Did Drake Thorne think he was that pathetic that he would not take revenge for all the shit he put him through? For insulting him, for beating him!? No, Nathan would not let him go that easily. He had a plan. Nathan looked over at Stella and motioned her to start talking.

Nathan had already discussed the plan with Stella, and she had avidly agreed to be a part of it. After all, his sister was a Hill, and Hills could not stay away from drama, now could they?

​​

"Dad, if only you would give me a chance to explain!" Stella interjected Baron's tirade.

Baron sighed and sat down on his chair, "Talk."

With the story prepared already, Stella took out a box from her pocket and put it on the desk.

"Dad, Angelo proposed to me in the hospital. This is the evidence. It's their family ring," Stella explained carefully though she had a guilty look in her eyes.

Angelo had done no such thing. It was Patrick who had proposed to Stella on her birthday. Stella never liked Patrick: the only reason she was with him was because of the fame of being part of the Thorne family. Though she felt a little guilty at times, she quickly got over it when Patrick took her out and bought her expensive gifts. The Hill family was well off, but the Thorne' was on another level.

She had been surprised when Patrick proposed to her and when he revealed the ring, she just about fainted. It was the coveted family heirloom.

Everyone close to the Thorne family knew of the infamous family ring that had been in their family for generations. She had no clue how Patrick got access to it since the older-born son received it every generation.

Baron opened the box and carefully examined the ring.

"Where did you get this?" Baron whispered.

"I'm telling you, Dad, Angelo proposed to me."

"How would he propose to you? He's only eighteen, and he's not even a real child of the family!"

"Beats me," Stella shrugged her shoulders. She took the ring from the box and slipped the ring on the fourth finger waving her hand. The diamond on the ring glittered in the sunlight.

Nathan smirked as he saw the show Stella was putting on. He had to hand it to her; his sister was a good actress. Stella had run to tell Nathan once she reached home. When Nathan saw the ring, he immediately knew that it was the family heirloom. Looking at the piece of jewelry, an idea had started to form in his mind to get back at Drake Thorne. He wondered if Drake knew Patrick had given away a ring; he guessed not; Nathan smirked to himself.

Baron seemed dubious, "Give me that ring." He examined the side and gasped when he saw the stamp: Thorne 1850.

It indeed was the family ring! He looked up at Stella in shock.

"Dad, I can give a press conference now to make the proposal public so as not to affect our reputation," said Nathan right away in a convincing tone.

Hearing his words, Baron nodded, "Yes, go." This would put them on the same level as the Thorne', Baron thought.

"But…Nathan, can we keep the ring a secret, please?" Stella turned to Nathan and glared at her brother. She did not want this to get back at Patrick in any way. If he found out the reality, he would expose her in an instant!

"Why?"

"Because…just because…" Stella trailed off, not finding a good reason to explain in front of her father. "It could cause a lot of politics between us and others."

Baron nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, you're right. We should keep the ring a secret for now. But give that ring to me."

"Yes, sure," Stella answered in a light tone. Then, she took it off and gave it to her father.

Stella smiled, thinking of all the news that would be about her on the Internet. She loved the spotlight and attention. Though, this time, she was very curious about Angelo's reaction.

As expected, the press conference caused an immediate uproar on entertainment channels and websites. Along with the photos in the hospital, the previous instances with Angelo and Stella, the cancellation of Acton's film, and now a proposal successfully overwhelmed all other news.

Angelo Thorne was getting both praise and backlash, though mostly the latter, for giving up a successful movie role just to marry Stella Hill. Others praised him for finding love and sacrificing all for love.

Drake had had a long day at work, meetings upon meetings in the morning, and reviewing his company's financials in the afternoon. His head was pounding, and his eyes felt strained; the only thing he wanted to do was lie back in his chair and drink some coffee. Drake looked at his watch, it was already 4 pm! He had no lunch, surviving on coffee all day. Drake decided to grab a bite to eat before continuing the tedious work and before a late afternoon meeting.

As he stood up to grab his wallet and keys, a knock on his door interrupted him.

Drake sighed and answered, "Yes?"

His secretary walked in, looking a bit frightened, "I'm sorry to bother you, Sir, but there is something you need to know."

Drake pinched his nose, trying to keep his anger at bay. The poor thing did not deserve his wrath just because he was doing her job.

"Yes, what is it?"

Drake stabbed his pen into the paper in front of him when he heard what his secretary had to say. The already long and gloomy day had just gotten worse for Drake.

He put down his pen and said coldly to the secretary standing next to him, "Cancel the meeting."

***

Hale's phone flashed – it was Drake's secretary; he picked up with a wry smile.

"Mr. Thorne is going to visit soon."

Hale looked at Angelo and nodded into his phone, "Alright."

Angela was absorbed in her phone, watching the videos and reading the news with a thoughtful expression on her face. She had watched the press conference repeatedly, not really believing that this was happening to her!