The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

"I asked Marvin. He said, as far back as he can remember, there's never been a woman around Neville. And you know what? Whenever you need help, Neville's always the first to show up. You can really count on him."

Stella sighed, a little exasperated. "I only see Neville as a friend. There's nothing romantic between us."

Abby grinned mischievously. "Feelings can grow, you know. Besides, I'm not saying you have to marry him-what's wrong with a sweet, lighthearted romance for once? Back in school, you barely had time for dating. Then, you skipped the whole falling-in-love part and jumped straight to marriage. After that, you had Keen. Honestly, you never got to experience the sweetness of being in love, and that's probably why you're so disillusioned about relationships. Let Neville show you how good it can feel. I bet you'd love it."

Abby had actually tried to set Star up with Antoney before. They'd grown up together, knew each other inside out, and shared the same interests a perfect match, at least on paper. But maybe they were just too familiar: there was never any chemistry. Antoney had brought it up more than once-he wanted to take care of Stella, even marry her. But whenever he talked about her, there was never a hint of nervous excitement in his voice or a flush on his face.

Abby thought it was a shame, but after a moment's reflection, she figured it wasn't so bad. After all, a bond like family could be even stronger than romance.

Stella was starting to get a headache. She had no interest in continuing the conversation, so she said, "I've just been so busy lately. Let's talk about this after the concert."

That evening, Stella, Abby, Marvin, and Neville had dinner together.

The next rounds of the competition went by without a hitch-Stella's victories were undisputed. In the final round-robin, Rachel lost to Stella yet again.noveldrama

This time, no one believed Rachel's poor performance was because she was sick. If any of her more delusional fans tried to push that excuse, the rest of the internet snapped back:

"Okay, then show us a video of Rachel playing 'The Gaze' before she got sick."

"What? She's always been sick? So you're saying she never actually surpassed Stella?"

Ever since Harry's defeat, Mr. Walden's reputation had taken a nosedive, and the internet had dug out dirt on Rachel-turns out she'd been the 'other woman' in someone else's marriage.

Unable to take the heat, Mr. Walden

left Novaris and flew home in the middle of the night. He didn't even bother telling Rachel he was leaving. Though he never formally

announced Rachel's remot his studio, his cold shoulden

said it

all. The silence was all about saving

face.

When Rachel found out, she was angry, but not particularly panicked. She still had Joshua to lean on. Jasper Wilkinson might not be sharpest tool in the shed, but he always did whatever she asked. Lately, she'd even started flirting with Colby. She had plenty of admirers in her circle; losing Mr. Walden was hardly the end of the world.

The Williams family.

Simone Lerman sat in the garden of the family's villa, a cup of coffee in hand, scrolling through the latest news on her tablet.

"Aurora Williams, Stella's really been in the spotlight lately, hasn't she?"

Aurora was living in Novaris with her brother Skyler and their eldest brother, Jonathan. Being a national icon, it was impossible for Aurora to miss the recent buzz around Stella.

Aurora's expression was calm. "Ever since her divorce, she's been a household name here in Novaris."

Simone nodded. "I watched her performance against Harry-she's genuinely impressive."

She took a sip of coffee and glanced at Aurora. "Honestly, even you might not be a match for her."

Aurora didn't seem bothered. She simply smiled. "She inherited her mother's talent for music. It's no surprise I can't keep up. Looks like this year's individual champion is as good as hers already."

Simone sighed. "We tried to have Mr. Walden and Harry coach your violin, but with Harry out for revenge and Mr. Walden's reputation in tatters, neither is likely to show their face again."