Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 999

Xander had never felt so utterly defeated.

What could be more exasperating than this? His own wife was carrying his child, yet she refused to believe it was his. There was just no way out of this mess.

“I swear, I’m so mad I could explode!” Yvonne paced in agitation.

“Why can’t you just trust me for once? That night—” he started, desperate to explain.

“Stop. Not another word!” she snapped.

Xander fell silent, at a total loss.

“Do you have something on you? Is Dan blackmailing you?” Yvonne pressed, suspicion sharpening her gaze. She knew Xander—he wasn’t the type to take the heat for someone else, not unless he had a damned good reason. She’d spent most of last night racking her brain, and this was the only explanation that made any sense.

He stared at her, lost for words. This conversation was going nowhere.

“You just have to find some excuse for why I’d cover for him, don’t you?” he said finally, frustration bleeding through. “Why does everything I say just bounce off you?”

Yvonne set her jaw but didn’t reply.

“Think about it,” Xander argued. “If Dan really had dirt on me, would I be going after the Black Gate right now, the way I am?”

Yvonne paused, eyes flickering as she considered it. “Huh. Good point.”

So, maybe the blackmail theory didn’t actually hold up.

“Are you ready to admit yet that it really was me that night?” Xander pressed, voice softer now.

Yvonne didn’t answer. Silence thickened in the hospital room as she stared at him, still searching, grasping for any plausible reason he might have for taking the blame for Dan.

“It was me, Yvonne. I swear,” Xander said, his voice quiet but certain.

She just stared, lips pressed in a thin line.

Back then, Berry had cozied up to Stella only to get close to Ronald. But Ronald, as everyone knew, only had eyes for Star. The moment Berry made her move, Ronald had her tossed out of Ferrowland with zero tolerance—not even allowed to hover in Stella’s general vicinity.

That should've been the end of it, crisis averted. So how had Berry managed to squirm back into their lives?

“She’s in Novaderma,” Xander continued, “getting cosmetic surgery. Ronald says she wants to look like Stella.”

Yvonne gaped. “You’re kidding me…”

“And according to Ronald, the work’s nearly done—she’s already a dead ringer for Stella,” Xander reported.

“Oh, come on! What kind of twisted plot is this?” Yvonne’s outrage hit a boiling point. She’d heard of schemers, but this, this was next level. Was Berry actually trying to replace her precious Star?

She was practically shaking with fury.

“I’m telling you, this looks like the first step in a full-on scheme against Stella.” Xander’s tone was grave. “The day Berry finishes her transformation—that’ll be the day their plan goes into action.”