The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 179

It all happened so suddenly that it caught everyone off guard.

Not just Rachel and her friends, but even Abby and her son Neville were taken by surprise.

Everyone assumed Stella would just bite her tongue and move on. No one anticipated she'd strike back like this.

Putting down her coffee cup, Stella flashed a small smile.

"You spilled coffee on my dress, so I spilled juice on yours. Seems fair to me. Ms. Pearce, if you can't bear to change, then you should wear it as it is."

With that, Stella turned to leave.

But suddenly, she felt a grip on her wrist, and Haynes' cold, steely voice came from behind her.

"Stella." His voice was like shards of ice, "Rachel has already apologized and explained it wasn't intentional. Why take it so far?"

Stella shook off Haynes' hand with a chill in her eyes. "I don't care if it was intentional or not. She ruined my dress for the competition, so she won't be wearing hers either."

"Adults need to face the consequences of their mistakes. Not every 'sorry' warrants a 'no problem'."

Stella's eyes were like dark, glistening gemstones.

"I'm not her mother. I don't have to forgive her. If you don't want her to suffer, keep her out of my way."

"Otherwise, I can't promise what I might do next."

And with that, Stella walked away.

Jasper was fuming, ready to confront Stella, but Haynes stopped him.

Jasper's eyes were red with anger. "This is too much! Rachel just accidentally spilled a little coffee on her, and she drenched Rachel with juice!"