The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 651

Rachel flinched, the realization hitting her like a cold draft.

She’d burned her hand, hoping Haynes O’Brien would be moved to pity, but she’d forgotten—Joshua Gardner’s kindness toward her had always been about her violin. Nothing more.

He was cold. Detached. Sometimes cruel.

That was why she’d chosen Haynes over Joshua, why she’d never let herself consider the alternative. She knew, deep down, that if she ever asked Joshua to marry her, he’d accept without hesitation. But the day her lies unraveled would destroy her—she’d rather die than live through that humiliation.

Joshua might be helping her now, but there was never any real affection between them. Not romantic. Not even friendly. To be precise, he seemed incapable of feeling anything at all. Every favor he did for her was measured, mechanical, utterly devoid of warmth.

She never doubted his words.

Today, he could give her everything she asked for. Tomorrow, he could just as easily turn his back and pretend she didn’t exist.

To him, she was nothing. Her only value lay in the music she played, the fleeting emotions he experienced when she performed.

Rachel lowered her gaze. “I understand. It won’t happen again.”

But after a moment, she raised her head, her eyes shining with quiet desperation.

“Haynie’s been so distant lately. I—I didn’t know what else to do. After the concert, he said he wouldn’t care about me anymore. I even pretended to be sick, but he hasn’t bothered to visit.”

So she’d resorted to burning her own hand, desperate for Haynes’ sympathy, hoping somehow to win back his heart.

Joshua listened, expression blank. “Rachel, do you know why you keep losing?”

She hesitated. “Because I wasn’t born a Cameron, and I don’t have enough people on my side?”

Stella might not have officially returned to the Williams family, but she was already living like a true heiress. No wonder Lauretta Chapman refused to help—her own fiancé was a Williams. Why would she risk it?