He had insisted Stella come pick up the parts in person, even though he could have easily sent an assistant. He had been looking for an excuse to see her even then.
Hearing Leonard's words, Stella lowered her gaze, hiding the thoughts in her eyes. She picked up the basket. "Let's go back. These ingredients are most effective when they're fresh."
Leonard took the basket from her. "I'll carry it."
Stella glanced at him but didn't protest.
Not long after they returned to the house, a servant delivered the herbs Stella had requested. Making the medicinal tonic was different from making regular soup; it required constant supervision and careful control of the heat, making it an exhausting process.
Leonard came downstairs several times and saw Stella tending to the pot. "Let a servant watch it," he couldn't help but say. "Go get some rest."
"No," Stella refused. "If even one step is done wrong, the medicinal effects of this broth will be greatly diminished, or even lost entirely."
Leonard watched Stella's cheeks flush from the steam and found her incredibly alluring. His gaze fixed on her lips, and his throat tightened as his eyes darkened.
When Stella casually looked up, she met Leonard's deep, intense stare. Her hand, which was stirring the broth, trembled, and she accidentally touched the hot clay pot. A sharp pain shot through the back of her hand, leaving a red mark.
Leonard's expression changed. He strode over, grabbed her hand, and examined it closely.
Stella instinctively tried to pull away, but Leonard frowned. "Don't move. Let me see."

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The readers' comments on the novel: The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance
anxiously waiting for updates...
Hello! This series has been requested a lot on Reddit, but we’re unable to post the link there ourselves. If you have a Reddit account, we would truly appreciate it if you could help us share the link to this novel to increase its readership. As a thank-you, we will increase the number of free chapters available each day. Thank you so much for your support!...
The same rotation blaming Stella trying to get her destroyed. Isn't the writer tired of writing the same foolishness overand over again? This is exhausting....
Can’t wait to see what joshua will do...
Why would the author of this book do that to Stella? Such cruelty!...
So many chapters are incomplete. Missing pages. Hard to get continuity...
Please move on from Stella's troubles, we need more exiting news. Like Joshua discovering that Stella is the one he has been looking for,the owner of the earring....
Seriously, how long will this get stretched ?? Looks like the whole world is set to trouble Stella... It's not moving anywhere.....
Hey...please update regularly...
Is Jasper gay? He certainly behaves that way....