Chapter 1

As Julian Chapman's secretary, Stella Atkinson had to immediately respond to each of his requests, no matter how outrageous they were.

That included sleeping with him.

Even though they'd be having a meeting in less than an hour, Stella didn't hesitate to take off her skirt under Julian's burning gaze.

Flames of lust had already engulfed him whole by then. As soon as he tugged off his tie, he began binding Stella's wrists together with it. Then, he pinned her down on his desk and got ready to screw her senseless.

But Stella quickly flipped over before saying coolly, "I charge extra if you want to include BDSM."

Julian was so close to sliding into her. It only took him a moment's hesitation before he agreed to Stella's request.

"I'll throw in 50 thousand dollars. It'll be included in your salary," he rasped out.

But Stella refused to cooperate at all. Obviously, she wasn't satisfied with the offered price.

Despite the dissatisfaction welling in his heart, Julian's primal urges forced him to loosen his tongue. "100 thousand dollars."

Stella finally spread her legs, giving Julian the chance to thrust into her eagerly. Despite having had sex on the desk, on the couch, and finally against the floor-to-ceiling window, Julian showed no signs of stopping.

Her cheeks extremely flushed, Stella kept glancing at the wall clock from the corner of her eye. At the same time, she secretly did a countdown on the time that was left.

When the time was up, she placed her hands on Julian's chest to resist his actions, which were getting rougher by the second.

"The meeting's about to start. This meeting is extremely crucial because it concerns the chances of our company getting listed."

As Julian panted heavily, he frowned at Stella's words. After using what little time was left to achieve his climax, he finally withdrew from Stella reluctantly.

"Wait for my return."

He didn't undo the tie binding Stella's wrists. In fact, he just left Stella lying on the couch while maintaining her current position. Soon, he left the office hurriedly after closing the door on her.

Stella ached everywhere and felt completely drained. She managed to free herself by biting the knot out of the tie. With trembling legs, she slipped on her skirt.

The atmosphere in the office was silent. Soon, Stella printed out the resignation letter that she had already prepared in advance before putting her signature on it.

100 thousand dollars…

As long as she received this month's salary, she'd be able to clear the entire debt. That also meant she could leave Julian's side, too.

Over the past three years, everyone viewed Stella as Julian's favorite side chick. The only reason why she couldn't marry into the Chapman family was due to her lowly social standing.

But the truth was, they never loved each other at all. The only things tying them together were a pair of eyes and a contract.

Julian's lover was his childhood sweetheart, Ariana Fairwood. Unfortunately, she could no longer get pregnant after surviving a car crash. Because of that, Julian's parents forbade them from dating each other.

As for Stella, her fiancé, Ethan Lane, had been afflicted with a terminal illness a long time ago. He ended up passing away even after Stella racked up a huge debt trying to treat his illness.

That day, the gangsters who were in charge of collecting the debt came knocking on Stella's door. They had forced her to sell her body in order to clear the debt. Julian was the one who had shown up at the critical juncture and chased the gangsters away. Right after that, he handed her a contract that would make her his private secretary.

Upon reading the clause that claimed that Julian would pay her 50 thousand dollars every time he slept with her, Stella didn't hesitate to sign the contract right away.

But when Julian was asked about why he'd give Stella this opportunity, he merely pointed at his own eyes. It turned out that he had received a corneal transplant from none other than Ethan.

Whenever Stella was pinned beneath Julian's frame, he often loved forcing her to stare right into his eyes. The more she was tortured by her sense of morality and guilt, the more satisfied he became.

Thankfully, Stella finally saved enough money to clear the debt once and for all. She'd be able to break off the contract and leave Julian's side.

Soon, she got ready to continue working. Her initial plan was that she'd get Julian to sign her resignation letter after the meeting was over.

But the next thing she knew, she saw Julian entering the office before rushing toward his desk. There, he pulled open a drawer and dug out an intricate-looking jewelry box. Then, he moved to leave the office.

