At City X International Airport...

Stella Richard walked out of the airport and hailed a taxi. She gave the driver an address and got into the car. As the taxi moved, Stella gazed out the window at the familiar city...

She had returned after six years, but the experiences and memories she had tried to forget over the years began to flood her mind...

Stella shook her head, chasing those thoughts away.

This time, she hadn’t come back to dwell on old, useless memories. She was back because her boss had asked her to return. He told her that their company was at a dead end, and he wanted her to come back and solve the crisis.

At first, Stella didn’t want to come, but after some thought, she decided to return...

Six years ago, her boss had helped her during the most difficult time of her life, and she wanted to repay the favor...

As for everything else, she no longer cared...

At the Company...

As Stella arrived, she noticed that most of the employees were engaged in a lively discussion...

As she walked by, snippets of conversation reached her ears...

"I heard that there are so many companies who want to buy our company..."

"Really! That means we’ll have a new boss."

"I just hope that our new boss should be good-looking, like a Korean drama CEO..."

"Hey! Do you know who’s going to buy the company?"

Stella heard their chatter but didn’t care about the gossip.

She knew these people didn’t actually care about who would buy the company or for what price...

They just wanted to gossip.

But she... She cared... and she was here to secure a good deal for her company.

"Of course, it’ll be Kingston’s, the RK Group. Who else in the city is powerful enough to challenge them?"

Stella, who had been about to continue walking, stopped in her tracks...

A name, both familiar and unfamiliar, reached her ears...

"The Kingstons..."

"RK Group..."

Suddenly, memories Stella had locked away began to surge like a storm. Her mind was filled with those memories like a flood.

Stella felt dizzy.

It was as if she were still trapped in that RK mansion, surrounded by cold walls...

Stella had thought she had long forgotten about him, but it seemed that it was just her illusion...

****

Flashback...

Six Years Ago...

In the RK Mansion...

Stella walked out of the gate inside the living room. But her expression was somber. She moved as if in a daze...

Her small face looked a little pale.

"Madam, what happened to you? Why do you look so pale and weak?"

The one who spoke was Mia. She was working for Kingston's for years and always treated Stella like her daughter. Seeing her pale face and weak demeanor, Mia was worried.

Her eyes fell on the reports Stella was holding, and she asked,

"Is everything all right?"

Stella forced a smile and replied,

"It’s nothing. I’m alright."

"But your face doesn’t look good. How about I cook something for you? Your favorite Aaloo Poori..." Mia offered.

"Mia... Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just..."

Stella glanced at the reports in her hand and said, "I haven’t had my period for two months, and when I went to the hospital..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, looking at Mia with a mix of expectation and worry...

They just stared at each other.

Mia understood what Stella wanted to say. She was pregnant. But Mia also knew about the relationship between Mr. RK and Stella. She didn’t know what to say...

In the end, she just congratulated her...

Stella didn’t say anything and kept staring at the reports in her hand.

She didn’t know what to think or say...

She had been married to Rene Kingston for three years. But theirs was not a marriage of love...

It was a contract marriage, with a three-year time limit. Because the woman he loved was her sister...

RK had been about to marry her sister, Sophia, but for some reason, Stella had ended up replacing her sister. From the day they married, he had told her that their marriage was just a three-year contract and nothing more...

For RK, their marriage was indeed just a contract, but for Stella, it was a beautiful gift from God. Because only she knew how happy she was when she found out she was going to marry RK...

The man she had loved throughout her youth. All these years, Stella had given her best in this marriage, hoping that maybe, just maybe, their marriage would work out.

Maybe he wouldn’t divorce her.

Maybe he would want to stay with her...

Maybe he would give their relationship a chance because of the child...

Stella was still lost in thought when suddenly, a voice came from the door, shattering all her hopes and illusions...

"I don’t want this child..."

The voice was cold and hard.

Stella and Mia both turned to look in the direction of the voice.

RK was standing at the door, staring at Stella. His face was cold and expressionless. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking...

He had a very handsome face and blue eyes. His blue eyes were like the deep ocean. If you looked into them...

Then you would be drowned in it.

... ...

RK walked in and stood in front of Stella.

He appeared like a king, towering above the world and looking down upon everyone as if they were nothing.

With his tall frame and commanding aura, he exuded an undeniable power.

Stella sat on the sofa, overwhelmed by his presence.

She remained seated, staring at him, shocked by his words.

She never expected this man to be so cold-blooded, uttering such harsh words without a second thought.

There was no hesitation in his voice when he said he didn’t want the child.

Stella looked into his eyes, trying her best to remain calm and hold back her tears. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of this cold man.

The two of them just stared at each other in silence.

After a while, RK walked over and sat opposite Stella.

As he sat down, his assistant, Alex Triston, placed a stack of papers on the table. At the top of the papers were the words "Contract Expired."

Alex looked at Stella and said, "Miss Richard, according to your contract with Mr. RK, three years have now been completed. Please sign here and finalize the process."

Stella noted the change in how Alex addressed her—from Mrs. RK to Miss Richard. Even though she still hadn't signed her name. A mocking smile appeared on her face.

She was sure that Alex wouldn’t have dared to take her so lightly, if it hadn’t been ordered by someone, of course, and that someone was none other than her husband.

RK took the pen and signed his name without a pause or thought. After finishing, he looked at Stella and said,

"You can stay here for a week and look for the house."

Stella looked into the man's eyes which are calm as a lake...

There was no regret, sadness, or hesitation—nothing.

It was as if he felt nothing about their relationship, which had suddenly gone through such a big change...

But as this thought crossed her mind, she scolded herself.

"Stella, are you a fool?"

"How can you expect any regret or sadness from this stone-hearted man?"

