His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus) novel Chapter 890

The air was thick with tension, almost suffocating in its stillness.

Bennett's suspicions, first sparked by a conversation with his father, were finally confirmed by his younger brother, sending a tidal wave of emotion crashing over him. For the first time, his usually unshakeable demeanor faltered, and he seemed to collapse in on himself, drained of all strength.

"Bennett, dad’s hanging in there, thanks to a Herculean effort from Chasel, Evadne, Thaddeus, and myself. He’s fragile, can't take any more bad news. If you can't sort things out with that lady, it's going to haunt the Ashbourne family for a long time," Elvis said, his handsome face set in a cold, hard line. "If you can't do it, I'll step in. I've got a thick skin, and I can be tough when I need to be."

"No, that won't be necessary," Bennett replied, his voice raw with suppressed agony. "I've made things clear to her. It's over between us, completely over. Bringing her home tonight was just... I couldn't leave her passed out in the hallway, that's all."

Elvis looked at his brother, his expression softening into a sigh as he clapped Bennett's shoulder with a heavy hand. "Let's head back. They will be worried sick about us."

Leaving the room, they didn’t notice the door creaking open behind them.

Stella, fragile and pale as a ghost, couldn’t believe what she had just overheard. She had pretended to be drunk, all to test Bennett's feelings for her. Yet, the tragic story of his mother's fate, tied somehow to her family, had turned them into modern-day star-crossed lovers, doomed from the start.

She slid to the floor, tears streaming down her face, the pain of heartbreak spreading through her.