The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1896

Any woman could give him a child, but the stain on Aurora's reputation would be nearly impossible to wash away.

However, no matter how fiercely they objected, McCoy was dead set on taking responsibility for the baby she was carrying.

At the end of the day, it was an innocent life. The Chapman family wasn't completely ruthless or driven purely by profit, so they eventually backed down.

But a grand, lavish wedding like they might have planned in the past was completely off the table. Not only was it impossible, but they also insisted on keeping the marriage entirely out of the public eye.

Seeing that the Chapman family was still willing to take Aurora in, Skyler agreed to nearly all of these relatively minor conditions.

At the family dinner, the Williams and Chapman families exchanged empty, polite pleasantries.

By unspoken agreement, everyone completely avoided the subject of the engagement party scandal.

Throughout the meal, McCoy was incredibly attentive to Aurora. He didn't just pour her water; he even went out of his way to serve her food and make sure her plate was full.

Aurora thanked him softly, and the two looked like a picture-perfect, deeply in love couple.

Once dinner was winding down, Skyler brought up the topic of a deeper business partnership with the Chapman family.

Skyler hadn't stepped down yet and was still the head of the Williams family. Major decisions and significant collaborations like this still required his final say.

Stella listened for a bit but quickly lost interest. She shot Lauretta a look.

Catching the hint, Lauretta made an excuse and slipped away from the table.

A few moments later, Stella met her out in the back garden.

"Lauretta."

Lauretta turned around, a bit surprised to see Stella completely alone.

"Did Mr. Gardner not come out with you?"

Back when Joshua was just Stella's bodyguard, Lauretta had felt perfectly fine calling him by his first name. But now that she knew he was the head of the Gardner family, she didn't dare speak so casually.

"He had some business to take care of," Stella explained. "He stepped away to make a call."

Lauretta smiled. "Star, when you get married, I'm officially reserving a spot as one of your bridesmaids."

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