Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 263

Chapter 263

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Paul took back the Penn School tokens he’d handed out all those years ago. “Take care of yourselves, stay healthy.”

“Mr. Penn!” the four of them called out, faces burning with shame.

Paul looked exhausted, but he just smiled and waved them away. “Go on, all of you. Our partnership is over.”

“Get out! All of you!” Emily snapped, hands on her hips, spicy as ever.

The four of them covered their faces and slunk out of the room in embarrassment.

John let go of Callum.

Callum just stood there in a daze, staring at his grandfather lying in bed. Paul looked like he’d aged a decade in an instant. Paul’s hands shook as he gripped the four Penn School tokens, and anyone watching would feel

a pang

of sorrow.

“Grandpa…” Callum murmured.

All he got in response was a heavy sigh from Paul.

Emily’s heart twisted, her eyes reddening.

“Sorry to break up your emotional moment,” a lazy female voice chimed in.

Stella propped her chin on one hand, casually watching the group. With her other hand, prayer beads dangling from her wrist, she pointed at Callum’s palm. “Apply medicine.”

Callum was just left speechless.

He’d almost forgotten.

“Stella, you’re so cold-blooded!” Emily accused. She sniffled, and her eyes were red-rimmed, like a rabbit.

Stella gave a lazy smile. “If you’re not cold-blooded, then go help out.”

Emily rolled her eyes, but still stepped forward to help Callum with the gauze on Paul’s hand.

As soon as the gauze came off, Emily sucked in a sharp breath.

It was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

Callum was hit by the metallic scent of blood. He squeezed the bright red Vermilion Berry until it turned to pulp, and the strange, fragrant smell grew even stronger. He asked, “Ms. Carter, is there anything else we need

to do?”

Just to be safe, Callum looked up, his expression unusually serious since he didn’t want to mess this up.

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“Yeah,” Stella said lazily.

She sounded totally laid-back.

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Callum shot her a look of “I knew it”. “Alright, let’s hear it,” he said.

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Stella grinned, drawing it out. “Purify the body, burn incense, and prostrate yourself with the highest

reverence.”

Callum was totally lost for words.

He turned and slapped the pulped Vermilion Berry right onto Paul’s hands.

Emily glanced at the four Penn School tokens and suddenly remembered the topic she hadn’t finished discussing with Stella earlier.

“Stella” she said. But before she could get another word out, her voice cut off, and her eyes went wide in shock.

Callum was just as stunned.

If they hadn’t seen it for themselves, nobody would have believed it. Right before their eyes, new skin was forming, covering the wounds in real time.

In less than thirty seconds, Paul’s hands looked brand new.

It was totally unreal.

Suddenly, Emily did something weird to Stella.

She used her hand to block out everything below Stella’s nose, then covered her eyes, too. Emily’s eyes went wide as the truth hit her. “It was you!”

Stella was utterly confused.

Emily blurted out, “That day when someone showed up at the Trent family’s Herbal Haven, started trouble, and declared war on the media in Tongalian, wearing a baseball cap and a black mask. That was you!”

Stella was speechless

‘Oh, so that’s what she meant, Stella thought.

Stella just lounged there, not bothered at all, giving nothing away.

Emily was freaking out.

She’d watched that video hundreds of times in secret. She could probably do a live reenactment right now. ‘Does Stella even know how cool she looked that day?’ Emily couldn’t help but think.

Stella looked right past the excited Emily and fixed her gaze on Paul. “Try moving your fingers.”

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Paul tried to move his fingers.

He looked a little nervous.

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“Catch.” Suddenly, someone tossed an apple from the fruit basket at Paul. In a flash, he snatched it out of the air. His reflexes and grip were just as sharp as ever.

Actually, his hands seemed even quicker than before!

Stella lounged there and chin propped on one hand, looking totally unfazed. Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft glow over her.

She said, “Right now, only the people in this room know your hands are completely healed.” .

The air was dusted with flecks of gentle golden sunlight, scattering softly around Stella.

Her voice was clear as a bell, reaching everyone present. “Sometimes you have to tear things down before you can rebuild. I trust that, Paul, you know exactly who’s real and who’s just putting on a show by now.”

If those four disciples had arrived even a minute later, they would have witnessed something completely different.

Sometimes, it’s all about timing, luck, and fate.

Stella flicked her prayer beads; that soft, satisfying click was kind of addictive. “With how petty and small- minded the Tongalians are, you can bet they’ll send some invitation to the Penn School for a so-called exchange meeting.”

Emily nodded like crazy. ‘Seriously, that’s exactly the kind of thing they’d pull!’ she thought.

But Callum was worried about something else. “But Penn School’s got no one left.”

