The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 782

Stella had to admit, her own reasoning felt a little flimsy, but she truly couldn’t come up with a better explanation.

Abby pressed on, “By the way, did you tell Keen about this?”

Stella shook her head. “No, I don’t plan to tell him for now. This is between me and Haynes—it’s not something a child needs to be dragged into. Besides, I don’t want to tip Haynes off. I’d rather wait and see what he’s really after. Worst case, I’ll just be extra careful with anything Keen brings me from now on.”

Abby couldn’t help but admire Stella’s composure. If she were in Stella’s shoes, staying calm would be out of the question.

***

The day of the competition arrived sooner than expected.

Thanks to the organizers’ mediation, all the contestants had agreed to return. Their goal in withdrawing earlier was to manipulate rankings and grab attention, not because they truly wanted to quit. If they’d actually left, they’d have lost their leverage entirely. If they really had that much backbone, they wouldn’t have played these little games in the first place.

This was Stella’s first public appearance since the scandal, and all eyes were on her.

The venue was packed to the rafters. In previous rounds, there were always tickets left unsold, but this time they’d vanished in a flash—and even scalpers were prowling outside. The livestream hadn’t even started, yet nearly a million viewers were already online, waiting.

Howard Shaw looked out over the sea of people filling every seat, a complicated expression on his face. He sighed, “No wonder so many directors chase after viral stars these days. The perks of sheer popularity—hard not to be tempted.”

As soon as Stella stepped into the venue, a horde of reporters descended on her like a flock of vultures.

Abby quickly stepped in, shielding Stella from the worst of the crowd. Neville Connolly’s hired security guards moved in, pushing back the surging press to keep Stella safe.

Questions flew in from every direction, relentless and sharp as arrows.