The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 310

"Haynie, the auction is about to start. If you have anything to discuss, let's wait until it's over."

Haynes watched the pair as they walked off together, his thin lips pressed into a hard line. A glint of cold calculation flickered in his eyes.

…

Inside the auction hall, Abby waved Stella and Neville over as soon as she spotted them entering.

"Star! Mr. Connolly! Over here."

Stella made her way to Abby. "I told you we could have come together, but you insisted on coming alone."

"If the two of you walked in with me, I'd just drag down your star power. Gorgeous couple like you? You’d turn every head in the room, and next to you, I’d just fade into the wallpaper," Abby declared, her tone proud and playful.

She glanced around, rolling her eyes. "Did you see how smug Rachel and Haynes looked earlier? Especially Rachel—strutting around like a peacock, fanning her feathers for everyone to see."

"And everyone else isn’t any better—falling over themselves to praise her, like she’s some sort of goddess descended from the heavens. Please." Abby scoffed, unimpressed. "Her achievements are barely worth mentioning next to yours. I don’t get what all the fuss is about."

Neville chimed in, "Well, Rachel must have something going for her. She’s still stuck in Haynes’s mind, and Jasper’s been trailing after her for years. There’s got to be a reason."

He glanced at Stella. "From what I’ve looked into, she’s been a top student since she was a kid—queen bee at every school, and there was even a director who invited her to join the film industry, but she turned them all down."

"She’s a multi-instrumentalist, but the violin’s her real talent. That’s how she got into Neo-Vespera University."

"Even after she and Haynes split up, she didn’t exactly sit around. She’s been competing in international contests, racking up awards left and right. I even heard she once beat out a prodigy everyone had high hopes for—after losing to her, the poor guy never really recovered."

Stella nodded thoughtfully. "There are plenty of prodigies in this world, but not many who can keep it up and actually make something of themselves. Rachel… she’s got real ability, no question."

Unlike her, Stella thought silently. If she hadn’t gone through the divorce, would she ever have picked up the violin again? It was impossible to say.