The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Her voice trailed off, and a faint, inscrutable smile flickered across her lips.

"And then there's her whole 'pretending to be sick' act... I can't tell if she came up with it herself, or if Jasper put her up to it with one of his harebrained schemes."

Abby frowned in confusion. "Why would you call it a bad idea? If Rachel hadn't faked being ill to get sympathy, you and Haynes never would have gotten divorced."

Stella shook her head. "The truth is, Haynes and I got divorced because our marriage was already falling apart. Rachel was just the match that lit the fuse.

Even if Rachel hadn't shown up, Haynes and I would have run into other problems eventually."

Abby considered that, and it made sense.

She pressed on, "Then why do you say Rachel's 'pretending to be sick' was a stupid idea?"

Stella met Abby's gaze. "Because every lie eventually gets exposed. It's like living with a sword hanging over your head-you never know when it will drop.

Even if she got what she wanted through deception, what happens when the truth comes out?

Don't forget, Rachel's whole public persona is this poor, fragile, endlessly understanding angel.

And it's not just that she faked being sick-she went all in and pretended to have a terminal illness..."

her head. "I honestly don't know

she doesn't die on

to Stella, Abby couldn't help but

Of all the things to fake, why a terminal illness? She's practically digging her

some mental health issue, that would've been easier to get away with than a terminal diagnosis, don't you

smiled wryly. "Haven't you noticed? Rachel always seems

up the act, let her.

caught? What if she actually manages to win at life because of

packed away her violin-her beloved

she can pull off a lie like that for the rest of her life, then

Joshua

She glanced at her watch.

Joshua should

Stella nodded.

first round of the

the top of the leaderboard, utterly dominating

second round-the solo performances-Stella stunned

mark, leaving Rachel in the