The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Aurora had been forced to run for her life, utterly humiliated—so why should Stella

get off scot-free?

He wanted nothing more than to terrify Stella, to send her running in panic, her

composure shattered. He wanted her to carry this shameful stain for the rest of

her life.

But Stella’s reaction had caught him completely off guard.

She was tougher than most men he’d ever met.

Even with a gun pointed at her, Stella remained far calmer than any man would

have managed.

Sellers’ voice yanked him out of his thoughts.noveldrama

“What, nothing? Don’t tell me she just fainted from sheer terror like some helpless

damsel?”

Sellers had witnessed Leonard’s methods before and knew just how ruthless he

could be. A woman like Stella wouldn’t last five minutes in Leonard’s hands.

But Leonard was nothing like him.

He’d grown up in the Burton family, and under Mr. Burton’s influence, they rarely

resorted to truly vicious tactics.

Leonard, on the other hand, was a different breed entirely.

To secure his place as head of the family, Leonard had done unspeakable things

—his reputation for cruelty was so fierce that even Sellers was wary of crossing

him.

Leonard was no paragon of virtue.

A woman who’d managed to earn Leonard’s hatred was doomed to a miserable

fate—no one doubted that.

Because of Mr. Burton, Sellers couldn’t get involved directly. Letting Leonard

handle Stella would be a perfect way to both rid himself of this irritation and satisfy

his own grudge.

The only explanation for Stella not falling apart at Leonard’s intimidation, Sellers

thought, was that she’d simply fainted.

He scoffed, “And here I thought she was something special. Turns out, she’s

nothing at all. She dreams of replacing Aurora? She should take a hard look at

herself first...”

He trailed off, cut short by Leonard’s interruption.

“That woman has a lot more cunning than I expected. No wonder Aurora suffered

such a blow at her hands.”

Sellers blinked in surprise. “What are you saying?”

Leonard’s voice was cool and measured. “When I pointed a gun at her, she didn’t

panic—she didn’t even beg for mercy. In fact, she had the nerve to taunt me.”

Sellers could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You sure you didn’t misread

her? You know, sometimes you mistake pleas for mercy as insults.”

Leonard, of course, caught what Sellers was implying.

He replied coldly, “I might have my flaws, but being an idiot isn’t one of them.”

Sellers changed tack. “So, you’re telling me Stella didn’t plead for forgiveness,

didn’t even admit to what she did?”

Leonard’s voice dropped even lower. “I called her cunning for a reason. She

actually managed to get Haynes to take the blame for her.”

He recounted everything Haynes had said during their confrontation.

Sellers listened, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

“If the William’s family actually buys

Haynes’ story, things could get

complicated,” he murmured. Even if

Stella wasn’t popular, as long as she

carried the Williams name, they’d

have to be careful for Aurora’s

sake—they couldn’t simply get rid of

Stella.

Leonard’s tone was flat. “We might

not be able to destroy her, but we

can still teach her a lesson. And let’s

be honest, even if Haynes is

stretching the truth, there’s no way

Stella could have pulled all this off

so quickly without his help. She’s the

mastermind, but Haynes is just as

guilty. If we want to deal with Stella,

we first have to cut off her

wings—starting with Haynes.”

Sellers’ eyes narrowed. “Leonard,

you’re not seriously thinking of going

after Haynes, are you? This is

Novaris. Even if it weren’t, Haynes

isn’t exactly an easy target.”

Haynes was every bit as shrewd, capable, and calculating as Sellers himself.

Taking him down wouldn’t be easy.

Leonard just smiled thinly. “Doesn’t he have a child?”

Sellers hesitated, then finally replied, “I’ve already looked into the child’s

whereabouts.”