The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

A strange, quiet warmth stirred in Stella Cameron's heart.

She cradled the small music box in her hands, her voice soft. "Thank you. I'll treasure it."

Seeing how much Stella truly liked the gift, Foreman Richards' usually sharp eyes softened.

But the cloud of recent events crept back into his mind.

Sellers Burton had vanished without a trace-completely gone. Foreman had been hunting for him ever since.

At first, there had been fleeting leads, the occasional rumor or sighting. But Sellers was slippery, almost impossible to pin down, always a step ahead. Several times, Foreman had come close, only for Sellers to slip through his fingers at the last moment.

After the last failed attempt, Sellers seemed to disappear from the map. It had been ages since any new lead surfaced.

Foreman couldn't help but worry. What if Sellers had already been rescued? Stella's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Foreman, you've helped me so much lately. I owe you more than I can ever repay. If there's ever anything I can do for you, just say the word."

He blinked back to the present, a gentle smile lighting up his features.

"Star, you don't have to be so formal." He hesitated, then asked, "I've got three days here in Solmaris. Are you free these next couple of days? Would you mind showing me around?"

Something flickered in Stella's eyes-hesitation.

She had an agreement with Leonard Lerman. The deadline was three days as well. She'd intended to keep them guessing, but she couldn't afford to be completely unprepared. If they got desperate, she could be in real danger.

But Foreman had done so much for her, and he so rarely came to Solmaris...

Stella didn't hesitate long. "Sure, I'd love to."

Foreman noticed her pause, his lips parting as if to say something more.noveldrama

But in the end, the words-understanding, considerate-never made it out.

Now that Stella was living in

Solmaris, their chances to see each other would be few and far between. Every moment alone with he was something to be cherished.

After Abby Murphy and Joshua Gardner left, Abby noticed Joshua glancing

repeatedly in Stella's direction and couldn't help but laugh.

"Joshua, go explore for a while. Once Star and Foreman are done talking, she'll call us. Let's give them some time alone, okay?”

Joshua spoke up suddenly, "You trust Foreman that much?"

Abby looked at him, puzzled. "Foreman's a gentleman. He's helped Star a lot. He's a good guy."

Joshua pressed on, "So, anyone who helps you is a good guy?"

Abby shook her head. "Of course not. Take Haynes O'Brien—even if he bent over backwards to help us, he'd still be a jerk."

Joshua gave a cryptic smile.

"Haynes might be no saint, but if Foreman could betray his own friend, how good could he really be? Birds of a feather-Jasper Wilkinson and Haynes are both bad news. Do you really think Foreman's any different, just because he's on your side?"

Abby didn't seem bothered by Joshua's doubts.

"Foreman never betrayed Haynes. He just helped Star as much as he could. Remember, back when Rachel Pearce fooled everyone, Haynes and Jasper didn't see through her, but Foreman did if it weren't for him, Star and I would've been in real trouble."

Joshua looked like he had more to say, but Abby's phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, her expression turning serious.

"Joshua, I have to take this. Go ahead and look around by yourself. Star's with Foreman now-she's safe. Don't worry."

With that, Abby hurried off, phone pressed to her ear.

Joshua frowned slightly, still uneasy about leaving Stella on her own.