The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1049

He nodded obediently. “Okay.”

Watching the exchange, Haynes’s dark eyes deepened.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Rachel.

Every time they ate together, Rachel would order overly sweet drinks, just to please Keen. Even if Keen was supposed to avoid certain foods, Rachel would insist, “Just a little taste won’t hurt him.”

Back then, Keen was constantly getting sick. Once, after eating a slice of nut cake, he ended up in the hospital with a severe allergic reaction.

As the memory resurfaced, Haynes looked down, a trace of regret in his eyes.

How foolish he had been, blindly trusting Rachel’s reckless advice.

He’d thought Rachel genuinely cared for Keen—but looking back, even someone with questionable motives like Joshua seemed more sincere.

Haynes poured Stella a glass of water and was just about to hand it to her when his entire expression froze.

For a moment, he wondered if he was seeing things.

Was that really… Rachel, standing here?

After Rachel had run off, Haynes hadn’t bothered to hunt her down. As long as she stayed out of sight, he saw no need to pursue her any further. Truth be told, his divorce from Stella wasn’t entirely Rachel’s fault. He bore a fair share of the blame himself. Without his indulgence and favoritism, Rachel never would have grown so brazen.

He had his own mistakes to answer for; there was no point trying to pin everything on Rachel.

Besides, after she’d thrown acid at Simone, Haynes realized that backing Rachel into a corner could drive her to extremes. The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to lash out at Keen, or at Stella.

Rachel met Haynes’s disbelieving stare with a coy, bashful smile.

“Haynie.”

She stepped up to the group, her voice soft and delicate. “I’m pregnant.”

Haynes blinked, utterly baffled. “You’re pregnant. And what does that have to do with me?”

Rachel replied, “But this baby—it’s yours.”

Before he could finish, Rachel threw herself into his arms.

“Haynie, are you really going to abandon me and our child?”

Using Rachel’s sudden embrace as cover, Stella slipped away.

After a full morning out, Keen was looking tired, and Stella didn’t want to run into Rachel again at the amusement park. So, they headed back to Williams Mansion.

Keen, having come all the way to Solmaris, naturally wanted to meet Skyler Williams.

But as soon as they stepped into the foyer, they found a crowd gathered inside—Leonard among them.

Stella’s long lashes fluttered; she sensed immediately that something major must have happened.

Israel was the first to spot her. His eyes flashed with open hostility.

“Stella, did you set Aurora up to take the blame for you?”