Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Stella rolled over and pushed herself upright.

The room wasn't completely dark—a nightlight glowed faintly in the corner, casting a soft shadow across her face. She looked almost emotionless.

"Sick as she was, I'm honestly surprised Ursula managed to hang on this long before finally kicking the bucket," Stella said, her tone flat.

Everyone figured Ursula would be finished within days after Jaxon Larkin threw her out of the Larkin household.

No one expected she'd survive this many nights on the street.

Tegan huffed. "So what if she was tough? You can fight fate all you want, but in the end, she still died a miserable wreck."

You can refuse to accept your lot, but you can't trample over someone else to get ahead.

After all, what goes around comes around.

Stella's brow arched slightly when she heard how bad Ursula's end had been. "How miserable are we talking?"

Tegan hesitated, lowering her voice. "Under the highway bridge. Two homeless guys... did things to her."

She trailed off, letting the ugly details hang unsaid.

But Stella got the picture.

Homeless. That was fitting.

Ursula had once tried so hard to keep up her fancy image—she'd even tried to get Stella killed rather than let her come home.

Even after Stella returned to the Larkin estate, Ursula did everything she could to keep her own reputation spotless, constantly putting Stella down.

She never accepted she was just the adopted daughter, always acting like she was better than everyone.

And that's where she ended up.

Stella nodded. "That's pretty rough."

Actually, it was worse than rough. It was tragic.

Tegan shrugged. "She had it coming. Back when you were in the hospital, if Susie and I hadn't watched out for you, who knows how you would've ended up? And Jaxon..."

Just saying his name made Tegan's voice go sharp.

Stella was his sister—his real sister.

But Jaxon, for Ursula's sake, had tried to hurt Stella more times than she could count.

Some she knew about, others she probably never would.

Stella felt a heaviness in her chest. "Thanks for all you did back then."

Tegan waved her off. "Don't get sappy. Just thought you'd like to know. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

After all, Ursula had tormented Stella in every way possible, and now karma had finally caught up.

Call it fate, or just plain justice—what goes around, comes around.

Stella sighed. "To be honest, after I moved back, I barely even thought about Ursula."

Not just Ursula.

The whole Larkin bunch—unless someone shoved their names in her face, she hardly remembered them at all.

Some people just aren't worth remembering.

Tegan chuckled. "Sounds like life in Ferrowland's treating you pretty well."

"Yeah," Stella replied, her answer simple but loaded with contentment.

Once, Yorick Quarry and the Larkins had bet on Stella getting thrown out of the Quinn family. But they'd been wrong.

They'd waited eagerly for the day she'd be kicked to the curb...

"So, what about you? How've you been?" Stella asked.noveldrama

When they'd both left Portis City, things between Tegan and Uriah Horner had been... complicated.

Stella still worried about her sometimes.

Tegan shrugged. "I'm alright."

But compared to Stella's easy confidence, Tegan's answer sounded forced.

Stella caught the hesitation and frowned. "If it gets too rough in Portis City, come out to Ferrowland. I could get you into a good hospital—no problem."

No point in forcing yourself to stay somewhere you're not happy.

Tegan rolled her eyes. "I don't need your help."

Stella grinned. "Right, right, you're a genius. The second you ditch Uriah, there'll be a line of people wanting you on their team."