After snapping out of her trance, Stella quickly grabbed Julian by the arm. She questioned anxiously, "The meeting is still underway! Where are you heading to?"

Julian's first instinct was to shake her hand off, but he stopped as soon as his gaze fell on Stella's beautiful face.

"My parents finally agreed to let Aria and me continue seeing each other. I want to propose to her, so I've canceled the meeting."

The moment Julian's parents gave him the green light, he was already this eager to propose to Ariana. Just how much did he love her?

Stella knew very well that she was just a subordinate to Julian. She had no right to interfere with Julian's plans for Ariana.

After all, Ariana was his actual lover.

Since the meeting regarding the company's enlistment was canceled, Stella knew that she had a lot more work to deal with. She didn't mind that at all. All she wanted was to get away from Julian as soon as possible.

"Mr. Chapman, I need you to sign a document—"

Before Stella could finish speaking, Julian's phone rang abruptly. He glanced at the caller ID before picking up the video call.

On the screen, Ariana could be seen wearing a set of thin silk pajamas. She purposely placed the camera right before her chest while speaking in a soft and cutesy tone.

"Jules, didn't I tell you that I'll be waiting for you? I've been waiting for you for so long, but why aren't you here yet?"

Ariana acted as though she had never spotted Stella, who stood right behind Julian. Instead, she began swaying her hips around seductively.

Julian comforted Ariana in a gentle tone, telling her that he'd be there soon. After that, he ended the video call.

"I can always trust the documents that you've dealt with. Just hand the document over, and I'll sign it."

Stella handed her resignation letter over silently. As expected, Julian signed the letter without even scanning the details before rushing out of the office impatiently.

The door was slammed shut loudly. Once again, the atmosphere in the office fell silent.

A while later, Stella passed the resignation letter over to Peter Sanders, the HR manager. Since he knew what her actual relationship with Julian was like, he decided to ask cautiously, "Does Mr. Chapman know that you're leaving?"

Stella replied coolly, "He's about to marry Ariana. Do you really think it's necessary for me to inform him of my resignation?"

Peter understood the situation immediately. As expected, Julian had only taken Stella in as his mistress on a whim. She would never be able to get married to him, no matter what.

Instead of asking more questions, Peter stamped the resignation letter. He made sure to drop Stella a reminder, though.

"The offboarding process will last for seven days. Your resignation will be effective next Monday. You should focus on conducting the handover process properly during this timeframe."

Stella nodded in response. After leaving the HR department eagerly, she started a video call with Anthony Lane, Ethan's younger brother.

Soon, the video call went through. Anthony's face, which was extremely similar to Ethan's, popped up on Stella's phone screen.

He let out a few light coughs while clutching his chest, though he made sure to force out a smile.

"Stella, when are you going to visit me? Ethan's heart is throbbing in pain again…"

Stella could feel her nose tingling with emotions. At the same time, her heart began throbbing as well when she saw how pained Anthony looked.

Still, she smiled tenderly while comforting him, "Seven days. Just wait for another seven days, and I'll head over to look after you."

Ethan and Anthony's mother, Roxanne Miller, had divorced their father. After that, she and Anthony formed a new family with a rich businessman.

When Anthony got into a car crash, his heart ended up getting impaled by a steel pole. It so happened that Ethan was on the brink of death at that time, so he chose to donate his own heart to Anthony.

At first, Roxanne intended to help Stella with the debt, but her husband was quick to stop her. After all, who in this world would spend that much money on someone who didn't share any blood relations and family ties with them?

Stella didn't mind the refusal. In fact, she still kept in touch with Anthony all the time and asked about his well-being. But for some reason, Anthony's heart kept throbbing in pain these days. At night, he'd often dream of Stella, too.

Since Ethan's heart continued to beat in Anthony's chest, Stella had the urge to stay by his side and take care of him.

