Stella was starving, and her cravings were almost unbearable.

But ice cream? Ronald would never allow it, worried it might upset her stomach.

The last thing he needed was her complaining about a tummy ache.

In the end, someone brewed her a pot of herbal soup. Stella clutched a mug larger than her face, sipping until she finally felt full.

"When are we taking off?" she asked, glancing over at Ronald.

Just then, Idris walked in. "Sir."

Ronald checked his watch. "What's the ETA for takeoff?"

"There's been a bit of a situation at the airport. An unknown group has managed to cause quite a ruckus."

Hearing this, Stella's eyebrows shot up.

"A ruckus? What do you mean?" she asked, turning to Idris, disbelief etched on her face.

"The police are dealing with them as we speak. We might be delayed for a bit," Idris explained.

Stella's mouth twitched in disbelief.

Seriously?

She'd been in this city for so long, and it was always so safe. How could something like this happen?

A thought crossed her mind, and she turned to Ronald. "You think it could be that conniving Xander?" "Do you really think he'd dare come here and stir up trouble?" Ronald asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know... he might not be what you expect," Stella said hesitantly.

Ever since Ronald came to Portis City, Stella had picked up bits and pieces from Finley about Xander's situation. From what she'd heard, it sounded like Xander was in dire straits, almost as if he were on the run.

But the last time she saw him in Patrina, it didn't seem that way at all. On the contrary, he looked like he had the whole place under his thumb.

Finley chimed in," So, what's his motive for coming here to stir up trouble? Could it be because he failed to steal you away and now intends to just take you by force?"

Stella was at a loss for words. She wanted to tear his mouth off.

Finley continued, "If he really wanted to take you, he would've started in Patrina. Why bother coming to Portis City and causing such a huge mess?"

Portis City was a tangled web of power struggles. If Xander really was here stirring up problems, he'd only be inviting more trouble.

Stella sighed. "Finley, do you only think in terms of movie-style heroics?"

Finley was probably too obsessed with some romantic notion from the movies.

"Doesn't that sound thrilling?" Finley shrugged.

Stella shot him a look that made it clear she had no patience for his nonsense and opted to stay silent.

Seeing her expression, Finley knew she was mentally labeling him as a fool.

With a tap of his long fingers on the table, Ronald finally said to Idris, "Let's just take off."

"Take off? Without clearance from

air

Vo?" Finley yelped, prataby

control? Are you out ofet

Finley yelped, practically

g out of his seat.noveldrama

The chaos at the airport wasn't just on the ground; it might have affected the skies too.

Idris gave him a reassuring look. "Mr. Yoder, don't worry. We've got cutting-edge systems on our side."

Finley let out a nervous laugh. "I wanna get off this plane."

Hull smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "You wanna go out and face the chaos?"

Finley sighed, feeling a mix of disbelief and resignation. Ronald might be reckless, but he'd never risk Stella's safety. That calmed Finley down a bit.

Idris nodded to the flight attendant. "Seal the doors. We're taking off."

The flight attendant nodded respectfully. "Understood."

As they turned to prepare for departure, a commotion broke out.

The flight attendant stumbled back, alarmed. "Hey, who are you? You can't be here. Get off the plane."

A panicked voice cried out, "Help! They're out to kill me!"

Stella's attention snapped to the source. Standing at the cabin door, trying to avoid being ushered off, was Susanna. "Susie?" Stella called out, standing up abruptly.

get

Susanna was pleading for refuge, the chaos outside too terrifying to face. At the sound of Stella's voice, she froze, turning to face her with wide eyes.

Stella set down her oversized mug and hurried over to her friend.