But still, she couldn’t control her emotions...

Because she had loved this stone-heated man for so many years.

Stella didn’t say anything and just looked at the man with whom she had spent the past three years. She had seen his face every day, yet now, as she looked at him, she still found him strikingly handsome...

But... he was also the man who had shattered her heart into a thousand pieces.

She didn’t want to show her vulnerability in front of him, so she tried her best not to cry. Her hand trembled as she held the pen.

She looked at the papers, saw his elegant and strong handwriting, and signed her name.

Just like her heart, her handwriting was also broken.

Stella was shattered inside, but she didn't show this on her face. After she signed her name, she took a deep breath and said...

"I am very grateful to Mr. Kingston that he allowed me to stay here for a week, but after our contract expires I don't think I should stay here. I will leave immediately..."

After speaking, Stella glanced at Mia and asked, "Mia, can you help me pack my things?"

Mia looked at Stella's face and saw how hard she trying not to cry and her heartache. She didn't want to do this, but she had to do it.

Stella went upstairs to pack her belongings, while RK watched her retreating figure, his emotions unreadable.

Stella looked around the room where she had lived for three years, her eyes turned blurred...

She can't hold back her tears.

She knew their marriage would end someday, but she hadn’t anticipated such intense pain in her heart...

Stella didn’t have many things to pack. She just packed her belongings but left everything RK had bought untouched— not even a single piece of clothing.

Mia watched her in silence, unsure of what to say.

Stella wiped away her tears and said, "Mia, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. It’s just that I’m not his Mrs. Right."

With that, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.

Downstairs...

RK was still sitting on the sofa, watching Stella. But Stella didn't want to look at him and was ready to leave...

"Where are you going?"

Suddenly, his cold voice cut through the silence.

Stella paused and turned to look at him.

She hadn’t been on good terms with her family from the beginning, and after her marriage, it had been nearly impossible to maintain any connection with them.

As for him, they were now divorced, so she felt no reason or obligation to tell him where she was going...

"I don’t think my whereabouts has anything to do with Mr. Kingston. We’re already divorced and have nothing to do with each other. Mr. Kingston must be focused on his future wife, not on his ex-wife..."

Stella's tone was cold and it was like she was throwing daggers from her mouth...

She couldn’t comprehend his hypocritical behavior.

When they were together, and she was at home, suffering from a fever, at that time this man didn't even show his care towards her....

He was too busy with his business and making money...

He didn't care about his wife who was dying from a fever.

She wondered if it was her imagination or not, but it felt as though, after mentioning his future wife, the temperature in the room had dropped a lot...

She felt a chill spread through her body and decided to leave.

"Stop for a while..."

... ...

Stella heard his voice and stopped.

There was a little bit of hope in her heart.

The man's eyes were dark and cold, filled with mysterious thoughts, and a layer of fog surrounded him.

Suddenly, he spoke...

"I don't want this child. Don't forget to abort."

RK looked at the woman in front of him and thought...

She seemed like a pure and beautiful woman, and he didn't want her to carry his burden.

Stella's hand, which was holding her luggage, trembled, and the little bit of hope in her heart vanished.

She felt like someone had stabbed a knife into her heart. He had broken her heart so many times, but... she didn’t know why she still felt hurt every time it happened.

"Boooom."

His words exploded in her head like a bomb, and the little bit of hope she had left in her heart was also gone.

The hands holding the bag tightened.

She felt like someone had stabbed her heart, and she could smell the blood.

Suddenly, she laughed at herself...

She felt like a fool. How could she expect anything from a man who was so cold toward his child?

"If you don't want this child, then why did you sleep with me?" She wanted to yell at him, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.

He had once told her that he liked children, which was why she hadn’t taken the pills. But...

It was as if he liked children but not with her.

Stella's heart was in so much pain, but she didn’t want to let him see her tears. She didn’t turn around, keeping her back facing him.

Stella took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Kingston, don’t think too much. I also don’t want this child at all. I have already decided to abort it."

She was about to leave but then stopped and said,

"One more thing, I hope we don’t see each other again in this life."

After she said, Stella didn’t stop for a minute and left. At first, she didn’t want to leave this place, but now...

She felt suffocated.

Stella held her bag tightly and left without looking back.

RK watched the woman’s back, struggling to keep herself straight and not stumble.

His eyes were dark and filled with unreadable emotions.

Only after her figure disappeared from his sight did his tense back relax.

Flashback end

"I am sorry, I didn’t see you..."

Suddenly, a man bumped into Stella, who was standing in the hallway. Files fell to the ground.

But because of this she also came back to reality...

"No, I am sorry," she said, helping him pick up the files before going into the elevator. As the elevator door opened, Jack Paul stood outside and greeted her.

Jack Paul looked at Stella with a smile and said, "Stella, here you are. How are you? You are new here. If you need anything, please feel free to tell me."

Stella looked at him and nodded. "I am fine, thank you."

As they talked, they went to his office and sat down.

Jack looked at Stella and said, "Stella, I am very happy that you accepted my offer and came back." As he spoke, he handed her a red file and continued, "I am sure you have heard that our company is going to be acquired by someone. This file contains the reports I made; take a look."

Stella took the file and nodded.

Jack continued, "Many companies want to buy our company, but among all of them, RK Groups is the best. However, the price offered by Mr. RK was too low." He paused and said, "This time, I ask you to come back so that you can turn the situation around."

"RK Groups... Rene Kingston..."

Stella's hands holding the file trembled.

The memories she had locked away deep down in her heart suddenly resurfaced. Stella calmed herself and said,

"I will do my best."

"That’s good," Jack laughed and said. "Now that you have taken on this project, I am not worried anymore."

... ...