The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

When Stella found out Neville's birthday was coming up, she spent a long time thinking before finally deciding to make him a gift with her own hands.

Neville had helped her so much. If it hadn't been for him, she would have been cornered by Haynes' endless pressure, left with nowhere to go and forced to sleep on the streets. There was no way she could have gone through her divorce so smoothly without Neville's support.

She was deeply grateful to him.

Neville glanced down at the keychain in his hand, his dark eyes as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

He looked at her, lips curled in a gentle smile, his voice low and warm.

"Thank you. I really like your gift.”

The way he looked at her was too intense, too soft, sending a shiver down her

spine. It was not the way you'd look at a friend.

Stella's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively avoided his gaze.

She stood up. "It's getting late. We should head back."

But as soon as she got to her feet, a hand closed firmly around her wrist.

Stella looked up at

I brought something back for you from

inappropriate, so Stella let out a small, relieved

gift box. "Open it. See if you like

the box from him. It wasn't very big or heavy, making

to reveal a square

she opened it, a delicate, finely crafted

were set in the chain,

the renowned jeweler Muses It was his masterpiece, his final work-the kind of piece you heard about but never

Neville and the others out for dinner. Abby had said the "Forever" bracelet would look incredible with Stella's Nocturne performance. Stella had admitted she loved it, but it was destined

imagined Neville would actually get his hands on

tell at a glance that this was the real thing-not

head. "I can't accept this.

raised an

too valuable,"

gift, no e matter how valuable. Gifts aren't about the price tag-they're about the thought behind them. If a cheap gift can hold meaning, why can't

grew uneven. "That's not what

accept it. I never take back gifts," he said, meeting her eyes.