She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 869

Preston immediately tracked her line of sight, but the glass reflected nothing but the empty street.

Melanie rubbed her eyes, wondering if her exhaustion was finally catching up to her.

"Are you okay?"

Preston stepped closer, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.

"You saw Elara?"

Before answering his question, Melanie reached up and swatted his hand away.

"Don't use this as an excuse to cop a feel!"

Once he backed off, she answered him.

"I felt like I saw her, but I might just be seeing things. I haven't been sleeping well lately. It could be nothing."

"Right..."

Preston nodded, though his next words had nothing to do with Elara.

"I wasn't trying to cop a feel... I just thought you looked like you needed someone to lean on."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because..."

He reached out and lightly tapped her cheek with his index finger.

"You look incredibly tense."

Caught out, Melanie sighed heavily.

The sheer thought of Elara Bennett had spiked her adrenaline.

Elara had tried to destroy her to sabotage Stellaris and exact revenge on Preston.

In return, Melanie had outplayed her, bringing the entire Bennett family to its knees.

It was poetic justice. Elara had dug her own grave.

But Melanie seriously doubted Elara saw it that way.

If that shadow really was her...

A knot of unease tightened in Melanie's chest.

"Whether it's true or not, it's none of my business... I'm not your girlfriend anymore, so I don't care if you're keeping tabs on your exes."

Preston smirked.

"Your nose is off. Smells like jealousy to me."

"I'm not jealous, I'm just annoyed."

Melanie brushed it off, finding her own annoyance slightly ridiculous.

Preston chuckled softly and continued his explanation.

"When you exposed her scheme at the blood sugar medication launch, it destroyed the Bennett family's credibility. Their stocks plummeted. Once Stellaris completely severed all ties, their capital chain shattered. Most of their storefronts couldn't stay afloat and went bankrupt overnight. The rest of their operations had to be drastically downsized..."

Listening to him, Melanie could easily picture the utter chaos that must have swallowed the Bennett empire.

"So what does that have to do with her getting engaged?"

Melanie asked, genuinely curious.

"The Bennett family's roots in Quarevia are deep. They took a massive hit, but it wasn't a fatal blow. However... the larger the empire, the longer it takes to rebuild from the ashes. If they wanted a fast track back to power, they had to borrow someone else's."

Melanie's eyes widened in realization.