The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Genius violinist? Please. That's just hype.

The blonde girl kept going. "She only got famous because she cozied up to men. Now she actually thinks she can be compared to Aurora? What a joke!"

"Yeah, as if a little secret lovechild like you deserves to compete here," sneered the brunette. "Why don't you just quit before you embarrass yourself and the rest of us, too?"

"Shameless! Spreading rumors just to worm your way back into the Williams family. You must be desperate to marry into money," the redhead added with a smirk.

Abby looked like she wanted to say something, but Stella stopped her with a gentle hand.

Stella didn't know exactly what was going on, but listening to these three girls saved her the trouble of figuring it out herself.

Her eyes flickered with thought as she spoke, "And who told you all this, exactly?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Does it matter? Everybody's talking about it. You're just the Williams family's bastard daughter, trying to claw your way back in, but they don't want anything to do with you."

"So you went and started some rumor, hoping to force their hand and make them accept you," the redhead finished, sneering.

anger at the rumors and admiration for Stella. Despite the insults thrown her way, she didn't lose her cool. Instead, she used the girls' loose tongues to get

to acknowledge me..." Stella

looking at her so

being the family's illegitimate child was why

now, it seemed the

from the tree. If your mother

upon, and in today's world, people are even less forgiving. The stigma sticks to the

why Skyler had kept Stella's identity a

Stella understood what was happening, she saw no reason to

shot Abby a

back her anger

let them leave,

"Are you

and Abby were able to

Stella's retreating figure, fuming and stamping their

of earshot, Abby was seething. "Those three act like their so-called idol is some kind of