Chapter 2

Stella didn't realize it, but she ended up staying on the video call with Anthony for a long time. There were times when she even giggled at his jokes. Her sour mood was instantly uplifted thanks to Anthony's antics.

In seven days, she'd be able to stay by Anthony's side while listening to Ethan's heartbeat. She no longer had to go along with Julian's demands.

To her, the next seven days would undoubtedly be the darkest times before she got to welcome her sweet freedom. She couldn't wait to embrace freedom with her own arms.

Since the meeting had been canceled, Stella ended up staying in the company till late at night, dealing with the mess Julian had left behind. Only then did she get to return to Chapman Manor.

Unexpectedly, she bumped into Ariana in her own room.

At that time, Ariana had just finished taking a shower. She was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped snugly around her body. Her soft skin was dotted with red bite marks.

Stella's clothes and belongings, on the other hand, were strewn all over the floor. Ariana was currently standing on a few of Stella's garments, barefoot.

She shot Stella a provoking look as she said, "Where on earth did you hang out till this ungodly hour, Ms. Atkinson? Because of you, I moved into your room right away without the means to inform you of the news in advance. I don't want to be viewed as a rude woman, you know."

Julian, who was clad in a bathrobe, walked out of the bathroom as soon as he heard Ariana's voice. He laced his fingers with Ariana's intimately right away. Both of them exchanged affectionate looks, which painted a picture of true love before Stella's eyes.

Then, Julian turned to look at the exhausted-looking Stella as well as her clothes, which were scattered across the floor. In an apologetic tone, he said, "Aria adores this room. You can spend the night on the couch for the time being. I'll have the maids clean the guest room for you tomorrow."

As soon as he was done speaking, he dug out his phone and punched in a string of numbers. The next moment, Stella tapped on her buzzing phone.

It turned out that Julian had just transferred her another 50 thousand dollars.

Julian explained softly, "This is your overtime pay. You must have worked hard after I canceled the meeting this evening. Rest well."

To his surprise, Stella chose not to accept this transaction.

She merely smiled faintly at him. "You're being too courteous, Mr. Chapman. This is my job as your secretary. I'll just spend the night in a hotel."

Julian was stunned, to say the least. He didn't expect that Stella would turn his money down.

Weren't they supposed to be in a transactional relationship? This was the sole reason why Stella had allowed him to do whatever he wanted to her in the past three years!

Why did she suddenly reject his money?

Did she no longer need the money? Or was she mad at him?

Julian frowned, feeling an inexplicable sense of frustration. "Stop kicking up a fuss. It's already this late, yet you still want to spend the night—"

But Ariana quickly hugged his arm and began acting all cute and coquettish before he could finish his sentence.

"Jules, someone must be waiting for Ms. Atkinson in a hotel room as we speak. Stop meddling with her business, alright? Let's go to bed already! I'm already tired!"

After that, Ariana kicked Stella's clothes out of the room. She continued to hug Julian's arm as she closed the door on the spot.

Stella bent down to toss her clothes into her suitcase one by one. Then, she left Chapman Manor with her luggage in tow.

Three years ago, when Stella first became Julian's private secretary, Ariana had barged into Chapman Manor just to kick up a fuss about the whole thing.

She had yanked Stella by the hair and smashed her head into the wall while screaming at her for being the third wheel who had ruined her relationship with Julian. Not only that, but she had also attempted to drown Stella by dunking her head into the pool.

In the end, Julian showed up just in time to stop Ariana. But that was the only thing he'd done.

He still showered Ariana with love and care. She was gifted with jewelry and high-end clothes, but she was never acknowledged as Julian's girlfriend.

If she demanded a star to be presented to her, Julian wouldn't hesitate to pick it for her.

Stella knew very well why Julian wanted her by his side. He wished to repay Ethan for his benevolent decision to donate his corneas to him, after all.

As for his way of paying Ethan back, it was to sleep with Ethan's beloved fiancée and watch how humiliated she looked beneath him.

Perhaps this was one of those mean pranks rich people pulled for fun.

