Father in Name Only

Stella blinked in genuine surprise, stumbling slightly backward as her mind tried to process the imposing figure standing before her. She had just stepped off the cold, expansive ice rink and into the quiet sanctuary of the women's restroom, only to find Declan lurking aggressively just inside the door. The heavy wooden door clicked shut, sealing them inside the confined space. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead cast sharp shadows across his familiar, brooding features. The sound of the bustling arena outside was completely muffled, leaving only the tense silence between them. Despite the initial jolt of shock at finding her ex-husband invading such a private space, she quickly reigned in her emotions. She pulled her shoulders back, adopting a posture of untouchable calm, and offered him a polite, painfully distant smile.

"Mr. Vance, you took a wrong turn. This is the women's restroom. The men's is right next door."

Unfazed by her calm demeanor and blatant dismissal, Declan stepped closer. His tall, broad-shouldered frame easily dominated the narrow walkway, completely blocking the only exit. He glared down at her, a stormy darkness swirling in his eyes. He leaned in, the faint scent of his expensive cologne mixing with the sterile smell of the restroom tiles, and issued his habitual, arrogant command.

"I don't care whether you’re hooking up with another man, but you will not take May with you! She's my daughter! Return her to the Vance Residence at once!"

The polite, patient smile she had forced onto her lips instantly melted into a vicious sneer. The sheer, blinding audacity of his demand sent a flare of righteous anger burning through her chest. After everything he had put her through, he still believed he could just bark orders and expect her to fall into line.

"Your daughter? Mr. Vance, do you even know the time I gave birth to May? Was it cloudy or sunny that day? Do you even know what we went through while you were gone?"

Declan was entirely stumped. His aggressive, domineering posture faltered slightly as he searched her face for an answer he simply did not have. He opened his mouth, his brow furrowing in confusion, but the words died in his throat. He had spent the entirety of their marriage constantly flying away on business trips, perpetually absent from her life. He was completely and blissfully oblivious to the agonizing reality she had endured. He didn't know about the cold, sterile hospital room. He didn't know about the terrifying moments when the monitors beeped frantically, or the time she nearly bled to death on the operating table. She had signed her own critical illness notices, clutching her phone and praying he would answer her desperate calls. But he never did.

Stella stared at his blank, staggering expression. The lingering grief threatened to claw its way up her throat, but she ruthlessly shoved it down, hiding her pain behind a wall of steel. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how deeply his neglect had scarred her. She tilted her chin up and gave him a fierce, unyielding smile.

"May is the absolute apple of my eye. I won't ever make her suffer the same miserable fate as me. I will provide her a life filled with utter dignity!"

With that powerful declaration, she stepped forward and forcibly bypassed his rigid frame. She shoved his shoulder aside with surprising strength, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and stormed out of the restroom without looking back.

Peaceful, uninterrupted days followed the intense confrontation at the ice rink. Without the constant, suffocating pressure of the Vance family weighing her down, Stella felt as though she could finally breathe freely for the first time in years. Her days settled into a comfortable, joyful rhythm.

Nolan officially launched a highly successful e-commerce streaming career alongside his rigorous skating schedule. Leveraging his strikingly handsome looks, charismatic personality, and his stellar reputation as a champion figure skater, he quickly amassed a massive, dedicated fanbase. The studio became an energetic hub of bright ring lights, cameras, and display racks of merchandise. His live streams were incredibly popular, drawing thousands of viewers every night. The venture proved so lucrative that it brought a substantial, steady daily profit to Nova Media.

May quickly became his biggest, most adorable fan. The little girl spent hours at the bustling studio, happily trailing after Nolan like a loyal little duckling. During his streams, she would sit quietly off-camera in a plush, oversized chair, swinging her short legs in the air. She watched his every move with pure, unadulterated adoration. Whenever he took a break, he would rush over, scoop her up, and spin her around the room until she giggled uncontrollably.

This undeniable, blatant favoritism sparked a hilarious, intense jealous rivalry in Landon. Refusing to be outdone by his best friend, Landon went out of his way to win the little girl's affections. He turned up at the studio every single day armed with bribes. He brought her limited-edition plush toys imported from overseas, elaborate wooden puzzle sets, and large, colorful baskets of expensive gourmet snacks. He spent his afternoons sitting cross-legged on the studio floor, playing endless games of hide-and-seek among the clothing racks and building massive block towers just to hear her laugh.

May was absolutely overjoyed to be endlessly pampered and showered with gifts by the two handsome men daily. The studio was constantly filled with her bright, carefree laughter, echoing off the high ceilings and bringing profound peace to Stella's heart.

With her newfound free time and financial independence, Stella no longer had to hover over May every single minute of the day. Seizing the rare opportunity to indulge herself, Harper arrived at her apartment early one morning and forcefully dragged her out on a lavish shopping spree.

They drove to an upscale, exclusive shopping mall downtown, a place that catered strictly to the city's wealthiest elite. As soon as they stepped through the glass doors, the atmosphere shifted. While the obsequious store staff eagerly swarmed Harper—who was widely recognized as a renowned, wealthy lady boss in the booming streaming industry—Stella took a step back. She watched as managers and clerks fawned over her friend, offering glasses of champagne and rushing to pull out the latest designer collections.

Preferring a much quieter experience, Stella quietly slipped away from the chaotic scene. She wandered down the polished marble corridor and stepped into another high-end boutique nearby. The store was immaculate, featuring soft ambient lighting, polished brass fixtures, and sparse, elegant displays showcasing the season's latest fashion trends. A faint scent of lavender and expensive leather hung in the air.

