The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 455

Rachel shot Stella a sharp, steely glance, her eyes glinting with cold determination.

“I’d rather have nothing at all than let a murderer walk away free!”

Haynes’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

“Rachel, you need to calm down.”

“How am I supposed to calm down when you’re the one who got hurt?” Rachel’s eyes were rimmed red, her voice trembling with raw emotion.

“Rachel…” Haynes parted his lips as if to say more, but Rachel, overtaken by her feelings, cut him off.

She fixed him with a grave look. “Haynie, we can always find another studio. If we need a new composer, we’ll ask your old mentor for help. I can endure whatever comes my way—but the one thing I’ll never accept is you getting hurt.”

Stella stood a few paces away, watching the deeply emotional exchange between the two. A sly smile curled on her lips, her tone icy as she interjected.

“Ms. Pearce, if you give up on everything now, doesn’t that make all of Haynes’s sacrifices for you meaningless? Even that knife wound—just for nothing. Are you really willing to throw it all away?”

Rachel glared at her coolly. “None of it will be for nothing. I’ll make sure you pay for what you’ve done. And for Haynie’s sake, I’d rather lose everything.”

Rachel’s words sounded noble, but Stella could tell she was simply stung by her earlier taunt—she’d rather risk it all, just to one-up Stella.

Stella let out a soft laugh. “Too bad what you want doesn’t really matter. What matters is what Mr. O’Brien wants.”

Rachel instinctively glanced at Haynes, only to find his dark, unreadable gaze fixed on Stella.

A knot tightened in Rachel’s chest. “Haynie, you don’t actually want to let Stella off the hook, do you?”