Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 333

Chapter 333

The group headed in.

Stella’s phone rang. She glanced down and saw it was a number from an unfamiliar area code.

“You guys go on ahead,” she said.

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Allan poked his head out, curious, but before he could say anything, Sebastian grabbed his face with a cold, firm grip, distorting Allan’s expression.

Sebastian, completely expressionless and having seen it coming shoved Allan inside without the slightest hesitation.

After a brief pause, Stella answered the call, her tone flat. “Speak

The person on the other end instantly sounded nervous, clearly startled by how young her voice was. “Y–Young Sovereign, is that really you?”

Stella was silent.

‘Who else? A ghost?‘ Stella muttered inwardly.

Still, Stella forced herself to stay patient and just replied with a flat tone, “Mm. What’s up?”

“Y–Yes, I do!” Houston blurted out, suddenly jumping to his feet and pacing in circles around his desk, far too worked up to

sit still.

“I’m Houston Hawthorne, the current president of Rhaesia University. I’m also in the group chat for the lackeys, the one with the old sheep profile picture…”

Houston just would not stop talking.

Stella cut him off. “Stop!”

The voice on the other end went dead silent, sounding utterly wronged.

Stella said coolly, “Get to the point.”

Houston swallowed nervously. “Right! The point! Young Sovereign, this year’s Rhaesia University entrance exams are set to take place in Jaffina. Would you… would you be interested in personally overseeing them?”

‘Jaffina?‘ Stella thought to herself.

She lowered her lashes, paused for a moment, then said, “Depends on my mood.”

Houston paused for a moment.

‘So… did she say yes, or not?‘ he thought, scratching his head.

Stella lifted her eyelids, her voice as lazy as ever, as though the thought had just occurred to her. “Oh, and one more thing.”

Houston straightened instantly, snapping to attention. “Yes, of course. What is it?”

Stella drawled, “Get a few things ready for me.”

Houston blinked, completely thrown off. “Uh… what?”

Two seconds passed.

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Chapter 333

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Houston paused for a moment.

Stella sounded bored as she spoke again. “Did you catch that?”

Houston nodded out of habit, then abruptly realized she could not see him through the phone. “Y–Yeah, I got it! I’ll have everything ready as soon as possible. You can count on me!”

“Alright, I’m hanging up,” Stella said, already reaching to end the call.

“Young Sovereign!” Houston suddenly shouted, his voice echoing through the receiver.

Stella was silent.

The shout was loud enough that even the patrolling security guards glanced in her direction.

“Is there something else?” Stella asked, completely unfazed.

Houston, a heavyweight in academic circles, was so nervous that his palms were slick with sweat. “Uh… would it be possible to add you on WhatsApp?”

Then she stopped speaking and hung up.

When Houston’s friend request came through, Stella accepted it right away and dumped him into the same contact group as Cedar from the Dorestan Medical Alliance. The group was bluntly named [Lackeys].

Suddenly, Stella froze, her gaze snapping up to the second floor of the old mansion.

Her eyes turned icy, sharp as a blade.

Someone had just been watching her from up

there.

“Ms. Carter, this way,” the guard said, noticing her pause and gesturing toward the main entrance.

Stella shot him a brief glance, said nothing, and walked straight into the mansion.

The guard stood there, his face frosty as he watched her walk away.

And up on the second floor, the curtains shifted visibly.

When Stella walked into the mansion, everyone’s heads snapped up to look at her.

Sebastian, Lucas, Allan, Morgan, and John all wore weird, complicated expressions.

Stella was utterly confused.

‘Seriously, why are you all looking at me like that?‘ Stella wondered, completely baffled.

Allan gave a fake cough, awkwardly pointed off to the side, then used that same finger to rub his nose.

Stella turned her head.

“D–Dr. Miracle,” Landen whimpered, his eyes red and swollen as he trembled while hugging a pot of purple flowers, all snapped and drooping like wisteria vines.

He looked absolutely pathetic.

Stella was silent.

Stella, unusually, fell silent for a moment.

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Chapter 333

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Landen sobbed, “D–Dr. Miracle.” He reached out toward her with a trembling hand, his lips quivering, and then suddenly flopped forward, face–first onto the floor.

It felt as

if a

storm cloud had settled over the room, heavy with misery.

Stella was silent.

