The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1795

"Joshua, actually, nothing happened between me and Leonard…"

Before she could finish, Joshua squeezed her hand, a reflexive tightening.

In an instant, he realized she had misunderstood.

Joshua looked at Stella, his gaze so intense and focused that she could see nothing but herself in his eyes.

"Star, it's not that I care about that. That's not why I don't want to sleep with you. I really want to… but I can't right now."

He instinctively rubbed his temples. "My headaches might be acting up again. I can't be too close to you. I'm afraid I'll lose control and hurt you."

In truth, he shouldn't even be staying in the same room with her. He knew he should be as far away from her as possible. But if he couldn't see her, even for a moment, he would feel restless and extremely agitated.

He couldn't bear to be separated from her, not even for a few minutes. When Stella had invited him to sleep with her, he had almost thrown all reason to the wind and agreed.

But he knew he couldn't. He couldn't risk her safety to satisfy his own selfish desires. He couldn't hurt her again.

Stella stared at Joshua, a tightness in her chest. Joshua's own condition was already so bad, yet he was still thinking of her.

Stella's hand slid into his, lacing their fingers together.

"Joshua, we'll get through this together."

Joshua squeezed her hand back. "Okay."

***

After about a week, Stella decided enough time had passed and ordered Aurora to be released.

Not long after she was freed, the Williams family found her. There were no physical injuries on her, but her mental state was in shambles. It took a week of sessions with both a psychologist and a psychiatrist to stabilize her.

Once they learned Aurora's condition had improved, Skyler, Jonathan, and Coleman Williams went to her room to see her.

Skyler asked hesitantly, "Aurora, what on earth happened? Who kidnapped you?"

Aurora's hair was disheveled, and her face was as pale as a ghost's.

Her colorless lips parted to utter a single name: "Joshua Gardner!"