The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 420

The people who had been mocking Stella just moments before now looked thoroughly embarrassed, their faces flushing and paling by turns. The awkward mix of emotions on display almost would have been amusing under other circumstances.

“Ms. Cameron.”

A gentle voice suddenly broke the tense silence that had settled over the room. Rachel had appeared at some point behind the crowd, her presence calm yet commanding.

“If there’s something to discuss, perhaps it can wait until after the event,” she said smoothly. “It’s rare for Mr. Walden to visit Neo-Vespera and join us for a music exchange. Let’s not waste valuable time on personal arguments.”

She glanced around, her tone lightly admonishing. “We’re all guests here. Let’s not make a scene and ruin our host’s event. After all, it was just a bit of teasing, nothing more.”

People quickly seized the opportunity to agree, eager to deflect the blame.

“Right, it was just a joke. No need to take things so seriously.”

“This is a music event, not a place to air out personal grudges. If there are issues, take them outside—you’re disrupting everyone else.”

“Let’s be gracious, shall we? Blowing this out of proportion helps no one.”

After all, they’d all gone along with Jasper in mocking Stella earlier. If apologies were demanded, they’d have to be included as well, and who wanted to make a public spectacle of themselves like that?

As Rachel watched the crowd rally behind her, a barely perceptible smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Stella really was hopelessly naïve. Hadn’t she heard of the saying, “You can’t punish everyone for the same crime”? If Stella had just demanded apologies from Jasper and those two foreigners, the rest would have stayed silent. But she wanted everyone involved to apologize—what foolishness.

Stella turned to Rachel, her voice cold and clear. “They say birds of a feather flock together. With Jasper’s warped sense of right and wrong, it’s no surprise he’s friends with homewreckers like Ms. Pearce.”