The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 101

Haynes' eyes narrowed as he saw Stella injured, his voice dropping to a grave tone. "Mom, ease up a bit, will you?"

Deanna, instead of calming down, only grew more incensed. "Haynes, how can you still side with her at a time like this? She's been a threat to me, and now Keen's getting bullied because of her."

"Isn't her role supposed to be taking care of the family? She's failed at that. What's the use of her now?"

Sensing the tension, Callie O'Brien played the peacemaker, trying to smooth things over. "Look, Stella, don't take it too hard with Mom being upset today. This is about Keen. Whatever happens between us adults is one thing, but we can't let the child suffer, can we?"

She then shot Deanna a meaningful look. "Mom, calm down, Keen's right here. You don't want to scare him. Let's have Stella apologize, and we can put this on hold for now. Keen's situation is what matters."

Although Deanna was still seething with anger, she was aware of Keen and Haynes' presence and reluctantly suppressed her rage. Her voice was tense as she said, "Fine, since Callie's speaking for you, just apologize and we can overlook what happened today."

Stella wiped the blood from her cheek, the pain setting in at last. She looked up at Deanna's condescending expression and suddenly smiled. "No wonder Haynes is always asking people to apologize. It's a family trait, it seems."

Usually, Stella would have expressed thanks, but today, she responded with sarcasm instead of showing gratitude.

Deanna's hard-won composure shattered, her rage flaring anew. For the sake of the child, she'd tried to swallow her anger, but Stella had the nerve to undermine her!