The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1783

Abby had always wanted Leonard dead. But now that he was actually gone, she felt a strange sense of pity, especially when she thought about his past self, L. Leonard was both a pitiable and detestable man.

Stella stared at her ruined hand for a long, long time before finally saying, "Yeah."

Abby didn't know what that "Yeah" meant. Was it an acknowledgment that she and Leonard had settled the score, or a decision to accept his shares? Whatever the case, Leonard—both for the harm he had caused and the sacrifices he had later made—would leave an indelible mark on Stella's heart.

The most profound memories are often of two kinds: moments of greatest happiness and moments of deepest pain. If Joshua represented the former, then Leonard was undoubtedly the latter. In a way, Leonard had succeeded.

Stella rested her head in her hand. "Abby," she said softly, "I'm starting to realize that I'm not so different from Aurora…"

Just as she finished speaking, the study door was thrown open.

Foreman Richards appeared in the doorway.

After waking up that morning, Foreman had gone to find Stella but saw Abby acting suspiciously. He had followed her and overheard Rhett's conversation with Stella about the shares.

Abby hated Foreman's line of thinking. "First, you tried to stop Star from accepting Joshua's help, and now you're here again, trying to block her!" she shot back. "Is Star supposed to just suffer for nothing? Foreman, are you an idiot? With Leonard's shares, we'd be unstoppable. We could do whatever we want in Solmaris. If she refuses them, all Star gets is her hatred for Leonard. Is holding onto hatred so valuable that you can't let it go? Besides, Leonard's dead. Who is there to hate? The air?"

Foreman finally looked at Abby, sneering. "Do you think Leonard's shares are so easy to accept? Do you know what the Lerman family was built on, what kind of business they run? Even if they've tried to go legitimate, they're still a vicious family! If Star accepts Leonard's shares, she'll be targeted and manipulated by those sharks in the Lerman family who would eat her alive! Do you really think Leonard was doing this for Star's own good? He was just using 'compensation' as an excuse to make her a public target!"