The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1957

"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry," Stella gasped, instantly stepping back.

But as she looked up and recognized the face staring down at her, the apologetic warmth vanished from her features.

"Leonard. What are you doing here?"

Leonard Lerman gazed down at her, ignoring her question completely.

"You've lost weight," he murmured, his voice laced with concern. "Has it been that rough for you lately?"

Having absolutely no desire to engage in small talk with the man who had ordered her torture, Stella gave a clipped response.

"I'm doing perfectly fine."

She sidestepped him and continued down the cobblestone path.

Leonard fell into step right behind her. "If you ever need anything, my door is always open."

Stella didn't even break her stride. "Thanks, but no thanks. Joshua tends to get a little jealous."

Both Mr. Burton and Old Mr. Wyatt were notorious recluses who despised unfamiliar faces.

Therefore, Zenia had remained parked out by the estate's main gates.

When the rhythmic crunch of Leonard's footsteps persisted, Stella spun around, her brows knitting together in irritation. "Leonard, do you mind not trailing me like a shadow?"

He slipped his hands into his pockets, his demeanor infuriatingly calm. "You're heading to see Old Mr. Wyatt, aren't you? I have business in that wing too. We're just heading in the same direction."

Stella shot him an icy glare.

"If Joshua finds out you're stalking me, and he decides to put you in a hospital bed, don't say I didn't warn you."

For some inexplicable reason, a genuine, amused smile tugged at Leonard's lips.

"I appreciate the concern, Stella."

Throwing him a deeply unsettled look, she turned away and picked up her pace, aggressively ignoring his presence.

Her mind was already redlining over Joshua's deteriorating health; she didn't have the mental bandwidth to play games with Leonard Lerman.

A moment later, Leonard's voice drifted over her shoulder.

"Do you know the real reason Joshua abducted Sellers Burton?"

Stella didn't look back. "Because Sellers has been coming after us for months, using every dirty, underhanded trick in the book to destroy our company."

"That's partially true," Leonard conceded. "But the real trigger was the fact that Aurora Williams and Sellers started digging into Joshua's past.

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