The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Sherman never really posed a threat to him-he'd never taken the man seriously.

But now that Mr. Burton had publicly vouched for Stella, even Sherman wouldn't dare stand in the way. There was nothing he could say.

...

Mr. Burton's endorsement of Stella left the Watson family in the audience utterly stunned.

Florrie couldn't help but gloat a little. "Dad, looks like you're too late," she whispered, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You see how fond Mr. Burton is of Stella?"

Nicolle, however, refused to give up so easily. "Mr. Burton only said he'd take Stella on as his student. He never said anything about making her a granddaughter."

With Mr. Burton showing Stella such favor, Florrie knew it was all the more important to get on her good side.

performance, everyone made their way to the banquet hall. Florrie

after her,

hadn't properly greeted Aurora yet. She circled back, a little sheepish. "I'm going to find Stella. You know, she's my brother's

father's thinking about adopting Stella. Before that

flickering across her usually controlled features.

else. I heard she's had a rough time lately-she

rambled on, oblivious to the way Aurora's expression had

present Stella's identity to

carefully, "aren't you worried about what people will

suddenly takes in

Florrie understood the implication.

illegitimate child-everyone knows it. Dad never tried to hide that. He always said that one lie just leads to a hundred more, and he's too

out of wedlock, there was