The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 438

Stella hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke. “My mother said... if you're willing to cut ties with Aurora, she'll come back."

The smile on Skyler's face faded away.

He frowned. "She's not a kid anymore. Why is your mother still so unreasonable at her age?"

Stella's mother had indeed said to her, "If your father or your brothers ask why I refuse to come home, just tell them as long as they cut Aurora off, I'll become Mrs. Williams again."

Skyler's words made Stella's heart sink a little.

Before she returned to the Williams family, her mother had laid out everything for her, holding nothing back.

In this whole tangled mess, her mother was the biggest victim.

Yet Skyler just brushed her off as childish.

Before Stella could say anything else, her third brother, Coleman Williams, burst into the room.

He fixed Stella with a cold, hostile look. "You're really something, aren't you, Stella? All this scheming just to get Aurora out-you'd even use your own mother." Since Stella's return, Coleman had shown her nothing but open disdain.

Stella saw no reason to keep pretending either.

"If you think I'm so manipulative, why don't you go see Mom yourself and ask her?" she shot back.

"You think I haven't tried? She refuses to see me!" Coleman snapped. "It's you, isn't it? You're the reason she won't see any of us!"

really so persuasive, don't you think I'd convince Mom to come home in the first place?" Stella's voice was

fell silent,

cutting through the tension. "Enough, both of you. If she doesn't want to come back, so be it. Give it some time-she'll miss Raven soon

word, Stella and Coleman

day, she and Coleman barely spoke a word to each

spread that Aurora's old childhood fiancé, Sherman Burton, had returned after hearing about

sometimes mocked her, but at least

year older

into business school the

fall after graduation, j

for business. CDelongs to

Skyler insisted she

blamed Stella—said she was the

the scenes.

painted as the

schemer who envied every

move. t

first, her father and

and

But after

Stand rumors, even they

started to believe it.

for Aurora's sake, staged an elaborate