The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Foreman insisted on waiting for Haynes he clearly had little patience for Rachel but agreed to watch her match anyway, which left Stella little room to refuse.

Just as Stella was about to speak, a familiar, childish voice rang out behind her.

"Mom! You're here too?!"

A small figure darted over, face lit with delight.

"Keen?" Stella was caught off guard at first, but quickly recovered.

Haynes must have brought him here no doubt to see Rachel.

Stella looked up and, sure enough, spotted Haynes approaching. He was as handsome and composed as ever, his expression unreadable.

Trying to keep her tone neutral, Stella asked, “Keen, weren't you supposed to be with the Williams family today?"

Keen's eyes sparkled with excitement at seeing her. "Dad wanted to come watch Rachel's match, so he picked me up."

Haynes came up beside them just in time to hear this. He frowned. "Keen, when did I ever say I was bringing you to see Rachel's match?"

Keen looked genuinely confused. "Didn't Rachel invite us when we all had dinner together? She said we should come watch her today."

A brief look of realization crossed Haynes's face as he remembered the conversation. He glanced at Stella, a bit awkward. "Actually, I brought Keen today to watch your match."

It was the weekend, and Haynes had made plans to watch Stella compete, then maybe take her and Keen out afterwards-just the three of them, like old times. Maybe they could try to rekindle some of the warmth they'd lost.

But the thought struck Haynes rather painfully: in the past five years, family outings had been few and far between. Truth be told, there weren't many "good memories" to reminisce about. He'd probably spent more time out with Rachel than he ever had with Stella.

Stella's voice was icy. "How thoughtful of you, Mr. O'Brien, to fit me into your busy schedule."

Haynes's frown deepened. "It's not like that—"

He didn't get to finish before a gentle, familiar voice interrupted.

"Haynie, did you find Ms. Pearce?"

Haynes turned to see Foreman approaching, his eyes flickering with surprise.

"Foreman?" He glanced between Foreman and Stella. "You're here to watch the match too?"

Foreman gave a warm smile. "No, I came looking for you, Haynie."

Haynes raised an eyebrow. "For me?"

Foreman explained, "I tried calling you earlier, but you didn't pick up. I was nearby for a meeting, and Jasper mentioned Ms. Pearce wouldnoveldrama

be competing here. Since you

weren't answering, I figured

take

a chance and drop by." He chuckled.

"Didn't expect to actually run into

you.”

Haynes pulled out his phone and saw two missed calls from Foreman. His expression softened. "Was it something urgent?"

Foreman shook his head. "Not

exactly urgent-it's about Jasperet

He hesitated, glancing at Stella then Wered his voice. "We'll talk about it in a bit."

Just hearing Jasper's name made Haynes tense up. He'd cleaned up

and Jasper never seemed

Jasper's messes too ma net

grateful-never even listened to his advice. If it weren't for the fact that Jasper had once saved his life, Haynes would have washed his

hands of him long ago.

Joshua, meanwhile, watched Foreman with a guarded curiosity.

Stella, for her part, had no interest in the debate over whose match everyone had

come to see. "The match is about to start. I need to go get ready."

Keen's eyes lit up with anticipation. He loved seeing his mom on stage-radiant, confident, and utterly dazzling.