Chapter 2

Gianna got Stella's info pretty quickly. She read through it in seconds. Every line felt like a punch to her gut. Her chest tightened with a slow, tearing kind of pain, so the truth was that whatever was going on between Shane and Stella had already crossed a line the year she went abroad at 16. The Kurt family found out. Terrified of the scandal and what it would do to their reputation, they covered it up and sent Stella abroad. They got her permanent residency and told her she was never allowed to come back. But a year ago, Stella claimed she couldn't stay abroad anymore. She said she had depression and tried to end her life ten different times. After the last attempt, Shane finally dropped to his knees in front of John Kurt, the family patriarch, begging John. He took 66 lashes as part of the family punishment, and his back was wrecked to the point that three of his ribs ended up broken. He was willing to give up his inheritance right if that was what it took to bring Stella home. In the end, John finally gave in. "Fine, she can come back. But my stance hasn't changed. You and Stella will never be allowed to be together," he said. "Get married. As long as you marry another woman, I'll agree to let her return." And that was how Gianna became his target. From beginning to end, she had been nothing more than the cover he needed. A distraction. A convenient stand-in for the woman he actually loved. Every bit of kindness he showed her had been built on using her. It was no wonder he could tolerate her constant talking and every unreasonable thing she did. And the worst part was that Gianna had been foolish and hopeless enough to fall in love with him. A chill ran through her, and her whole body trembled. So when she saw the Maybach waiting outside the police station, she didn't get in. She turned around instead, walking faster and faster, desperate to get away from the truth that was choking her. Shane assumed she was just upset. After all, he had promised to come get her and hadn't shown up. In the nearly two years he'd known her, and the six months they had been married, he had never once broken a promise. So he didn't say anything. He simply trailed behind her. By the time Gianna realized he was behind her, she had already been walking for over an hour. Her heels had rubbed blisters into the backs of her feet, and the pain became too much to push through. So, she finally came to a stop. Gianna slipped off her heels, and just as she was about to sit on the edge of a planter, Shane took off his jacket and set it down for her. Shane sighed, his hand so tense the veins along the back stood out sharply as he loosened his tie, looking tired and helpless. "It was Stella." Those three simple words were all the explanation he offered for breaking his promise and going for Stella first because she was his sister. Or maybe because, to him, she mattered more. Gianna didn't sit down. She stood barefoot on the cold concrete with her lips pressed together. "Take Stela home. You don't need to worry about me. I just want to be alone for a while." She barely said anything, which wasn't like her at all. But Shane ignored it and let out another quiet sigh. "It's late. I'm worried something might happen to you." Gianna paused for a moment, then ignored him and kept walking. Shane kept walking behind her until the Maybach suddenly sped up and stopped short beside them. The door swung open, and Stella jumped out of the back seat. She grabbed onto Shane's arm as she said, "Shane, I'll stay with you." Shane paused in his tracks. "Don't make a scene. Go home." Stella pouted. "It's my fault. I'm the one who made you choose between Gianna and me, and now she's upset. I messed things up. I'll take the blame with you." Stella said it like she was complaining, as if she thought Gianna was doing this just to punish Shane. Gianna could see how smart Stella was, how easily she shifted the narrative, and how good she was at pushing buttons. She was upset because, when it came down to choosing between the two, Shane hadn't chosen her. In his heart, Stella was the one who mattered more. A hint of mockery flickered in Gianna's eyes, but she acted like she didn't hear anything and kept walking. Stella actually followed. But she didn't last long before whining, "It hurts. My heels are killing me. Shane, you two are fighting, and somehow I'm the one suffering." Then, she added before Shane could reply. "I just spent more than ten hours on a long-haul flight, got dragged into a police station the second I landed, and now I'm stuck in the middle of you two fighting. My life is so hard." She blinked up at him with helpless, watery eyes, leaning almost her entire weight against Shane's arm. Stella had only been walking for a few minutes in her kitten heels, and the top of her foot showed the faintest hint of redness. But Gianna had been walking in four-inch heels for almost two hours, and the blisters on her feet were already breaking and bleeding. Shane, however, didn't notice any of that. His eyes were fixed on the faint redness on the top of Stella's foot. He frowned, and there was a sudden edge in his voice. "Stop walking. Get in the car." But Stella stood her ground. "No. I already said I'd take the punishment with you. Unless… you stop walking. Shane, I care about you." Shane fell quiet for a moment before finally letting out a long breath. He slipped an arm under Stella and lifted her off the ground, carrying her into the Maybach. "Alright. We'll do it your way." There was finally no one walking behind Gianna, but the Maybach still crept along the street with the back door half-open, trailing her at a slow pace. Through the dim glow of the passing streetlights, Gianna caught a glimpse of Stella slipping off her kitten heels and putting on Shane's leather shoes instead. Her shoe size was tiny, so her feet looked almost comically small in Shane's Etalian leather shoes. But for some reason, the sight hit Gianna so hard it felt like something crushed her chest from the inside. She stopped for a second, then turned off the main sidewalk and slipped into the bike lane beside her. The Maybach finally couldn't follow. This time, Shane didn't get out of the car. He stayed inside, worried Stella might hurt her feet if she walked any farther. By the time Gianna made it home, an hour had already passed. The entryway light was on, and a bottle of antiseptic and some gauze were on the cabinet. "You're back? Take care of your blisters," Shane said quietly. When he said it, he was bent over Stella's foot, tending to that faint patch of red on the top of her foot. Stella's pale foot rested on his thigh while she whimpered, "It hurts, Shane… Blow on it for me." With a helpless sigh, Shane leaned in and gently blew across the back of her foot. Gianna suddenly laughed. In the flickering sensor light by the entryway, she slipped into her house slippers, her voice steady and clear as she said each word, "Shane Kurt, let's get a divorce."