She quickly scanned the neatly organized racks, her fingers trailing over fine silks and soft cashmeres. Eventually, her gaze landed on a chic, understated pink dress. It was minimalistic in design, devoid of any flashy logos or heavy embellishments, but the tailoring was impeccable.

She pulled the garment from the rack and walked over to the sleek glass counter.

"Please wrap this up for me," she requested calmly to a nearby clerk.

The clerk offered a polite smile, taking the hanger. "Right away, miss."

"Lookie here! Isn't this the especially tough Stella?"

A piercing, highly grating voice mocked from the entrance, cutting sharply through the quiet ambiance of the boutique. Stella stifled a heavy sigh and turned around, recognizing the insufferable tone instantly.

Clara, Stella’s former sister-in-law, strutted into the boutique with her chin raised high. She was flanked by a group of sycophantic friends who mirrored her haughty expression. Clara wore a tight, flashy designer dress and carried a brightly colored bag that cost more than most people's cars. Her heels clicked obnoxiously loud against the marble floor, demanding attention from everyone in the room.

Clara stopped a few feet away and glared at Stella with absolute, unfiltered disdain. She sized her up from head to toe, taking in Stella's simple, casual outfit. Assuming Stella was completely broke and destitute after leaving the Vance family without taking a single penny, Clara let out a loud, mocking snort.

"With that little, pathetic capability of yours, you still dare to shop for clothes at a luxury store such as this? Do you even have the slightest clue how much the clothes in here cost?"

Stella remained entirely expressionless. The pink dress cost a few thousand dollars—a sum that meant absolutely nothing to her now, given her current financial standing. But she had no desire to explain her private affairs to a woman who had spent four years making her life miserable.

Convinced Stella was intentionally waiting around the luxury mall to beg for a ticket back into the wealthy Vance family, Clara arrogantly crossed her arms over her chest. A smug, malicious smirk spread across her face.

"I see exactly what you're trying to do. You knew I was coming here today, didn't you? You're hoping I'll take pity on you, pay for your cheap little dress, and listen to you complain about how broke you are. You want me to bring you back to the Vance Residence. How about you get down on your knees and beg me right now? Who knows? I might actually think about it."

Refusing to play the meek, submissive lamb now that she was officially divorced and entirely free from their oppressive grasp, Stella completely ignored the vicious taunts. In the past, she would have silently endured Clara's daily bullying to maintain the peace and avoid troubling Declan. But those days were over.

She turned her back on Clara, directing her attention solely back to the cashier. "Check this out for me, please."

Furious at being so blatantly dismissed by someone she viewed as utter trash, Clara lost her temper. She lunged forward, pushing past her friends, and violently snatched the pink dress straight out of the clerk's hands. She slammed the garment aggressively onto the glass counter.

"I'm buying this dress!"

"I got my hands on it first," Stella reminded her with cold detachment.

"So what? I'm the heiress of the Vances. Not only am I able to buy this piece of dress, but it also won't be a problem even if I buy this entire damn store!" Clara screamed, her face flushing an angry red. She spun around and glared at the trembling boutique staff. "Can someone call security right this instant and chase this penurious woman out immediately?!"

"Oh, how incredibly arrogant. Why don't you actually buy this store before issuing such a massive order?"

Harper sashayed casually into the boutique, her designer heels clicking sharply against the polished marble floor. She held a sleek luxury bag in her arms and eyed Clara with profound distaste, looking at her as if she were a stubborn stain on the carpet.

Recognizing the highly influential and incredibly wealthy Harper Quinn, Clara’s face flushed a deep crimson with sudden embarrassment. She had only meant to boast in front of Stella, fully intending to humiliate her ex-sister-in-law. But being caught throwing a tantrum by a true billionaire made her momentarily shrink back.

"This is a private family matter. Miss Quinn, you’d be much better off not meddling in our affairs," Clara warned nervously, desperately trying to salvage her pride and assert some dominance.

Harper sneered, stepping forward and positioning herself protectively in front of Stella. She crossed her arms and stared Clara down.

"Stell is the only member of her family now. Who the hell do you think you are to call yourself her family? Besides, she's my best friend. So, Miss Vance, her business is my exact business!"

Clara stood entirely paralyzed in sheer disbelief. Her jaw dropped slightly as her eyes darted between the two women. She had assumed Harper was just stepping in to help a stranger out of pity. Finding out that Stella—the supposedly penniless, useless daughter of a shoemaker—was actually best friends with a billionaire lady boss completely shattered her arrogant worldview. It made no sense to her.

Ignoring Clara's stunned, gaping expression, Harper casually unclasped her designer bag. She reached inside, pulled out a sleek, limitless black card, and tossed it onto the glass counter with a crisp, satisfying smack.

"I am offering double the asking price to buy this boutique outright, right now," Harper declared generously to the stunned staff, her voice ringing clear across the silent store.

The boutique fell into dead silence. Every single person in the room stared at the gleaming black card in absolute shock. Double the price of the boutique was an astronomical figure, easily running into the tens of millions. The staff barely dared to breathe, terrified of offending the formidable woman standing before them. Clara's sycophantic friends took a collective step backward, suddenly wanting no part of this confrontation.

The shrewd, calculating store manager, a woman in a sharp black suit, stepped forward from the back room. She took one look at the black card and then at Harper's challenging expression. She quickly realized exactly what was happening. She could see that Harper was intentionally stepping on Clara to avenge her friend, and she had no intention of getting on the bad side of someone with limitless wealth.

"I'm afraid I may not be able to sell this entire store to you, but Miss Quinn, we are more than able to carry out absolutely any orders you have in mind," the manager replied, bowing slightly and eager to assist the billionaire.

Curling her lips into a deeply satisfied, wicked smile, Harper cast a sidelong glance at a trembling Clara and spoke very slowly...