The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 482

Jasper was momentarily stunned by the scene before him, but quickly regained his composure, curling his lip in contempt.

“Oh, Stella really knows how to stir up trouble, doesn’t she? We leave for just a minute and she’s already caused another scene. I’ll bet she fell in on purpose, just to get your attention! Next thing you know, she’ll pretend she can’t swim, so you’ll have to play hero and give her mouth-to-mouth. Please. She’s getting more manipulative by the day.”

A sudden thought struck Haynes—wasn’t Stella terrified of water? He remembered her saying she couldn’t swim. His eyes widened and he was about to jump in after her when, to his surprise, Stella surfaced on her own and quickly swam to the bank.

Haynes wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Even Rachel, standing on the bridge, looked utterly stunned.

But wait, hadn’t Jasper just said Stella couldn’t swim?

As soon as Stella climbed out, Haynes and Jasper hurried over, concern and curiosity written all over their faces. Haynes reached out a hand to help her up, but Stella brushed him off, climbing out on her own with a blank expression.

Rachel, ever the drama queen, usually played the victim, always finding some way to get hurt and pin the blame on Stella, soaking up sympathy in the process. But for her to actually shove Stella into the water in broad daylight—that was a new low. Stella hadn’t seen that coming. Rachel always cared so much about appearances, it seemed out of character for her to risk such an obvious move.

Rachel was quick to recover, putting on her most concerned face as she hurried over. “Ms. Cameron, how did you manage to fall in? Were you not paying attention?”

Stella’s gaze shifted, her eyes landing on Rachel’s perfectly practiced look of worry.

“You’re saying I just ‘accidentally’ fell in?”

Stella wiped the water from her face, her tone cold. “After your mother’s birthday party, I made sure to learn.”

Last year, at Deanna’s birthday celebration, one of Jasper’s idiot friends had pushed Stella into the pool as a joke. When she cried out for help, they’d all just stood there, laughing, accusing her of faking it for attention. Not a single person jumped in after her. Some even pulled out their phones, filming her humiliation for their own amusement.

Back then, Keen was still on her side. Sensing something was wrong, he ran to get Haynes. In the end, it was Haynes who pulled her from the water and rushed her to the hospital.

The scene had caused such a commotion, Deanna’s entire birthday party was ruined. That was also the day Haynes learned Stella was terrified of water.