The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 20

Rachel casually brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a delicate emerald bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet shimmered with a gentle glow, its serene green somehow strikingly bold.

Stella's eyes widened in disbelief. That bracelet was the O'Brien family heirloom, traditionally passed down to the daughters-in-law. But Deanna O'Brien, Haynes' mother, had never liked Stella. Even after Stella had Keen, Deanna remained indifferent, barely acknowledging her presence.

Deanna always preferred women from prestigious backgrounds and wasn't fond of Rachel either. She had played a part in breaking up Haynes and Rachel back then. Ironically, Haynes had married Stella, whom they all looked down upon. The entire O'Brien family treated her like an outsider. Even the staff at the O'Brien Mansion mocked her, believing she had schemed to marry into the O'Brien family.

grew up, his resemblance to Haynes became undeniable,

I pick a wife," came his miniature patriarch's decree. "No bracelet, no wife!" His grave recitation of Deanna's dogma had sparked

joke to Stella. The bracelet seemed to leech warmth from the room, its ancestral whispers hissing cruel truths: You were

smirked with challenge and triumph in her eyes. "Keen gave this bracelet to me," she boasted, "He said it's for the O'Brien family daughter-in-law. He didn't give it up even when his mom

Rachel continued, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "He wants me to be his mom, the

you know a