Chapter 323
Haynes had never stopped to taking part in any of the schemes against Stella
Of all the things that had happened, the only one he orchestrated was the freezing of Stella’s one hundred million dollar assets. But even then, he’d only frozen the account–he never made a move to reclaim the money for himself.
After all these years as Haynes’s friend, Jasper knew better than to think Haynes was simply being generous or indifferent about the fortune That wasn’t it at all
No, Haynes was using the money as leverage, hoping to force Stella to come back.
To him, this divorce didn’t feel like a real line drawn in the sand. Haynes had a thousand ways to drag things out to keep Stella from ever truly leaving him–but he hadn’t used any of them
Because, in his mind, Stella needed to leam the hard way. Without him, she’d have nothing.
If he didn’t let her struggle a bit if he didn’t let her see just how harsh reality could be, she’d always cling to her naive optimism. It was better to let her realize now that without his protection, even surviving would be a challenge.
Soon enough, she’d come back on her own–and any hope of escaping him would vanish.
So, Jasper’s scheming? Haynes didn’t get involved, but he didn’t stop him either.
Now, Jasper’s eyes lit up as he spotted a tall, broad–shouldered figure approaching in the distance.
“Haynie’s here!” he announced quietly.
Rachel glanced at Stella, who was hemmed in by the crowd, then looked at Haynes as he strode closer. She whispered. “Jasper, do you think Haynie will be angry when he sees Stella being targeted like this?“!
“Angry? Why would he be? Jasper replied with a shrug. “He’ll be thrilled. We’re basically handing him the perfect opportunity–Stella will have to beg him for help. Though, honestly.”
Rachel finished his thought with a knowing smile. “Honestly, with Stella’s stubbomness, I doubt she’ll ever beg Haynie for anything” Jasper nodded. “Exactly. The more she digs her heels in, the worse things will get between them. When that happens, we can finally make our move without worrying about Haynes getting in the way.”
For now, Jasper wasn’t willing to push things to the brink, if he wanted, he could spread a few nasty rumors and nuin Stella’s reputation in a heartbeat–but he held back.”
Suddenly the crowd buzzed with surprise.
that Haynes? What’s he doing here?“%
“Does this me
mean__what that woman said was true?”
A few reporters had noticed Haynes’s arrival, and their expressions changed.
Earlier, they’d bombarded Stella with questions–accusing her of posing as Mrs. O’Brien to con people, suggesting th landed herself in trouble. Stella, however had calmly replied, “At the time, Haynes and I weren’t divorced. I was, in every sense, Mrs. that’s why she’d O’Brien.”L
She wasn’t about to stand there, mute, letting the rumors spiral out of control. The divorce was already public knowledge, she had nothing to lose by clanfying the truth, no matter how it reflected on Haynes or the O’Brien Group.
Her answer left the crowd momentarily stunned.
They’d only heard that this woman was impersonating Mrs. O’Brien–no one had told them she actually was Mrs. O’Brien!
And what had she just let slip? They weren’t divorced at the time? Meaning they were divorced now??
The revelation left the reporters reeling, barely able to process what they’d just heard–when suddenly, Haynes appeared. Was he here to bail out his wife?!
Nervous whispers rippled through the press. No one wanted to get on Haynes’s bad side.
Haynes paused as he spotted Stella surrounded by the mob, momentarily taken aback
Not far away, Jasper waved to him, then gave a subtle signal with his eyes. Haynes took in the scene at a glance–he understood immediately.
The reporters, spotting Haynes, swarmed toward him as if drawn to a magnet. But this time, there was no jostling or rude shouting: everyone kept their distance, suddenly very polite. No one dared treat him the way they’d treated Stella just moments before!
