The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Haynes said, "Keen's still at the amusement park. I'll go get him."

But the truth was, Keen wasn't the one he wanted to find he was really looking for Stella.

Rachel's voice quivered, her eyes wide and pleading. "Haynie, you're really going to leave me here all alone?"

In the past, seeing Rachel like this always tugged at Haynes's heart. But for some reason today, he just felt irritated-restless in a way he couldn't quite explain.

Suppressing his impatience, he replied coolly, "Don't worry. You won't be alone. I've already asked Jasper to come keep you company."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone knocked at the hospital room door.

Jasper Wilkinson hurried inside, looking anxious. "Rachel, you're back in the hospital? I thought you were doing better lately!"noveldrama

Rachel gripped the sheets, her knuckles white. So, to chase after Stella, Haynes had even dragged Jasper here to babysit her. Since when did Stella have such a hold on him? Maybe all men were the same always chasing what they couldn't have.

With a resentful glance at Haynes, Rachel said, "I went to the amusement park with Keen today. I overestimated how much I could handle-tried one of the rides, and ended up having an episode."

Haynes didn't look at her. Instead, he addressed Jasper, "Keen's still at the park. I'll go pick him up. Stay here with Rachel, will you?"

Jasper, who'd been bored out of his mind lately, had actually been hoping for a chance to vent to Rachel anyway. He waved a hand. "Go on. I've got her covered."

It never even crossed his mind to wonder why Haynes would leave Keen alone at the amusement park.

Rachel opened her mouth to call after Haynes, but Jasper leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

"Rachel, did Haynie tell you about Karl?"

Rachel, distracted, asked, "You mean the thing with Stella's hand?"

She'd already heard about that at their last get-together.

"That's not all, Jasper whispered, glancing around. "I think Haynie's planning to get back at Karl. When he and Foreman were making plans, they sent me out of the room on purpose. Later I tried to ask them about it, but both of them clammed up-tight as a drum."

Rachel could barely muster any interest. "So what?"

She had mentioned it to Joshua Gardner afterward, but Joshua had just smirked, eager to watch the drama unfold from a safe distance. If he had no intention of interfering, there was nothing Rachel could do about it either.

On second thought, maybe it wasn't so bad if they wanted to avenge Stella. With any luck, the Burtons would blame Stella and come after her, and then-while they tore each other apart-Rachel could swoop in and claim whatever was left.

Jasper was positively buzzing with gossip. "Karl's hand was hurt, right? So he ended up in the hospital. But

then, someone tipped off the police said he was hiding illegal substances at his place. He got hauled in for questioning and spent the night in a cell. The day he was released, someone jumped him, threw a bag over his head, and beat him so badly his face was nearly unrecognizable."

Rachel listened with only half her attention. If Haynes wanted to teach Karl a lesson, none of this would surprise her.

"But wait,” Jasper said, lowering his voice even more, "that's not the worst of it— you'll never guess what happened next."

For once, Jasper seemed to struggle for words, his expression a mix of shock and awkward excitement.

Rachel, meanwhile, was already thinking about how to convince Jasper to help her track down Haynes. She asked absentmindedly, "What happened?"

Jasper's eyes lit up-he lived for this sort of drama. "He got knocked out cold, right? When he woke up, he was completely naked-and there were. well, let's just say, some marks on him nobody can really talk about. No one knows exactly what happened to him that night."