He thought, ‘Paul took in five disciples. One turned his back on him, and the other four left by choice. If they really get an invitation, he can’t go by himself, can he?’

“Count me in!” Emily said, raising her hand without a second thought. “I can take a day off! Back when Herbal Haven and Remedy House had that big showdown, Stella said she’d be there, too!

“If Stella is going, then Mr. Gray will be there for sure. And with you…” She turned to Stella.

As she spoke, Emily scooped up the Penn School tokens from the bed and handed one out to each person.

Emily gave her token a proud little tap, her rosy face full of sass. “When it comes to headcount, it’s like squeezing water from a sponge. There’s always a way to make it work!”

Everyone else just stood there in awkward silence.

Emily looked at Stella, a little awkwardly. “But you’re awesome at everything, but there’s just one thing. I’m worried you might get into trouble because of it.”

Stella raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

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Emily signed, “You don’t have a medical license! If you try to treat people without one, it’s gonna be a pain in the ass!”

Stella sat in silence for a while.

Then, Stella calmly picked up her phone and made a voice call.

The other person answered, sounding super hyped and way too fast. Stella couldn’t help but wonder if Cedar was just waiting by his phone around the clock.

Cedar stammered, “S-Stella, what can I do for you?”

He sounded so pumped, practically tripping over himself to suck up.

Stella said, “Cedar, get my medical license ready.”

Inside the hospital room, a dead silence fell over everyone.

Everyone in the room was stunned. ‘What did she mean by ‘get it ready’?’ they thought.

Cedar was so shocked, he didn’t say a word for five whole seconds, as he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

He asked, “Stella, did I hear that right? What exactly do you want me to get ready?”

Stella repeated calmly, “My medical license.”

Cedar was stunned into silence.

Cedar thought, ‘Is Stella the one who’s out of it, or am I losing my mind?

‘Wait, who’s Stella here again?

‘Did she just ask me to get her medical license?

‘Isn’t that like asking a preschooler to teach Jordan and Kobe how to play ball? Seriously?’

Cedar protested, “Stella, seriously, you can’t be serious.”

Stella replied, “I’m not kidding.”

Meanwhile, Emily hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.

‘Did I push Stella too far? Is she actually thinking about getting a fake license now?’ Emily was starting to panic inside.

Cedar mumbled nervously, “But you already have one.”

Stella let her long lashes fall, her deep amber eyes shadowed. “It’s a hassle.”

Her old license was registered under the name “Shark.” If she showed that at the International Traditional Medicine Forum, it would cause a whole mess.

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And other people would definitely notice, too.

Cedar just went silent.

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That reason was so unexpected that he had nothing to say back. The guy, who ran the Dorestan Medical Alliance and basically ruled the medical world, right now, didn’t even dare to breathe wrong around Stella.

Cedar asked, super cautious, “So, you want it under your current identity?”

Stella replied, “Yeah.”

With that, she was about to hang up.

Cedar, sensing she was about to end the call, quickly called out, “Stella, there’s one more thing…”

Stella answered, her voice soft and lazy, “Just say it.”

Cedar said, “There’s an International Herbal Medicine Conference coming up soon. The organizers have been sending you invites nonstop. Will you be able to make it?”

Stella raised an eyebrow. “The one in Tongalia?”

Cedar replied, “Yeah! You know about it?”

Stella said, “Send me the invite. Bye.”

With that, she hung up.

It didn’t take long for Cedar to send the invitation to Stella’s phone.

Unlike the black-and-gold one that the Trent family got before, this one was gold-embossed, reserved only for the most distinguished guests, the absolute top-tier invite.

Stella tapped it open at her own pace, and the wording was so ridiculously flattering, it was full-on bootlicking mode, practically showering her with praise from start to finish.

Stella skimmed through it with a blank face, then looked up to see Emily watching her with a complicated expression.

“Stella,” Emily said, trying to be tactful, “we gotta play by the rules, you know.”

Stella was speechless.

Emily nagged, “Fake licenses always get busted.”

Stella gave a mischievous smirk, a glint of trouble in her eyes. “Who said anything about it being fake?”

Emily patted Stella’s shoulder, giving her a look that screamed ‘I get it: “Just hearing the name Cedar, you know he is bad news. Let’s not get mixed up with him anymore, okay?”

Stella was left speechless.

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Stella thought, ‘If you ever join the Dorestan Medical Alliance, I hope you can still keep that pure courage.

‘After all, Cedar is the one who’ll be signing off on all your assessment reports.

Stella just flashed a little smile.

Stella looked at Emily’s pretty face, calm and a little mysterious. “Soon, I’ll let you meet Cedar yourself.”