The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

"I asked Marvin. He said, as far back as he can remember, there's never been a woman around Neville. And you know what? Whenever you need help, Neville's always the first to show up. You can really count on him."

Stella sighed, a little exasperated. "I only see Neville as a friend. There's nothing romantic between us."

Abby grinned mischievously. "Feelings can grow, you know. Besides, I'm not saying you have to marry him-what's wrong with a sweet, lighthearted romance for once? Back in school, you barely had time for dating. Then, you skipped the whole falling-in-love part and jumped straight to marriage. After that, you had Keen. Honestly, you never got to experience the sweetness of being in love, and that's probably why you're so disillusioned about relationships. Let Neville show you how good it can feel. I bet you'd love it."

Abby had actually tried to set Star up with Antoney before. They'd grown up together, knew each other inside out, and shared the same interests a perfect match, at least on paper. But maybe they were just too familiar: there was never any chemistry. Antoney had brought it up more than once-he wanted to take care of Stella, even marry her. But whenever he talked about her, there was never a hint of nervous excitement in his voice or a flush on his face.

Abby thought it was a shame, but after a moment's reflection, she figured it wasn't so bad. After all, a bond like family could be even stronger than romance.

Stella was starting to get a headache. She had no interest in continuing the conversation, so she said, "I've just been so busy lately. Let's talk about this after the concert."

That evening, Stella, Abby, Marvin, and Neville had dinner together.

The next rounds of the competition went by without a hitch-Stella's victories were undisputed. In the final round-robin, Rachel lost to Stella yet again.

If any of her more delusional

Rachel playing 'The

sick? So you're saying she never actually

since Harry's defeat, Mr. Walden's reputation had taken a nosedive, and the internet had dug out dirt

to take the heat,

middle of the night. He didn't even bother telling Rachel he

Rachel's remot his studio,

said it

silence was

face.

Jasper Wilkinson might not be sharpest tool in the shed, but he always

The Williams family.