The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

She'd never tried to hide anything about Haynes.

The truth was, he'd simply never asked.

When they got married, there was no ceremony-just a trip to sign the papers. Before that, Haynes had only asked her one question.

"Should we let your parents know?"

Stella replied, "My mother passed away years ago, and I haven't been in touch with my father for a long time. There's no need to tell him."

After that, Haynes never brought up her parents again.

Now, as Haynes drove, it seemed those memories crossed his mind too.

His lips parted, as if there was something he wanted to say, but in the end, he kept silent.

He really hadn't asked about her family. He'd always felt it wasn't necessary. He'd chosen her for who she was, not for her family background.

Of course, a part of him also just didn't care.

He finally spoke in a low voice, "If your father's after money, I can give it to him.”noveldrama

He assumed Stella's father had taken Keen for the sake of extorting her. After all,

a man absent for years suddenly appearing and taking off with her son-no one would believe there wasn't an ulterior motive.

Stella glanced at him, surprise flickering in her eyes.

"You know Aurora, don't you?"

Haynes was caught off guard, not understanding why she'd bring up Aurora out of the blue.

"I only know Ms. Williams in passing," he answered reflexively, "We're hardly close. I just helped her with something small a few years ago."

Stella cut him off without hesitation. "You're not close? Yet you took Keen and Rachel to see her?"

After Lauretta called, Stella had immediately asked Neville to look into the whole situation. That's how she found out that Haynes had taken Keen and Rachel to a meal with Aurora.

Now it made sense why Jonathan knew about it.

Haynes started to explain, but Stella was quicker.

"I thought Aurora would have told you by now. Seems you don't know your friends as well as you think."

Haynes was silent for a moment, then a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Stella, are you jealous?"

She fell quiet for a few seconds before

ming, "You've spent

much time with Rachel, it's

starting to rub off on your bet

Haynes wasn't a fool. With Stella mentioning Aurora several times, he was

beginning to piece things together.

"You're Skyler's daughter, aren't you?"

Stella didn't hesitate. "That's right. But I have no intention of going back to the Williams family. So don't think you can use Keen to get anything from them. I won't play along."

She thought it was best to let Haynes know where she stood, to avoid any trouble down the road.

Still, she knew the truth-everyone wanted a connection to the Williams family.

With ties to them, Haynes could skip years of struggle.

But Haynes didn't press. He didn't try to persuade her or ask for details.

"I understand," was all he said.

Soon, Haynes pulled up outside a seaside villa in Neo-Vespera.

Stella's expression shifted slightly. This was the same upscale neighborhood where Haynes had settled Rachel.

Once out of the car, they headed to the front door. As soon as they rang the bell, it swung open-almost as if they'd been expected.

Inside, Stella spotted Keen, sitting primly on the living room sofa. Beside him, Skyler was gently asking what foods he liked.

Jonathan sat in silence in a nearby armchair.

Aurora turned to Skyler and said, "Dad, if you were planning to take Keen, you should have told Haynes first. If he'd found out Keen was missing, he would have been worried sick."