The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

When Deanna found out, she didn't show Stella a shred of understanding. Instead, she scolded her for making a fuss over nothing, lecturing her harshly.

Later, Haynes tracked down the person who had "accidentally" pushed Stella into the water at the party. But since everyone at Deanna's birthday bash belonged to old-money families closely tied to the O'Briens, there was no way to hold them accountable. All Stella could do was grit her teeth and accept their flimsy apologies.

But nearly drowning? That was hardly something an empty "sorry" could make up for.

After Haynes made them delete the video of Stella falling into the lake, that was the end of it. No one ever mentioned it again.

Stella's fear of water had started years ago, when she'd accidentally fallen overboard while on a boat trip with her mother. She'd grown up far from the coast, her life crammed with schoolwork, and rarely encountered oceans or lakes. Over time, the terror faded, but water still made her instinctively want to run. She'd never learned to swim.

But after that incident at the party, it took Stella more than half a year to finally confront her fear. In the end, she forced herself to learn to swim.

Now, Jasper was sneering. "Stella, you jumped into the lake on purpose, didn't you? Just to get everyone's attention?"

Stella lifted her head, her expression calm. "You think I jumped in on purpose?"noveldrama

Jasper raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so you're saying you didn't? What, are you going to claim Rachel pushed you in?"

"That's exactly what happened," Stella replied flatly.

Jasper's face twisted, as if he'd just sniffed out a secret. Pointing at her, he declared, "Oh, I get it now! You jumped in, not just to cozy up to Haynes, but to set Rachel up at the same time. Two birds, one stone. Stella, you're devious." He looked incredibly pleased with himself for coming to this "brilliant" conclusion.

A cold wind swept by, making Stella, still dripping wet, shiver uncontrollably. Haynes shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "Stella, Rachel would never do something like that. You must be mistaken."

Stella shot him a frosty look. "Don't call me 'Star.' It makes my skin crawl."

Haynes frowned. “It's getting chilly. Let's go inside and get you changed. We can talk about this later."

Jasper chimed in, voice oozing

mock sympathy. “She's playing the innocent victim just to get Haynes's attention. What a manipulative little brat."

Stella tossed Haynes's jacket aside as if it were trash. Then, without a word, she started walking.

Haynes, thinking she was finally backing down, relaxed a little.

But instead of leaving, Stella strode straight to Rachel, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked hard.

"Ah!" Rachel shrieked, her face contorted in pain-gone was any trace of her usual delicate beauty.

Stella glared at her, voice icy. "Didn't you just ask me if Haynes would ever blame you for anything? Well here's my answer: whether he blames you or not is none of my business. You wanted me dead? Then let's see how you like it." Cóntent

With that, Stella kicked Rachel hard, sending her sprawling into the lake with a splash.

The loud crash of water echoed across the lawn as Rachel tumbled in, soaked and gasping.

Jasper stared at Stella in shock and outrage. "Are you insane? Did you just shove Rachel into the water?"

Stella tried to hold back but couldn't. She swung her arm and slapped Jasper across the face, hard.

The crack echoed in the cold air. She'd wanted to hit him for a long time.

his eyes wide with disbelief. He simply couldn't wrap his head, around the fact that Stella had just slapped him right in front of Haynes.

Jasper's head snapped to the net.