Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Jeremy sighed, deciding not to press the issue further. He gently guided Stella to a nearby bench and sat her down. “Stay here. I’ll grab you a bottle of water,” he said softly.
“Okay,” Stella replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Sitting on the bench, Stella’s mind went blank. She realized something was off with her.
‘Maybe it’s just been one thing after another today,’ she thought. The last few days had been nothing compared to the overwhelming events of today.
“Irene,” she murmured, her words lost to the breeze and the night.
But Stella’s mood visibly improved. It was clear that she had come to a decision-something that had erased her doubts and hesitation.
When Jeremy returned with the water, he was stunned to see Stella, who had looked so lost just moments ago, now beaming at him. Newest update provided by
But as long as Stella was okay, that was what mattered most. He handed her the bottle. He handed her the bottle. “Here, take a sip.”
“Thanks,” Stella said, taking a couple of sips, then looked up at him. “Jeremy, how come you’re here?”
“I came to find you. Wait!” Jeremy suddenly jumped to his feet, realizing something. He quickly ran off toward his car, leaving Stella confused but following him.
Two minutes later, they stood in front of a traffic officer, getting lectured about illegal parking. When Jeremy finally accepted the ticket, the atmosphere felt awkward.
“Jeremy, it’s really my fault,” Stella said shyly. “If it wasn’t because of me, you wouldn’t have gotten a ticket for parking in the wrong spot.”
Jeremy stared at the ticket, feeling even more played by the situation. “It’s fine,” Jeremy sighed. “Let’s just get in the car.”
He decided he’d have someone deal with the ticket tomorrow. No need to worry about it now.
Stella climbed into the car, and Jeremy drove off, leaving the awkward scene behind.
“I came to find you, but I didn’t expect to literally run into you on the road,” Jeremy said.
“Jeremy, is something wrong?” Stella asked, a bit puzzled.
“It’s nothing too serious,” Jeremy said casually. “It’s about your return to Lumière Group. You might face some resistance.”
“So, someone doesn’t want me to come back?” Stella blinked, a little taken aback.
Jeremy nodded. “No one is openly opposing you, but there’s definitely some behind-the-scenes scheming.”
Although many didn’t know about Stella’s position at Lumière Group, hiding it from some of the shareholders was not easy.
After all, she didn’t quietly found Lumière Group. If people really looked into it, they could trace it back to her.
On top of that, Stella used to be so obsessed with her work that she pretty much left all the company stuff on autopilot- things only started getting back on track after Jeremy stepped in to help.
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If it had been back then, those people would have been thrilled if Stella came back.
But now, once someone got hooked on power, they forgot every bit of gratitude. They feared her return would take away the power they had now.
Even if she denied it, they wouldn’t believe her. They would stop at nothing to push her out, or worse, take everything that should have been hers.
“Do you know who’s behind it?” Stella asked.
Back when she first started Lumière Group, Stella had brought in not just Jeremy but also a bunch of other capable people, hoping they’d help him run the company and ease his burden.
After all these years, some of them had developed ambitions they shouldn’t have, and Stella could understand that.
But as the majority shareholder, Stella knew when it was time to assert her authority-she wasn’t going to let anyone walk all
over her.
“If we could just figure out who it is, we’d have no problem dealing with them,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy frowned a little, determined to shield Stella from any hassle. “I’ve been looking into it, but they’re hiding deep. I haven’t found any leads yet. You’re almost back, so I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
Then Jeremy added, “By the way, I wanted to check if your recent designs are still as impressive as before.
“The discussion about you, the new member joining the design department, has been mostly negative. I think they’ve already been instructed to target you.”
Stella smiled confidently. “If they’re coming for me, it’s because of the designs. Let them bring whatever they’ve got. I’m ready.”
As the streetlights flashed by, Stella’s smile showed an absolute confidence in her own abilities.
Despite all the years of challenges–her husband’s indifference, her daughter’s rejection, and the endless demands from Noreen-her creative spark had returned.
She might not be at her peak yet, but one thing was for sure-Stella was fully confident in her ability to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Jeremy caught a glimpse of her confident smile. She had always been like this-swaggering, fearless, daring to challenge anyone, and more importantly, with enough raw talent to back it all up.
Honestly, Jeremy couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen this version of her.
Jeremy felt a wave of nostalgia. “If that accident hadn’t happened, you’d probably be on an international podium right now.”
With her talent, she probably would have achieved success even earlier.
“What’s done is done,” Stella said firmly, “I believe that one day, I’ll take back what’s always been mine.”
“I think your position should be raised even further,” Jeremy said.
As he flipped through Stella’s latest sketches, his gaze grew brighter the more he looked. “I was worried about you, but I see now I was just overthinking it.”
2/3
With what Stella’s capable of now, those folks in the design department don’t stand a chance.
Stella smiled teasingly. “So, Jeremy, are you trying to make me chief designer already?”
“Honestly, I’ve thought about it,” Jeremy replied openly. “I was planning on having you start as a regular designer, taking things slow. But now, I think you’d actually be perfect for the chief designer role.”
Stella’s talent was off the charts. She hadn’t even reached her peak yet, but already she was competing with the top designers.
Stella was stunned for a moment. “Jeremy, seriously, I was only joking. If you actually pull this off, you can bet there’ll be nasty rumors about you flying around the office.”
Jeremy hesitated for a second before replying, “Trust me, Lumière Group isn’t anything like the company you built back then. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. But when you return, you’ll see exactly what I mean.”
3/3
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