After She She Stopped Loving Him

Chapter 123

lan’s puppy-like devotion to pleasing her was almost too much-he’d gone all out with his look, all just to win her

over, and wow, was it working.

Yolanda had never been intentionally teased or flirted with like this before, and honestly, she couldn’t handle

i)

Then lan leaned in, the soft, hazy light making his intentions

Crustal clear. “Shall I?” he murmured.

Yolanda swallowed, and honestly, there was no way she could say no to that.

Tseemed to blur into one big, hazy mess.

After it was all over.

lan glanced over and asked, “Did you like it?”

Yolanda felt like she was about to lose herself completely, as if he'd stolen her soul.

Her vision was hazy, as if she were a kite lost in a sea of clouds, drifting aimlessly with nowhere to focus.

lan’s fingers played with her hair, lazily twirling stray locks-each touch making her heart skip.

Yolanda lay there for ages, struggling just to steady her breath.

Their eyes locked, and the air between them grew heavy, sparking with something electric.

Yolanda's face flared red, embarrassment and irritation mixing as she instinctively tried to shove him away.

lan nuzzled deeper into her neck, whining softly, “Con, cutsslack. Just stay put.”

Yolanda froze, her mind racing as she realized what he meant.

The bedside lamp was still on, casting a gentle light. lan stayed quiet for a long moment before finally

whispering, “So... did you like it?”

“Yeah...” she answered, her voice barely audible as she buried half her face in the blankets, cheeks on fire.

lan let out a low chuckle, his chest trembling with laughter.

Yolanda was all flustered and a tiny bit annoyed, but the exhaustion hit her hard. With half her face tucked in the

blankets, she dozed off, cheeks still burning.

lan settled in next to her, letting his eyes drink in every delicate detail of her face. He reached over to tuck a

loose strand of hair behind her ear.

She was unbelievably cute and downright gorgeous-and even when she got mad, she couldn’t utter a mean

word.

7:50 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 123

When Yolanda woke up, lan was already gone-off to shoot his scenes, no doubt

She felt totally refreshed, like she'd just stepped out of a spa or something: lan probably made sure the was all

cleaned up before slipping out.

She'd slept like a rock, and now it was already ten in the morning.

She picked up her phone and dialed Blake.

Blake was out on a date with Renee today. Ever since he'd dropped to his knees, begging her not to leave him,

Rence had completely melted. Their relationship was stronger than ever.

These days, Blake was practically glued to Renee's side, taking her out all over the place. Renee hadn't been

hin over two weeks.

She'd been in a pretty dark place after losing her finger, but with Blake by her side, she was slowly starting to

pull herself out of it.

The Sinclair family had no idea she was out having fun with someone else, but whenever they called and heard

her happy, upbeat voice, they felt a little more at ease.

Blake glanced at Renee waiting in the distance for him to deliver her snacks, his voice relaxed and a bit teasing.

“Don’t worry, just wait till the morning sickness kicks in.”

Yolanda hung up the phone and picked up the Starlight files, getting right back to her reading.

Half an hour later, she got word about Grady’s passing.

Grady used to be a force to be reckoned with in Beloris-no one dared mess with him. Now that he was gone,

rumors were swirling everywhere.

Yolanda's fingers gripped the files tight, and she just knew in her gut this was Charles's handiwork.

In Charles's world, challenging his authority only led to one outcome-this.

Even the mighty Andrade family couldn't escape his wrath.

Yolanda drew in a deep breath, any trace of last night's heat wiped clean. She really had to keep lan out of sight

otherwise, she'd be done for before she even realized it. Charles would make sure she was wiped off the face of

the earth.

With Grady gone, Vivian wouldn't be able to give her any grief for the next few days-but that wasn’t Yolanda’s

ultimate goal.

Pain didn’t scare her, but even so, there was no way she could stand against the Grant, Sinclair, or Andrade

families now.

In a city ruled by families like these, she was just an insignificant ant. All she could do was attack their hearts.

7:50 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 123

When it cto dealing with someone like Vivian, Yolanda knew she couldn't let up for a second-the timing was

everything if she wanted to really mess with her head.

Feeling smug, she fired off another tweet.

[Just picked up sinteresting news-mood'’s on point! Tto treat myself and hit the shops!]

After firing off that tweet, she sent Charles a message without a second thought.

[Got a bunch of juicy details from Aunt Simone last night. Feeling seriously good about Starlight now.]

She even tossed in a heart emoji at the end, just to mess with him a bit.

Back in the day, she would've never dared to send something like that-she was always so worried about

upsetting Charles.

But now that she was completely over him, she could say-and send-whatever she damn well pleased.

Charles just stared at that little heart emoji, totally stunned. For the first tever, he actually went and liked

one of Yolanda’s Moments.

