The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1899

"Just come straight out," Joshua said. "I'm waiting by the entrance."

Stella didn't bother asking how he knew where she was. Whether it was a tracker or his security detail, he always knew exactly where to find her.

Seeing that she had to leave, Lauretta and Antoney finally paused their intense wedding summit, looking a bit disappointed.

By the time they walked out of the aquarium, the sky was already dark.

A crisp, cool breeze swept past, and Stella and Lauretta both shivered.

Without missing a beat, Antoney stripped off his jacket and draped it over Stella's shoulders.

"It's freezing tonight, Star. Don't catch a cold."

He didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, and Stella didn't even have time to wave him off.

Lauretta didn't mind the preferential treatment. Antoney and Stella had over a decade of shared history—it was a bond that felt like family, something she couldn't possibly compete with.

Right at that moment, Stella felt an intense, piercing stare lock onto her.

She looked up and saw Joshua standing across the pavement, his dark eyes fixed silently on the scene unfolding in front of him.

His face was an unreadable mask, giving away absolutely nothing.

Stella's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively walked over to him.

"Joshua."

His eyes swept casually over the oversized jacket on her shoulders before his hand reached out to securely grasp hers.

"Cold, Star?"

"I'm alright," Stella said.

"The wind is picking up. Let's get in the car."

Stella nodded. She said goodbye to the other two, made sure Antoney was going to drop Lauretta off safely, and slipped into the passenger seat.

Inside the car, the air felt suffocatingly thick.

Just as her thoughts were spiraling, Joshua's voice sliced through the quiet.

"Star, you and Antoney grew up together, right? I feel like you hardly ever talk about him."

Stella snapped out of her daze. "Yeah, we both took piano lessons from my mom when we were kids."

She quickly added, "He's basically like a brother to me."

Why just 'like' a brother?

Because they didn't actually share blood.

Joshua kept his eyes locked on the road, his tone deceptively casual. "Is that so? Abby mentioned that he had feelings for you. Before you married Haynes O'Brien, I heard he even wanted to marry you."

"He found out I was pregnant back then," Stella explained quickly. "He thought the baby's father walked out on me. He just wanted to protect me from the gossip, so he offered to marry me. He just wanted to take care of me."

"He did care about me, but not romantically. It was a protective, family kind of love. The thing is, he had zero experience with romance, so he just didn't know the difference."

Taking the opportunity to clear the air, Stella began sharing a few stories from Antoney's past.