Three Years After They Abandoned Me - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Stella would never forget that moment for the rest of her life when the nurse drugged her, leaving her completely paralyzed and her body almost drained of blood. Lionel betrayed her yet again.
Watching Lionel draw vial after vial of blood from her arm, Stella felt all lingering affection for him drain away.
"I'm sorry," Lionel said remorsefully.
Stella snapped, "I don't want your damn apology. Get the hell out of here now."
Lionel stood before Stella. The man who never cried was now weeping. "Stella," Lionel pleaded, "I know I hurt you, but I had my reasons. Will you believe me?"
Stella glared at Lionel, her voice trembling with anger. "That still doesn't justify you hurting me, Lionel. I've been to the hospital so many times, and you know my condition better than anyone.
"Those last few vials of blood you took pushed me to death's door. If you wanted me dead so badly, you shouldn't have shown up at all."
Lionel said softly, "I came to apologize—"
"I know you want me to forgive you, Lionel. How dare you even think I'd forgive you? All this time, I thought you actually cared about me, but you just wanted to extract some comfort from me to ease your own guilty conscience.
"Every single one of you is so selfish, always thinking only of yourselves, never about me. What am I to you? Just some disposable trash you can summon and discard at will."
"Stop it, Stella," Lionel pleaded desperately, his voice trembling. "You mean everything to me. You're special."
"Enough!" Stella snapped, cutting him off. She had already put up with Fiona; she was in no mood to deal with Lionel. "If you don't get out right now, I'll scream rape and have you thrown in jail."
Lionel stared at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend how she could have changed so drastically.
"Get out!" Stella shrieked, summoning every last ounce of her strength. She hadn't eaten and was still very weak, but she refused to be defenseless. After all they had put her through, she had to protect herself.
Lionel slowly turned to leave, then hesitated and glanced back, as if something had just occurred to him.
"Get the hell out!" Stella snarled at Lionel, her voice raw with fury.
"Stella." Just then, the door swung open, and standing there was none other than her close friend, Kevin. Kevin glanced at Lionel, then at Stella, sensing the tension between them. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Get him out of here." Stella turned her back on them.
Kevin shot another glance at Lionel.
Lionel let out a heavy sigh and walked out.
Kevin kept his gaze fixed on Lionel's retreating figure until he disappeared from view, then walked over to Stella. "Stella, is it really you?"
Stella turned her head and saw Kevin's expression shift from initial confusion to overwhelming excitement. A warmth blossomed in her chest. "Kevin, I've been back for a while now, but I haven't seen you anywhere."
Kevin gripped Stella's hand tightly, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Stella, is it really you? Oh my God, I can't believe you're actually here. You're so thin. What's with all these injuries? What the hell happened to you? Tell me everything."
It was as if they had instantly slipped back into that comfortable, familiar dynamic. Stella said, "Kevin, you're bombarding me with too many questions. I don't even know where to begin."
Kevin said gently, "Hey, no rush. Just go through them one by one, okay?"
Stella didn't answer immediately. Instead, she asked curiously, "I ran into Emily earlier. How come I didn't see you?"
Kevin fell silent for a moment. Stella already had a pretty good idea of what had happened, but she still wanted to hear it from Kevin himself.
Kevin said, "Now that you've seen her, I guess you already know Emily and Anna are friends now, right?"
Stella nodded.
Kevin said, "Not long after you left, Emily's family ran into some trouble. I was about to go help, but Anna got there before I could. By the time I arrived, everything at Emily's place had already been taken care of.
"She told me at the time that she was so grateful to Anna. Without Anna, she wouldn't have known what to do.
"I told her I could help. But she said I didn't have much say in the Carver family. She didn't want to burden me. I asked her why she would call Anna for help. She felt silent."
Kevin paused for a moment, then continued, "I asked her if she was gonna turn her on us for Anna? She said we had misunderstood Anna, and she was willing to be friends with Anna.
"After seeing her like that, I stopped talking to her. And in the past three years, while you were gone, I didn't get together with Emily either."
Stella was deeply moved. "Kevin, I never thought you—"
"It's okay. We've always been close friends. I searched high and low for you all over the world, but never heard a word. I only just got back recently. I was picking up some medicine for my mom when I ran into you.
"Let me get a good look at you," Kevin said, unable to hide his excitement. He gently cupped her face, his eyes searching hers with a mix of wonder and disbelief.
'Thank goodness.' Stella thought. 'Not everyone has betrayed me after all, at least Kevin is still here.' Stella asked softly, "Kevin, could I trouble you with something?"
Kevin feigned exasperation. "Don't talk about trouble between us. We're best friends. Whatever you need, just say the word and I'll make it happen."
Stella asked softly, "Kevin, my phone's broken. Could you buy me a new one? I really need it right now."
"Of course. I'll go get you one right now. Just wait here for me."
Stella nodded.
As Kevin turned to leave, he made sure to add, "When I get back, I want to hear all about where you've been all these years."
Stella nodded once more. A wave of relief washed over Stella the moment Kevin left. She still had one true friend left.
Kevin was actually Troy's half-brother. They shared the same father. Their dad was a notorious womanizer, with countless mistresses and illegitimate children scattered everywhere.
Perhaps it was because Troy was the eldest son and born to his father's principal wife that he was especially favored. Otherwise, Troy wouldn't have grown up to be so spoiled and arrogant.
Troy looked down on all those outsiders, especially Kevin. Since most of the other women had only given birth to daughters, they posed no real threat to his position.
But Kevin was a son, and one who outshone Troy in every way possible. Troy resented and feared him for it.
He frequently instigated others to bully Kevin. Deep down, Kevin's mother knew she'd made a terrible mistake. It was a moment of poor judgment that doomed Kevin to this life.
Kevin's mother had always been in poor health, but despite his father's flaws, he secretly held Kevin in high regard. The more things went on like this, the more Troy and Kevin became sworn enemies.
When Stella learned that Kevin had been searching high and low for her ever since she left, she was deeply moved. In this whole world, apart from Eleanor, only Kevin truly cared about her.
Stella needed to use the restroom. She hadn't left her bed in days and wasn't even sure if her legs would hold her.
She gingerly slid off the bed. Just as she reached for the door, she spotted a group of people rounding the corner, and they suddenly stopped. Troy fixed her with a menacing grin. "So, here you are. What a chase you've led me on."