By the time Stella reached the hotel she was staying in, it was already in the wee hours of the morning. She was so exhausted that she went straight to bed after washing up in the bathroom.

Suddenly, the hidden figure in the bed flipped Stella over and pinned her down. Having trapped her in his arms, he began peppering her face with kisses.

Frightened, Stella began resisting the man's advances. She managed to bite the man in the chaos.

The man let out a low grunt, which sounded very familiar to Stella. As soon as the bedside lamp was turned on, she was surprised to see the naked Julian lying on the same bed with her.

Julian inhaled sharply before hooking her chin with his fingers.

"Our 100-thousand-dollar session was rudely interrupted earlier. Don't you think we should continue the second half of the session?"

Chapter 3

Stella was already exhausted, to begin with. At first, she didn't want to go along with Julian's whims, but she quickly recalled that the 100 thousand dollars would be transferred into her bank account next Monday, along with her salary.

If she were to turn Julian down now, she might not be able to clear the entire debt.

Had she known that Julian would ambush her in her hotel room, she should've accepted the 50-thousand-dollar transaction back in Chapman Manor.

Left without a choice, Stella could only let Julian thrust into her.

"Ahh… Your body feels so much better."

Julian kept claiming Stella's body over and over again. The burning friction made Stella's body temperature rise as well.

But it didn't matter what sort of techniques he used or how much strength he exerted on Stella's body, for she never reacted to his ministrations, as though she were just a soulless marionette. She just let him do whatever he wanted to her.

Frustrated, Julian pinched Stella's cheeks and forced her to look into his eyes.

Shockingly enough, this time, Stella wasn't affected by the sight of Julian's eyes at all. It was as though she no longer cared about Ethan.

First, Stella didn't care about the transaction. Now, she didn't care about Julian's eyes.

Julian didn't know if the feelings coursing through him at the moment were dissatisfaction or reluctance. All he did was tighten his arms around Stella while pounding into her with all his might.

It was as though Stella would permanently be his if he were to do this to her.

That night, Stella didn't know how she managed to fall asleep out of exhaustion. By the time she woke up the next day, it was already late morning. This was her first time being late to work.

Upon arriving at the company hastily, Stella found out that Julian wasn't in his office at all. Meanwhile, Ariana, who was well-dressed without a single hair out of place, let out a cold, dissatisfied huff.

"Do you have any idea what time it is right now? Is this how you treat your job?"

Stella lowered her gaze and apologized to Ariana. Then, she said calmly, "Excuse me, can you get out of my seat? This is my workstation. I still have a ton of work tasks to deal with."

She didn't care about Ariana's hostility aimed at her. As long as she could complete her tasks without any delay and receive her salary on time, Ariana could humiliate her however she wanted.

Meanwhile, Ariana was pissed by how nonchalant Stella had been acting around her.

That bitch was just a secretary, yet she was already this arrogant after sleeping with Julian a few times in the past. To think that she had the guts to talk back to Ariana!

It had been three long years! How dare that bitch sleep with Julian over the past three years when Ariana wasn't around!

Julian Chapman was her man, dammit!

How could Ariana not settle the score with Stella?

Ariana slammed a hand on the table before rising to her feet. As soon as her gaze landed on Stella's neck, she froze momentarily. Julian had left behind many hickeys and bite marks on Stella's neck, it seemed.

She strode toward Stella in wide steps right away. Out of sheer anger, she ripped Stella's collar apart to see more red hickeys occupying her chest.

Poor Stella went pale. She was in a hurry to get to work earlier, so she didn't have time to check herself out in the mirror. That was why she had no idea that Julian had left so many marks on her body.

She was about to explain herself when Ariana slapped her heavily on the face. Before she knew it, Ariana was already strangling her angrily while screaming, "I can forgive the past three years, seeing as Jules has already proposed to me last night! But how dare you still seduce him despite that! Die, bitch!"