“Dad!” Charles rushed over, scooping up both Landen and the flower pot, refusing to let him keep embarrassing himself. “No more drama, Dad. Mr. Harper’s watching!”

Bernard, seated at the head of the projection table, said nothing

He pretended not to hear anything, calmly sipping his tea with a straight face.

Suddenly, Bernard froze.

The guard keeping a close eye on him tensed up instantly. “Bernard-”

Bernard shot him a sharp look, and the guard immediately fell silent.

The whole thing happened in a blink, and with Landen being such a drama queen, no one noticed anything unusual except Stella. Without even lifting her head, Stella lazily said, “You just had surgery. Tea’s off–limits for you.”

Everyone stood there, stunned into silence.

“Stella, who are you talking about?” Allan asked, completely confused. “I mean, we’re all holding cups here.”

Stella stepped forward, hooked Landen by the shoulder with one hand, and hauled him up off the floor. Only then did she finally raise her head and look straight at Bernard.

Everyone followed her gaze and fell dead silent.

“You” the guard blurted out, totally stunned. This was top–secret info; only a handful of people knew about it. ‘How did she even know that?‘ he wondered, utterly baffled.

There was a brief pause.

Sebastian spoke up, his tone steady as ever. “Is it serious?” Beside him, Allan lifted his cup, using the motion to hide his shock.

Stella shook her head. “Not really.” Everyone quietly let out a breath, until she casually added, “He was just on the verge of dying not too long ago.”

Allan spat out his tea in a spray.

“Cough, cough, cough… Stella, damn, you…” Allan sputtered, totally thrown off.

‘Who taught you how to roast people like that?‘ Allan thought, utterly at a loss.

‘You really just say things like that out loud?‘ Allan was floored.

Lucas looked thoroughly disgusted and scooted his little butt closer to Morgan.

Bernard remained composed the entire time, while the guard beside him looked completely shaken, as if he wanted to speak but could not force the words out.

“But anyway…” Stella checked her watch. “I’ve got one piece of bad news and one piece of good news. Which do you want first?”

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Chapter 333

Everyone stood there, stunned into silence.

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Bernard put down his cup and looked straight at Stella, his voice steady but carrying weight. “Let’s hear the bad news.”

Just by saying that, he was basically admitting she’d nailed it earlier.

Charles frowned deeply. ‘Ms. Carter is basically walking a tightrope over a bottomless pit. One misstep and it’s over,‘ he thought, his nerves shot.

He glanced at Sebastian. ‘Seriously, how is Mr. Gray staying this alm?‘ Charles couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Stella smirked. “That chest pain of yours has been getting worse since last night, but you’ve been pretending everything’s fine.” She tapped the cold face of her watch toward Bernard. “Give it about an hour, and you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Everyone stood there, stunned into silence.

“Utter nonsense!” the guard who had been glued to Bernard for years snapped, his eyes sharp as knives. “Bernard’s in perfect shape!”

But Stella didn’t even flinch. She calmly walked over and took the empty seat next to Sebastian, completely unbothered. “You’re the only one who really knows if it hurts.”

With that, she picked up her cup, her expression unreadable.

Nobody said a word.

The tension in the room thickened instantly.

Allan kept his head down, sneaking glances at Bernard and Stella then jerked his chin at Morgan, silently begging him to say something to break the tension.

Morgan acted like he didn’t notice anything.

Snowball sat in silence for a while.

While the guard next to him was practically fuming, Bernard didn’t show any emotion at all. He just gave a slight nod, then finally spoke up, “So, what’s the good news?”

Stella smiled faintly. “Before I answer that, Bernard, why don’t you answer my question first?”

Bernard paused. “What?”

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11:14 Mon, Feb 9

Chapter 333

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Landen sobbed, “D–Dr. Miracle.” He reached out toward her with a trembling hand, his lips quivering, and then suddenly flopped forward, face–first onto the floor.

It felt as if a storm cloud had settled over the room, heavy with misery.

Stella was silent.

“Dad!” Charles rushed over, scooping up both Landen and the flower pot, refusing to let him keep embarrassing himself. “No more drama, Dad. Mr. Harper’s watching!”

Bernard, seated at the head of the projection table, said nothing

He pretended not to hear anything, calmly sipping his tea with a straight face.

Suddenly, Bernard froze.

The guard keeping a close eye on him tensed up instantly. “Bernard-”