The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 430

The negotiation ended in a stalemate—neither side got what they wanted.

Afterwards, when Stella uncovered the truth about Mr. Walden, any hope of a constructive conversation between the two vanished completely.

And now…

It turned out star was Stella all along.

The revelation didn’t just leave Haynes reeling—even Benson, who prided himself on keeping his cool, felt a headache coming on.

Driving down the avenue, Benson glanced at Haynes and broke the silence. “Since Ms. Cameron is star, I doubt she’ll be willing to compose for Ms. Pearce anymore. Should we start looking for someone else?”

Haynes’s lips parted slightly. “Star…”

He repeated the name, his dark eyes distant, lost in thoughts Benson couldn’t guess.

Benson waited, but no reply came. After a long pause, he cleared his throat and tried again.

“Mr. O’Brien, do you think we should find a new composer for Ms. Pearce?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Haynes snapped out of his reverie, voice steady and certain. “She’ll agree.”

***

The next morning, Stella had just dropped Marvin Connolly off at preschool when her phone rang. It was Abby.

“Star! Did you see the news? Antoney’s trending again!”

Stella was driving, hands tight on the wheel. She hadn’t had time to check the headlines.

“What happened to Antoney?”