Stella was about to struggle against Ariana's grip when the latter picked up a cup of scalding hot tea and dumped it onto her.

It hurt!

The scalding tea left blisters growing all over Stella's skin. She collapsed to the floor instantly while wailing in pain.

Her body trembled violently as she tried to explain herself in a feeble tone. "I didn't seduce him! He was the one who showed up in my hotel room all of a sudden…"

But Ariana refused to listen to Stella's explanation. When she noticed a few employees entering the office to submit their documents, she couldn't help but smile cruelly.

"You guys, get over here and strip her bare! I want you to leave marks all over her body!"

Then, she addressed Stella, "You like being fucked by men, don't you? I shall grant your wish, then!"

When Ariana saw the way the male employees hesitated without budging from their spots, her expression darkened instantly.

She snapped coldly, "Hurry up and do it already! Jules has already named me as the vice CEO of the company! Do you want me to fire you all instead?"

Stella could only watch in horror as her male colleagues pinned her limbs down while ignoring her struggles. Slowly, they began to strip her jacket and shirt off her body, leaving her in her underwear.

Those men might be forced to carry out Ariana's orders, but the sight of Stella's stunning figure invoked their lust and greed from within. This time, they began peeling her underwear off with malicious intentions.

Stella, who was on the verge of suffering from a breakdown, could only shriek at the top of her lungs. "No! Stop! Please, I'm begging you! We're all colleagues, aren't we?"

Ariana dug out her phone while barking out a burst of harsh laughter. She kept urging the male employees to start defiling Stella.

"Hurry up and fuck her already! Are you even manly enough to do this?"

Stella kept struggling against the men's advances with all her might.

Suddenly, someone kicked the office door open from the outside. His expression thunderous, Julian roared at the offending employees, "What the hell are you doing?"

The employees were so frightened that they released Stella instantly, causing her to fall backward because of the momentum. Her head crashed against the floor loudly as a result. The pain was so intense that she blacked out immediately.

Before her senses faded away, Stella remembered seeing Julian's concerned eyes.

Did the concern come from Julian? Or was that Ethan?

She had no idea, but she no longer cared.

Chapter 4

By the time Stella opened her eyes again, she was already lying on a hospital bed. Julian could be seen sitting by her bed.

He seemed to have stayed up all night watching over her. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had stubble growing all over his chin.

Upon hearing the faint rustling coming from Stella's bed, Julian grasped her hand instinctively. He exclaimed worriedly, "You're awake, Stella! Are you still in pain?"

Stella felt the bandages wrapped around her head, feeling slight pain throbbing from her skull. With a blank face, she replied, "Yeah. It hurts."

Julian froze momentarily. He didn't expect Stella to be blunt with him instead of easing his guilt with pretty words.

"Well, you should rest. I've already punished Aria. She ended up doing something so extreme to you out of insecurity…"

Stella didn't bother listening to Julian's excuses. His reflection could be seen in her dull, glassy eyes. "How did you punish her?"

Julian fell silent for a moment. He then replied in a low tone, "I locked her up in a room and told her to reflect on her behavior for an hour."

An hour?

Stella was completely covered in burns, not to mention that she had suffered from a blow to the head. To make things worse, Ariana had recorded a video of her being molested by others.

Yet, Julian's so-called punishment was make Ariana reflect on her goddamn behavior for one fucking hour!

How ridiculous!

Stella just smiled bitterly. She remarked sardonically, "You're right. If Ethan were to treat you like that, I wouldn't have the heart to blame him either."

Julian's heart went tense all of a sudden. He felt frustration welling up in his throat, which pissed him off to no end.

Ethan had already been dead for three years, yet Stella was still hung up on him! She even compared him to Julian!

What did she mean by "if Ethan were to treat you like that"?

How? How could a dead man possibly win against him?

Julian was the one who saved Stella from the debt-collecting gangsters and gave her a lucrative salary! He was also the one who got to sleep with her thousands of times over the past three years!

