Chapter 195: The Plot Begins 

Stella was sure that these may actually be James‘ friends from the way they interacted. She had only ever seen people be afraid of him. 

James’s fingertips traced delicate patterns along her ribs, his touch making her shiver. 

Stella bit back a whimper when he did this. What was coming over him? 

“I am married thanks,” Jerry said then turned to Stella, “Nice to meet you, Stella.” 

But before Stella could answer James pulled her away to introduce to others. James had never introduced her to others before. When they had married all those years ago, he said it was not safe. She still believed it till this day. After all, the moment people found her children, Emmat was taken. 

On and on it went, with James working the room and showing her off. You would think he was afraid they would not know who she was. 

With every introduction, his touch grew bolder, more demanding, until Stella felt that she would soon be unable to walk from how nervous she was. 

She could not believe James had the time to flirt with her while at the event. 

He did not seem to mind that they were in a room full of people. But Stella minded. She was no ⚫ sure what to do with him. She swated his hand several times and even glared at him, but he 

only chuckled and would drop a kiss on her forehead. 

He wanted her to loosen up. He could tell she was stiff and tense and the urge to make her mind off things was strong in him. 

wwwwww 

But he only shot himself in the foot by doing this. The more he touched her, the hungrier her was getting. 

His hands had a mind of its own. He was either caressing her shoulder or pushing away a lock. 

of hair from her face. 

Stella wondered, was this also for show? Did she have to go along with everything or he was taking advantage of the situation? 

She had guessed right. He was taking advantage of every situation he had with her. 

“Maybe we should find a somewhere private,” James said and alarm bells sounded in Stella’s 

head.. 

She was more sensible than he was. If left alone, he would be more unrestramed. Who knew what he wanted to do? 

“No. I am going to talk to the family over there about to tear you apart with their eyes,” she pointed at James’s friends from the green family and slipped from his side towards them. 

Chapter 105 The Plot Begins 

As she left, she could see someone’s dark gaze staring at her. She tried to brush it off, but then noticed her smile darkly and felt uncomfortable. 

Stella hurried away quickly, escaping towards James’s friends from the green family. She had just met them, but she felt comfortable around them. 

When they saw her come over, they could not help but tease her. 

“I am surprised James let you leave his side,” 

“Someone would have thought you would vanish.” 

“Or maybe you would get a room,” they teased. 

Stella could only laugh it off. 

“You look beautiful, Stella.” Yvonne Green said. 

“James being clingy is odd. Is he afraid someone taking you from him?” Helga Green said. 

“I saw escape so quickly, did you quarrel” Maria Green asked. 

“Just out of curiosity, has he knelt on the washboard yet? You look to have reconciled,” someone asked. Janet realized James must have told them about his disappearance this past decade. 

“Do you have a washboard? I can order one online.” Another said. 

“Grandpa should have one in that house of his, it is from his time, right?” Jason Green joked. 

They joked about James’s clinginess, that Stella went red. This family could not take anything seriously, it seemed. 

While the laughter and chatter went on, a waiter approached with a tray of drinks, his movements seemed hurried and distracted. 

Before anyone could react, he stumbled, spilling white wine onto Stella’s dress. 

“I am so sorry, Madam. I am so sorry,” the little Hotel staff hurriedly apologized while shaking. 

“It’s fine. At least it isn’t red wine.” 

The gasp of surprise had echoed through the crowd and the commotion drew the attention of James, who hurried over with a slight frown on his face. 

“Stella, are you alright?” James asked, she could hear the worry in his voice as he reached her side quickly. 

Stella nodded, her cheeks were slightly red from all the attention. “I’m fine, James. It’s just a little spill.” 

Chapter 19 The Pot Bera 

James’s brow furrowed with frustration as he glanced at the walter, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. “What kind of clumsiness is this?” 

Before James could confront the waiter, Stella placed a hand on his arm to stop him. She could tell he was about to blow. 

“It’s okay, James. It was just an accident. Besides, the spill is at the very bottom of the dress. It’s not a big deal.” 

James threw the waiter a cold look as Stella waved people away. 

“You sure?” he asked. 

Stella offered him a small smile. She was not sure what had come over him, but she was starting to feel that James was on edge. 

“I’m sure, James. Why don’t you go back to your friend? I’ll go clean up in a bit,” Stella said. He paused and regarded her for a bit, his eyes lingering on Stella for a moment longer before he turned and made his way back to the group of friends he had been conversing with. 

As Stella watched him 

stomach. 

, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of her 

Something about everything didn’t sit right with her, but she pushed aside her discomfort, focusing instead on the problem at hand. 

Turning to the waiter, Stella forced a smile, “Don’t just stand there, lead me to go change,” she ordered and the staff nodded. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said to James’s family, before looking at the staff, “let’s go,” she said 

to him. 

The waiter nodded, his expression apologetic as he led her away from the bustling crowd. 

As she left, she spotted the same person looking at her with a dark smile and when their eyes met, the person even smirked. This threw Stella off. Why did this person look like she knew. something she didn’t? 

But before long, the woman looked away and continued with her conversation. 

Soon, Stella and the staff were walking down a dimly lit corridor, 

Stella followed the staff, her senses on high alert as she tried to shake off the feeling that something was wrong. She felt as though she had missed something. 

But before they could reach their destination, Stella felt a sudden blow to the back of her head and her vision dimmed as she crumpled to the ground. 

Darkness swallowing her whole as she slowly went unconscious. 

Choper 105–Theft Hears 

As Stella failed to return after ten tense minutes, James’s frowned and looked around the 

room for her. 

He scanned the room, his heart pounding in his chest, searching desperately for any sign of 

his wife. 

The bustling atmosphere of the ballroom seemed to close in around him, suffocating him with its oppressive weight. 

Had the prey fallen into the trap he wandered. 

Suddenly, a man approached, his expression grave with concern. “Mr. Grey, I’m the manager of the hotel,” he said, his voice tinged with urgency. “We need to talk.” 

James’s heart skipped a beat at the manager’s words, his stomach twisting with apprehension. He knew what was coming. Everything is going as planned, but his fear did not seize. 

“What’s happened?” he demanded, his voice sharp with worry. 

The hotel manager hesitated, before saying, “I’m afraid there’s been an incident,” he replied, his voice low and apologetic. 

“Madam is missing. We can’t find her anywhere on the hotel. We have informed the captain,” the man said.