The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1146

Joshua said, “What I’m after is exactly what you once tossed aside like yesterday’s news.”

The words hit Haynes like a punch to the chest, sharp and unrelenting.

What he’d thrown away so carelessly, long ago, was Stella’s unwavering love for him.

He couldn’t muster a single word of mockery in response.

Because that, too, was something he’d once held in his hands and now could never get back.

He was the one who’d let it slip away.

Expressionless, Haynes turned to leave, but Joshua’s voice sounded behind him again.

“Haynes, when you were with her, you couldn’t give her what she needed. You couldn’t protect her. If it weren’t for your failures, she’d still be pursuing her passion for the violin, not walking alone into this mess. If you can’t be there for her, then let me. As long as I’m around, I’ll never let her get hurt or humiliated.”

Haynes closed his eyes, just for a moment.

He couldn’t deny it—if he hadn’t been deceived by Rachel Pearce, he and Stella would never have divorced. Stella would never have needed to go back to her family. She could have picked up her violin whenever her heart desired, instead of now—forced to leave behind what she loved, pushed into a world of business and cold calculations, forced to start over.

He said quietly, “You didn’t come all this way just to tell me that, did you?”

Joshua replied, “Mr. O’Brien, you’re a smart man. I’m sure you’ve already guessed. Otherwise, with everything going wrong at the Richards Group, you wouldn’t be waiting to make your move.”

Haynes fell silent.

He’d already suspected Foreman had feelings for Stella. It didn’t surprise him. After all, Stella was remarkable; it was only natural someone would fall for her.

But his real suspicions lay elsewhere.

In Leonard’s office, Israel sat on the couch, pouring himself a cup of tea.

“Leonard, I’m honestly surprised you called it. The person blackmailing Simone Lerman really was someone close to Stella. It’s always the quiet ones, huh? Who’d have thought Stella would be ruthless enough to send Foreman to ruin Simone?”

At first, Leonard had only suspected that someone in Stella’s circle was behind Simone’s troubles, but he hadn’t known exactly who. So he’d pretended not to notice Simone’s actions, letting her continue passing along confidential documents.

Not long ago, he’d deliberately left a loophole in The Lerman Group’s operations—a trap, just waiting to be sprung. Whoever exploited that flaw and orchestrated Simone’s kidnapping would reveal themselves.

Sure enough, Foreman had walked right into the snare Leonard had set.

With that, Simone was able to pinpoint the real culprit and adjust her plans to deal Foreman a crushing blow.

A cold, calculating glint flickered in Leonard’s eyes.