It was him, Julian Chapman! Not Ethan Lane the fucking dead guy!

Julian's tone grew flustered. "You still love him? It's been three years! We've slept with each other so many times…"

So what if they slept with each other so many times? What else was there to it?

Stella didn't know what Julian was trying to say. It was just a contract binding her to the cause. She was forced to sleep with Julian just so she could pay off the debt.

Even if they did sleep together thousands of times, so what?

Julian had been in love with Ariana the whole time. As for Stella, she could never forget about Ethan.

They all knew what the answer was, so what was the point in talking about it?

Suddenly, someone knocked on the ward door. Ariana soon walked into the ward meekly. Tears were already rolling down her cheeks before she could even speak.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Atkinson. I was blinded by rage, which led to me doing that sort of thing to you. Can you please forgive me? I'll give you this Hermès bag to make it up to you. This is my favorite bag out of all the bags in the world."

Before Stella could react to Ariana's presence, Julian had already stuffed the Hermès bag into her hands. Then, he pulled Ariana into his arms and began to comfort her in a low tone.

"Good girl. Everything's alright now. She knows you didn't do it on purpose, so stop blaming yourself, alright? I'll be heartbroken if you keep acting like this."

Stella's heart was already weighed down by fatigue, yet she still felt as though someone was pricking her heart with a needle nonstop. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.

She didn't need this kind of materialistic payment at all.

But no matter how disgusted and vile Stella felt, she still had to wait till the end of the month. Once she received her salary and left her job, everything would be over.

She didn't want to cause additional trouble for the sake of the final sum of money.

Thanks to Julian's gentle coaxing, Ariana finally smiled through her tears. He promised to shower her with more expensive bags and jewelry.

Once she left, Julian caressed Stella's hand apologetically. He said softly, "She has already deleted the video. Once you've made a full recovery, let's spice up our sex life in bed. Of course, I'll pay you more money to make it up to you."

He had leaned in to utter the last sentence into her ear. His deep voice was laced with nothing but meaningful hints.

Stella merely smiled mockingly in return.

"Mr. Chapman, I've already quit my job, so I won't provide those services to you anymore."

Chapter 5

Julian didn't hear that sentence, for he had already gotten up in a hurry to chase after Ariana once he was done hinting at Stella.

Stella's words dissipated in the breeze. No one knew what she'd said.

Besides, it wasn't as if her words meant anything to Julian at all. She was just a sex doll who provided him with carnal pleasure. Ariana was his actual lover, after all.

Stella didn't rest much. A day later, she returned to the company once again. By then, the ordeal she had suffered from was already spread across the company in several variants.

Someone even claimed that Stella seduced the male employees purposefully because she wanted to host an orgy. Ariana had stumbled upon it and stopped the debauchery from happening just in time.

Stella's way of dealing with it was to purposefully lead Julian past the corner where the gossipmongers were speaking among each other.

Having overheard everything, the enraged Julian fired the gossipmongers on the spot. His actions ended up intimidating the rest of the employees. That was how the rumors were cut off at their source.

Meanwhile, Ariana rejected all the documents Stella had worked on. After the latter stayed up all night pulling overnight shifts just to edit the documents more than a dozen times, Ariana chose to go along with the first edition in the end.

Because of that, Stella was unable to get a good night's rest. Julian wasn't given a chance to ask for her sexual services as well.

Stella suddenly smelled a pine scent drifting from behind her. Julian hugged her from behind the next moment, and his hands began to roam around her body.

But Stella continued to type away on her keyboard, as though she didn't pick up on Julian's existence.

Irritated, Julian gripped her wrist. "Why are you pulling another overnight shift? I've been keeping my urges at bay for far too long!"

Stella replied coolly, "Ms. Fairwood isn't satisfied with this document. She asked me to rework it."

An awkward pause later, Julian chose to be nonchalant. "I'll stop her from checking your documents. Here, I'll give you 100 thousand dollars. Tonight, let's—"

"I'm on my period, Mr. Chapman."