Back then, out of the handful of posts she'd ever made, Charles hadn't liked a single one-not even those about

his own birthday or their anniversary.

Word spread fast; everyone knew she'd been chasing after him for years. Folks always thought she was way too

hung up on him.

But now? The moment her friends saw Charles give her post a like, her notifications blew up-likes poured in and

it hit a new record high.

Yolanda strolled back to Moonbay Estate, took her twith breakfast, then changed into a fresh outfit-she was

really heading out to hit the shops.

But to Vivian, that post was a straight-up smack to the face-like Yolanda was deliberately rubbing it in.

Vivian had always thought Yolanda wasn’t worth her attention, but after getting hit with jab after jab-and losing

Grady on top of it-seeing that Twitter update nearly set her on fire inside.

She sent all the files on her desk flying, her teeth practically rattling with fury.

“Yolanda! Bitch! Total bitch!” Vivian yelled, her voice trembling.

Cedric burst in, his brow furrowing as he took in the chaos. “Vivian, calm down,” he said, his voice steady.

By rights, Vivian was always the cool-headed one-way more composed than Cedric. But the moment Charles

cup, it was like she lost all sense, turning totally obsessed and unhinged.

No one ever realized just how much she adored Charles. All those years, she kept her feelings locked so deep,

she was terrified to even admit she liked him, desperate to cling to any fragile thread tying them together.

Vivian's chest rose and fell rapidly as she sank into her chair, feeling utterly drained. “Cedric, did you find out

7:50 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 123

anything?” she asked, her voice trembling.

She pressed on, unable to hide her anxiety. “Was that gun really Grady’s?”

Cedric shook his head, gathering up the mess on the floor. “Grady’s gone, and with no proof left, there's nothing

we can do. The way he always handled things, no one’s going to buy that he was set up. With Minister Howard in

charge, there's zero wiggle room. For now, we have to keep it low key. Grandpa Jonathan wants you home

tonight-he’s not happy.”

Back in the day, Vivian managed to becCEO of the Andrade Group-a tough spot for any woman. It was

Grandpa Jonathan who supported her every step and made sure she held onto that power.

Honestly, unless it was something to do with Charles, nobody could touch Vivian in the business world-she was a

force to be reckoned with.

The scary part was, anyone who understood how much she cared about Charles could use it against her and

drive her absolutely crazy.

Vivian instantly sobered up the moment she heard Grandpa Jonathan wanted to see her, her face turning pale.

Getting called in by him was never good news. With the whole Andrade family gunning for her spot-and now that

one of her biggest backers was gone-she knew everyone was ready to swoop in the moment she slipped.

She took a long breath, swallowing back all her rage and anxiety. “I get it,” Vivian forced out, voice barely steady.

Cedric set the files back on the desk and tried to soothe her. “Just wait for my chance, Viv-I'll make Yolanda pay,

| promise. You just have to grit your teeth and hold on a little longer.”

A flash of viciousness crossed Vivian's face, but for now, this was all she could do.

Later that evening, Yolanda’s phone buzzed-it was Charles calling: family dinner at the Sinclair house tonight.

Back then, she'd practically bend over backwards, prepping little gifts for the Sinclairs, hoping to score some

points and curry a bit more favor.

But now she knew better; she'd rather spend her cash spoiling herself. No matter what she did, the Sinclairs

were never going to be happy with her anyway.

sok

Charles's car pulled up to the mall to pick her up, and he gave her a quick reminder. “When you see Renee, try

not to get worked up.”

Yolanda nodded, settling back in her seat to rest.

Charles kept quiet, and the whole ride to the Andrade manor was wrapped in silence.

7:50 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 123

0g

As soon as they walked in, Wyatt called Charles off to the study, and Yolanda found herself stuck facing May

alone.

May's glare could've stripped paint off the walls. She didn’t even let Yolanda sit down, just jabbed a finger at the

kitchen and snapped, “Why are you still standing there? Get in there and help out! Did you think marrying into

the Sinclair family was skind of ticket to luxury?”

After everything that went down with Renee, May's hatred for Yolanda was pure poison.

Yolanda didn’t bother saying anything-just walked straight into the kitchen and pretended to help.

Back when she was naive, she actually tried to do all the work herself. Now? She just leaned against the counter,

playing on her phone, knowing full well nobody here was going to make her do a thing.

If sservant who didn’t know better tried to give her orders, Yolanda would toss back a halfhearted reply and

go right back to messaging.

She'd act like she was listening, but she wasn’t about to actually do anything.

Plus, hanging out in the kitchen was a hundred times easier than having to stare at May's resentful mug all

night.

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLHI0RAO&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLHI0RAO&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIiI0fiflO&1