The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1988

"Mom, I was at a public restroom by the side of the road, so I wasn't in the car. I'm okay," Keen said softly.

Stella's eyes grew darker. "Which hospital are you at? I'll come see you right now."

Keen gave her the name of the hospital.

She immediately spun the car around and sped toward the facility.

...

By the time she reached the treatment room, Haynes's injuries had mostly been bandaged.

Looking at the scrape across his forehead, she asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied calmly. "Just some minor scrapes. It's nothing serious."

Her expression was heavy. "What exactly happened?"

"Just like Keen told you. While I was waiting for him to use the restroom, a car lost control and swerved right into me. Thankfully, I managed to dodge in time, so the impact wasn't too bad.

Afterward, the driver didn't run. He got out, apologized profusely, and said he was a novice driver and didn't hit me on purpose. He offered to cover all damages and medical bills."

Stella lowered her head in silence.

Haynes had visited Solmaris plenty of times without ever suffering a scratch.

The very day he was supposed to take her out, he mysteriously got into an accident.

There was no way in the world this was just a coincidence.

Noticing her low spirits, Haynes added, "The driver didn't follow through with a second strike, so the goal wasn't to kill me.

He also timed it perfectly when Keen wasn't around, which tells me this was meant strictly as a warning."

She looked at him. "I'm sorry, Haynes."

Helping her was proving to be a completely thankless and dangerous task.

"You don't need to feel guilty. Since I agreed to help you, I'm willing to accept the consequences... as long as Keen is safe," he replied.

The fact that she no longer felt sorrow or bitterness over the past meant she had truly let it go. She had moved on completely.

Since his injuries weren't severe, there was no need for him to be admitted to the hospital.

However, considering he was hurt, playing tourist was out of the question.

Stella drove him and Keen back to his place herself.

After mulling it over, she decided it was best to have a chat with Keen to prevent him from unintentionally ruining her plans again.

Once inside his room, she sat down and asked, "Keen, between Dad and Mr. Joshua, who do you like more?"

He seemed to have already pondered this question and didn't struggle much to answer.

"I like both Dad and Mr. Joshua a lot."

"But if you absolutely had to choose your favorite?" she pressed.