The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1747

He did it for Aurora. It had a motive and was logically understandable. But now…

His feelings for her had come out of nowhere, without any warning, and it was just plain terrifying.

"Leonard," Stella said coldly, "if you had been devoted to Aurora from start to finish, I would have respected you, even if you committed every evil act in the book. But now that you've suddenly switched your affections to me, it just makes you look pathetic. Your feelings are cheap and worthless."

"Joshua was right," Leonard retorted. "No one gives without expecting something in return, and I'm no different. What Aurora gave me wasn't what I wanted."

"Leonard, if Aurora can't give you what you want, then I certainly can't either," Stella stated. "Someone else might be able to give you what you're looking for, but that person will never be me."

"No, you can," Leonard insisted.

Stella had no desire to discuss matters of the heart with Leonard, but his current state filled her with a strange unease. She wanted to deceive herself, to believe he was only getting close to her to help Aurora. But she knew very well that while Leonard was capable of murder and arson, he lacked the patience to spend so much time coming here to confess his feelings to her.

She didn't know why he had suddenly fixated on her, but for now, the best course of action was to divert his attention.

"That's because your world is too small, and you've met too few women," Stella said. "Leonard, you should try meeting more women. Once you do, you'll realize that what I have to offer is nothing special."

Leonard saw right through her attempt. "Stella, I've met plenty of women, but I'm not interested in them," he said flatly. "Right now, I'm only interested in you."

Stella frowned. "But your persistence is really bothering me."

"I just hope you'll give me a chance to compete fairly with Joshua."

"Impossible," Stella refused, her expression icy.

"Star, what did Leonard say to you?"

A shadow fell over Stella's features. "It seems like Leonard is serious… I think he's really fallen for me."

Abby looked at Stella and suddenly said, "Star, Leonard falling for you isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least he won't hurt you anymore. And…"

Abby glanced back into the store at the tall figure standing there in a daze, lowering her voice. "If you asked him to kill Aurora right now, he'd probably agree. Leonard's no saint anyway, so why not let him and Aurora tear each other apart? Let Aurora get a taste of what it feels like to be hurt by him."

Stella understood what Abby meant, but she gently shook her head.

"If I were to use Leonard, I'd have to play games with him. He's too dangerous. Getting involved with him would be like making a deal with the devil."