The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

"Haynes, you should wipe the rain off your face first."

But Haynes shook his head. "Give the towel to Stella first-I'm fine."

Rachel's smile froze for a split second.

She quickly handed the towel to Stella. "Ms. Cameron, here, dry off a bit. You don't want to catch a cold."

Stella didn't bother with false modesty; she took the towel and murmured, "Thank you."

Her clothes were soaked through, and the towel only managed to dab away some of the water.

As soon as she slid into the car, a chill crept over her. She couldn't hold back a sneeze.

From the front passenger seat, Rachel glanced back. "Ms. Cameron, would you like to borrow my coat?"

Stella's brow twitched. If she remembered correctly, Rachel had been wearing a dress earlier-no coat in sight.

Which meant the coat could only be-

Stella's gaze drifted over Rachel, and sure enough, she spotted a man's suit jacket draped around her shoulders.

A slight, cold smirk tugged at Stella's lips.

The downpour outside was relentless, and her own car had broken down. When

she first saw Haynes, she hadn't stopped to wonder why he was here.

Now it was obvious: he was either dropping Rachel and Mr. Walden off for registration or picking them up.

Whatever the reason, Stella didn't care to find out.

She looked at Rachel's feigned concern and replied, "That would be nice."

Rachel's eyes flashed with something dark as Stella accepted every offer without resistance.

She slipped off the jacket and turned to Haynes. "Haynes, Ms. Cameron's soaked to the bone. I'm giving her your coat-hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Haynes replied easily.

Rachel handed the coat to Stella with a bright smile. "Ms. Cameron, what brings you out in this weather? Are you here to see your teacher again?"

tom

"If you want to meet him, you can just ask me. We know each other, after all-can always pass along a message. I'd hate for you to get sick over this. If something happened, Mr. Walden and I would never forgive ourselves."

At that, Mr. Walden glanced over at Stella, but he stayed silent.

Stella's voice was cool. "Rachel, do you really think every time Mr. Walden and Inoveldrama

are in the same place, I must be here for him?"

She let out a soft

laugh. "Mr. Walden

onet

made it clear he's not taking any more students. I wouldn't try to force the issue. You don't have to guard your teacher so closely, Ms.

Pearce-no one's trying to steal him." sŵnovel

Rachel's smile faltered. "...I misunderstood you, Ms. Cameron."

The awkward air was finally broken by Haynes. “Stella, what are you doing here, anyway?"

Stella pulled on the jacket, feeling the warmth return to her limbs. "I'm here for the preliminaries."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. "You're competing in this round, Ms. Cameron?"

Stella met her gaze. "Why not? If you can enter, why shouldn't I?"

Rachel hurried to explain, “No, no,

that's not what I meant. I just

thought with your skills, surely

someone would've recommended you straight into the main

competition."

Stella's reply was calm and sharp. "If you know how good I am, then you should

also know that I don't need anyone's recommendation to beat you."