By the time they reached their destination, Yara Sterling’s voice was almost inaudible.

She hadn’t fainted. Her pained whimpers had just grown so quiet they were nearly lost in the wind and snow.

Right now, her eyes were wide open, her face deathly pale without a trace of color. Despite the sub-zero temperature, she was covered in a layer of sweat.

It wasn’t from the heat; it was sweat born from pain.

At this moment, she wished she could just pass out. At least then the pain would stop.

But her body was so cold she couldn’t faint.

In moments when her consciousness blurred and she felt close to death, the searing pain of her back scraping against the ground would immediately jolt her awake.

Every inch of her body was screaming in agony. She had never felt pain like this before.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she felt them stop. Stella Sterling was no longer dragging her. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

’Is she finally going to let me go?’

A flicker of hope sparked in Yara Sterling’s eyes, making them brighten for a moment.

Stella Sterling stopped. Her own face was red and dry from the cold, looking as if it might crack. She tightened the scarf around her neck, untied the rope from Yara Sterling, and kicked her a few times. "Still alive? It’s no fun if you’re dead!"

Seeing Yara Sterling stir, Stella Sterling knew she was still alive and let out a low laugh. She jutted her chin toward Yara. "Well? Does this place look familiar?"

Yara Sterling endured the full-body agony and slowly sat up. The scene before her gradually came into focus. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed, and her eyes widened. "This... This is—"

’How could I forget this place? Last time, I woke up here completely out of the blue. After finally making it back to Mirefall, how am I here again?’

She looked at Stella Sterling, her gaze a mixture of breakdown and madness.

Stella Sterling had dragged her all this way, and the experience had left her too afraid to curse at her anymore. She was terrified the woman would have another psychotic break and start dragging her into things again.

But now, she ignored the pain wracking her body and lunged at Stella Sterling. "It was you! You were the one who brought me here before—"

Her voice was hoarse from screaming so loudly for so long, but Yara Sterling was still agitated, flailing her arms.

’There are no coincidences like this in the world. Last time, I inexplicably woke up here. This time, Stella Sterling appeared before me on a snowy day, dragged me all the way to this familiar place, and then asked if I recognized it!’

’How could I not understand what it all meant?’

She didn’t know how Stella Sterling had managed to get her from the Sterling Family estate to this place without a sound, but right now, all she wanted was to tear her to shreds.

Stella Sterling took two steps back, and Yara Sterling collapsed wretchedly to the ground. Stella looked down at her. "How pathetic. I’d save your energy if I were you."

Yara Sterling lay on the ground, glaring hatefully at Stella Sterling. "Stella Sterling, how can you be so cruel? Aren’t you afraid Mom and Dad will come after you for this?"

Stella Sterling shrugged brazenly. "Go ahead and tell them. See if I’m scared!"

’Even if she wants to tell Mom and Dad, she’d have to make it back alive first. And right now—’

At that moment, Yara Sterling hated only that her body was too weak to tear Stella Sterling apart.

She struggled painfully to get up, but she was already weak from cold and hunger. After being dragged for so long through the ice and snow, how could she possibly stand? All she could do was lift her head and look up wretchedly at Stella Sterling.

Her eyes were so full of humiliation they could have wept blood. While Stella Sterling was dragging her, she’d been consumed by the pain. Now that it had stopped, all her hatred came rushing to the surface.

Stella Sterling just stood by and watched—watched her looking so pathetic, watched her wanting to kill her but being utterly powerless to do so. A feeling of pure, unadulterated satisfaction washed over her, and she burst out laughing, her voice ringing out wantonly in the snow.

’This feels so good—’

"Stop laughing! What are you so proud of? Stella Sterling, you’re just a reject from the Sterling Family! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take me back to the Sterling Family, and I won’t press charges for what you’ve done."

Stella Sterling just watched her quietly, unmoved.

Yara Sterling seemed to realize something and became agitated again. "You bitch! You fucking bitch! How dare you do this to me! I won’t let you get away with this!"

’I was always the one lording over Stella Sterling; her only role was to be bullied by me. When did she change so much that she could turn the tables on me?’

Yara Sterling was filled with both pain and hatred, a ball of rage churning in her heart with nowhere to go.

’If Mom and Dad were here, they would never let Stella Sterling bully me like this.’

The whole situation felt unreal to Yara Sterling; she found it hard to accept this reality.

She kept shaking her head, as if her mind was starting to fray.

Stella Sterling watched her. The more Yara acted this way, the happier Stella felt.

After a long while, Yara Sterling’s emotions calmed down a little. She looked pitifully at Stella Sterling. "Sis, I know we’ve had our issues, but it’s not like it’s a life-or-death grudge, right? Why are you doing this to me? Why go to all the trouble of getting me out of the house!"

"Even if you were unhappy with me because of what happened before, I’ve suffered enough these past few days! I’ve been cold and hungry, and I’ve had to put up with those people’s crap every day. Your anger should be gone by now, right? Let’s just call it even. Please, let me go!"

’I’m genuinely confused. Stella Sterling was never like this before. But recently, her attitude toward Mom and Dad changed drastically, and now she’s going to such lengths to get revenge on me.’

The change was just too drastic.

"I told you, didn’t I? I was going to give you a grand gift. A unique apocalyptic journey. Don’t you like this gift?"

"I don’t like it! Sis, let’s just go home, okay? Please stop joking like this!"

Yara Sterling shook her head repeatedly, a pitiful look on her face.

Seeing Yara Sterling still playing dumb, Stella Sterling didn’t elaborate, just smiled. "Well, *I’m* very satisfied with the gift I’ve given."

"Yara Sterling, you’d better survive. Survive with everything you’ve got. I look forward to our next meeting!"

With that, she turned to leave, abandoning Yara Sterling.

’Last time, right at the beginning of the apocalypse, Yara Sterling got away without paying any price. A few simple words were enough to convince that group of people to escort her back to Mirefall.’

’But if that was all, how could I possibly be satisfied?’

’This time, she won’t be so lucky.’

’And this time, I won’t interfere. Whether Yara Sterling lives or dies is entirely up to her.’

Watching Stella Sterling walk away, Yara Sterling panicked. If she just left like this, how could Yara possibly survive in her current condition?

She called out a few times, but seeing that Stella Sterling showed no sign of turning back, she screamed in desperation, "Stella Sterling, you already know, don’t you?! You know about the time I hired people to kidnap you! Their disappearance had something to do with you, didn’t it? The person who messaged me later... that was you, wasn’t it?! You were the one using that man’s phone to play games with me!"