you don’t even know—I slipped and couldn’t stop myself. I just grabbed whatever was close!”

“And it had to be his belt buckle. Thank God I didn’t pull his pants down, or I’d be done for,” she added, her voice jumping with desperation.

Stephanie groaned. “Can you chill?”

Chapter 813

“I didn’t mean to!” Ella shot back, sounding like she might cry.

Stephanie let out a breath. “I know it wasn’t on purpose.”

“I just froze,” Ella muttered, so quiet you could barely hear, still wincing at the thought. No surprise there. Her brain had blanked out for a good few seconds, nothing but static. Everyone watching? Dead quiet. The whole thing was so cringe it made your skin crawl. They talked it out on the phone for a bit, the chat eventually shifting to Caitlin.

Ella’s curiosity kicked in. “So, what’d Caitlin want? Still about Olivia?”

“Her son’s still laid up in the hospital, you know,” she mumbled under her breath.

If Caitlin was still hounding Stephanie over Olivia while Tyler was down, Ella couldn’t tell if she was brave or just oblivious.

“She keeps this up, Chad’s gonna snap eventually. What if she blows up her own marriage and still points the finger at you?” Ella couldn’t help but say.

Stephanie had drifted back to the sunroom by then, her steps quiet on the wood floor. The coffee was still warm. She poured herself a little extra, holding it as she talked, “Let her blame me. I don’t care. Tyler’s getting out soon anyway.”

“Huh?” Ella blinked, caught off guard.

Stephanie took a sip, cool as ever. “You know me—I don’t cave just because someone’s throwing shade.”

“Fair,” Ella said with a nod, totally getting it. She’d seen it up close: these past few months of drama, Stephanie hadn’t flinched once. She didn’t take crap from anybody.

Caitlin showing up today? Probably just more guilt trips and finger-pointing. And yet Caitlin kept coming back, gutsy enough to poke the bear again. Stephanie wasn’t exactly the type to back off either—she lived for pushing back.

Take Tyler: he was the latest one to get hit. First Olivia, now him. It just kept going. Chad might be easygoing, but even he had a breaking point. Their house had to be a total mess by now.

Ella treaded lightly. “The Hart family falling apart—it’s not really your fault, you know.”

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Ella stumbled over her words. “Uh, well, you know…” She faded out, her voice heavy with second-guessing, like she wasn’t sure how to unload this on Stephanie.

The Hart family was a total mess—everybody got that. A screwed-up crew that churned out chaos like it was their job.

Stephanie took a sip of her coffee, chill as always, while Ella danced around it.

“What’d you catch this time?” she asked, smooth and steady.

Ella groaned. “I’m not into gossip, alright? But it’s like the world keeps throwing it at me—what am I supposed to do, ignore it?”

Chapter 318

Stephanie set her cup down with a little clink.

From Ella’s vibe, Stephanie knew it wasn’t good news.

Ella dropped her voice low, like she was leaking top-secret info. “So, on my way here, I… sort of… saw Chad…”

Stephanie’s brow ticked up. “Yeah…?”

Ella rushed on, quiet and fast. “He was with some lady. She had a stroller, and there were… kids… behind them.”

Stephanie went silent. The room felt still, just the light smell of coffee drifting around the sunroom.