Stella's cold voice successfully put out Julian's flames of lust. He gazed into her eyes seriously, only to see the steel-like resolve in her eyes.

So, he could only release his hold on her and leave the office angrily, but not before slamming the door shut on his way out.

For some reason, Julian kept having a feeling that Stella wasn't being herself lately. Without Stella's services, he felt that sex with Ariana was lacking, for he could never satisfy his urges whenever he was with her.

Then again, so what if Stella was acting weird? There was no way that she'd reject him! She had already signed the contract, not to mention that she had slept with him for three years!

After all, Ethan was already dead!

Julian refused to believe that Stella was capable of leaving him.

…

That night, Julian's company, Chapman Group, threw their end-of-the-year gala in the fanciest hotel in the entire city. As soon as Stella wrapped up her work, she was urged by Julian, who had been waiting for a long time, to get her ass to the hotel as soon as possible.

Once she entered the ballroom, Ariana, who was decked out in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, welcomed her immediately. She took Stella's hands in a friendly manner.

"You're finally here, Ms. Atkinson. This is my gift to you. Think of it as a reward for being an outstanding employee. If you refuse to accept this gift, this means you refuse to forgive me for my transgressions."

Stella looked down to see a diamond bracelet. Clearly, it looked pretty expensive.

Since many eyes were on her at the moment, she felt it unwise to reject Ariana's gift. So, she nodded before sliding the bracelet onto her wrist. Ariana just smiled the whole time.

This gala was the grandest gala Chapman Group had ever hosted since its establishment. Julian gave everyone bonuses and gifts on Ariana's behalf.

The gifts locked behind the lucky draw were even more expensive. Because of that, everyone sang praises about Ariana, their latest vice CEO, who had gotten promoted out of nowhere.

With the elegant music serving as the ambience, Ariana and Julian toasted to each other and drank to their relationship while holding hands amid the cheers of the employees.

The event was starting to look like their engagement banquet rather than a company's gala at this moment. That was Stella's exact thought as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.

"Coming up next is a dance party. Everyone, please find your dance partners and dance the night away."

After Ariana announced the start of the dance party, everyone got up from their seats and began looking for their dance partners.

Stella wanted to use this opportunity to slip out of the venue, but she was stopped by Harold Jenkins, the finance manager, with the excuse of wanting to dance with her.

Since Harold was in charge of distributing the employees' salaries, Stella had no choice but to accept his invitation.

Harold was a single man in his 30s. Rumors had it that he had sexual relations with multiple female employees.

When Stella was dancing, she kept her guard up the whole time. But for some reason, her breathing grew labored, and her body began heating up. Strength started to drain from her limbs as well.

Thinking that something was wrong with herself, Stella tried to come up with an excuse to leave. But Harold had already dragged her limp body away from the dance floor and toward the exit of the ballroom.

Soon, Harold used the keycard to unlock the door to a hotel room that he had already reserved in advance. A lecherous smile was plastered on his face as he threw Stella onto the bed. Then, he turned on the camera, which was already set up in the room.

The desperate Stella begged, "Don't do this! Please! I can give you money!"

Harold merely huffed coldly in return before taking off his shirt. His beer belly was instantly exposed.

As he caressed Stella's cheek with a finger while noting the way she trembled in fright, he replied, "Money? Are you richer than Ms. Fairwood? Don't worry, I'll make sure to get all of your good angles so that you'll become a superstar!"

Distress and agony engulfed Stella whole. She could only cry helplessly on the bed.

Harold took off his belt impatiently, only to hear the door being opened the next moment.

When Julian saw the pair in their state of undress, he saw red instantly. Harold was attempting to pull up his pants in a fit of panic when Julian had already stopped before him and punched him in the face. That punch landed Harold on the floor instantly.

Then, Julian's hand snaked around Harold's throat and began strangling him. At the same time, he roared furiously, "How dare you touch her!"