The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1588

"It might not have been sudden," Harold said.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Perhaps Mr. Gardner never intended to give up," Harold explained. "This trip to Solmaris just gave him a legitimate reason not to. He was forced to come back this time. Work at the company has been piling up, and his condition needs to be treated right away. He's been away for too long and had no choice but to return. As for Stella…"

Harold looked at Jake. "Would you really hand over something you'd poured your own time and effort into? Even if Mr. Gardner hadn't changed his mind so quickly, he would have found another excuse to convince himself eventually."

Harold wasn't surprised by this at all. He was just surprised Joshua had managed to talk himself into it so fast.

…He had only just left.

Jake thought about it and realized it made sense. After you've put that much time and energy into someone, no one in their right mind would be happy to just pass them on to somebody else. And the Gardner family was famous for its obsessive nature.

"This is good, too," Jake said. "The next time they meet, Mr. Gardner won't be appearing before Stella as a bodyguard."

Harold smiled at Jake. "The right relationship makes a person better. The fact that Mr. Gardner is willing to get treatment shows that Ms. Cameron is a good match for him."

Despite his words, a shadow of worry lingered in Harold's heart. He was already starting to worry about the Gardners' inescapable fate.

***

Keen, unaware of what was happening outside, had fallen asleep at Stella's bedside after Joshua left.

When he woke up, Abby was whispering with Stella. Keen himself had been moved to another bed in the room.

He glanced at the clock and realized he had slept until noon.

Rubbing his eyes, Keen asked, "Abby, when did you get here?"

Abby smiled. "I came this morning. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you."

"Okay."

After Abby and Keen left, Neville finally said, "Star, Joshua was here last night."

Stella froze at the mention of his name.

Neville continued, "Even though I know his identity, I'm still used to calling him Joshua."

Stella lowered her eyes and murmured, "Joshua was here…?"

Neville looked at her. "Star, can you tell me… what are your real feelings about Joshua?"

For the first time, Stella, who usually fell silent at the mention of his name, didn't avoid the question.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "He hurt me, but he also helped me. He taught me so many things. To me, he was like a teacher I really looked up to. So, after finding out the truth, I don't really hate him. But I can't bring myself to completely ignore it either."