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.

made their way to the banquet hall. Florrie was the first to

noticed her friend's urgency and called after her, "Florrie, where are

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

voice. "My father's thinking about adopting Stella. Before that happens, I want to talk to her and see where

narrowed, surprise flickering across her usually controlled features.

She leaned in. "My dad's tried toget my brother to come back to the family, but he refuses. He can't seem to let go of Stella-they grew up together, and their bond is... something else. I heard she's had

oblivious to the way Aurora's expression

father and brother were still agonizing over how to present Stella's identity to the world, the Watsons were already making plans to adopt her without a

you worried about what people will

takes

Florrie understood the implication.

Besides, my brother's an 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 tired for that game. It's not like he cheated or kept a mistress-there's nothing

were still together, before they broke up for good. Even though Antoney was born out of wedlock, there was no scandal-if anything, Nicolle now saw him as