The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 829

Stella returned to the hospital room, carrying the takeout she’d picked up for Joshua.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late,” she apologized.

Joshua set his phone aside and studied her face. “You seem to be in a good mood. Did something nice happen?”

Stella touched her own cheek, as if to check whether her emotions were that obvious. “Is it really that noticeable?”

He grinned. “Very.”

Stella hesitated for a moment, but decided not to keep it from him—he’d find out about Rachel eventually, anyway.

“I got my hands on solid proof that Rachel’s been faking her illness,” she said quietly. “If this goes public, there’s no way she’ll be able to recover her reputation.”

Joshua didn’t even look surprised. Instead, he smiled. “Well, congratulations. You wanted to expose her, and now you’ve got exactly what you need.”

Stella didn’t mention that it was Foreman who’d provided the evidence. She trusted Joshua, but it didn’t feel right to drag Foreman’s name into this, not when it could make trouble for him.

She gave a small nod and began unpacking the food. “Let’s eat first.”

Joshua gave her a long, thoughtful look, then started his meal with his usual quiet, composed grace.

***

The next morning, social media was ablaze. Trending hashtags like “Rachel Fakes Her Illness,” “Rachel’s Terminal Diagnosis Exposed,” and “Rachel the Fraud” shot up to the top of the charts.

Video clips and images revealing Rachel’s deception had been posted from Stella’s account. She’d even written a lengthy post, laying out the tangled history between her and Rachel in painstaking detail.

With Stella’s current level of fame and a massive online following, her exposé went viral in under two hours.

The manager’s words tumbled over each other. “Stella—she’s exposed everything online. The internet’s exploded, and we can’t get any of the posts taken down. Rachel, you need to check this out!”

Rachel didn’t so much as flinch. Her voice was calm, almost bored. “With Stella’s popularity, it’s no surprise you can’t take anything down. Jasper and Haynes will handle it.”

Her manager sounded close to tears. “But—but this time it’s different!”

Rachel’s confidence didn’t waver. “There’s nothing different about it. Don’t worry. I’ll take a look, but in half an hour, it’ll all be gone from the trending list anyway.”

She hung up and dismissed the warning from her mind.

Unhurriedly, she made herself a cup of tea, then settled into a chair by the floor-to-ceiling windows of her seaside condo. As she sipped her tea and scrolled through the news on her phone, she gazed out at the ocean.

Haynes had bought her this apartment—it boasted the best view in town. Rachel intended to enjoy it, no matter what the world was saying about her.