The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 161

Stella gazed at him, her eyes steady. "If I could afford to support him, would you give him to me?"

Haynes shook his head sharply. "Not a chance."

Stella met his gaze, her voice calm but firm. "What if I insist on having him?"

Haynes's response was cold and unyielding. "Stella, you don't stand a chance against me."

"Yeah," Stella replied with a hint of sarcasm, "Even if it went to court, I'm just a stay-at-home mom with no real income. There's no way a judge would grant me custody."

She held his gaze, her voice trembling with suppressed anger. "I gave up everything—my career, my independence to raise our child. And now the court says that makes me less of a parent? Because I chose diapers over deadlines? Because I don't have a paycheck to prove my worth?" Her breath hitched. "Tell me, Haynes... do you even believe this child is still mine too?"

If she had any standing or connections, perhaps she'd have a chance at custody of Keen. But she was alone, without any support, and Deanna had never liked her.

divorce, Keen might as well have been a stranger to her. The boy who once clung to her skirts now kept his distance, avoiding her eyes whenever they met. Some days she wondered if he'd grown ashamed

course, Stella wasn't truly aiming to fight for Keen's custody. She knew it was a losing battle. From the moment she decided to

her to leave without a claim. If Haynes had just signed them, it would have been the

would have their limits,

unease stirred within him. It felt as

calm, "What if

us to part amicably, for Keen's sake. I don't want this to turn ugly. Haynes, you wouldn't want the public

that with Neville supporting her, she had

scene.

this magnitude would send the company's stock plummeting. Worse yet, the fallout could devastate

"Stella, have you considered what might happen if

walk away