The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

The trending topic wouldn't die down, no matter how hard they tried it was obvious someone was behind all this, pulling strings.

And that someone, Jasper, was clearly a problem. Sellers had no doubt he was secretly helping Stella.

Sellers pressed his lips into a thin, hard line, a cold glint sharpening his eyes. Normally, things like this were beneath him, hardly worth a second thought. He'd never cared what others said; idle gossip bounced right off him.

But this time, it stuck like a fishbone lodged in his throat.

After a few moments' silence, he said curtly, "Call Haynes."

At the same time, Abby Murphy, who'd just seen the news, rushed to share it with Stella.

"Star, Sellers is trending! Oh, karma really does come around-now everyone's calling him the jerk of the century! Some of those socialites are actually trying to defend him, claiming that woman is making it all up, that they've never even heard of her. But guess what the internet is saying?"

Abby laughed gleefully. "People are saying, 'Of course you haven't heard of her. That just proves he never went public with his girlfriend, always hiding her, acting single, keeping her as a backup. If people knew about her, would he still be called a jerk?""

She was nearly breathless from laughter. "No matter how hard his PR team tries to clean things up, there's always someone ready to shoot them down. Sellers is done for-there's no salvaging his reputation now."

Stella looked a little surprised. "Any idea who's orchestrating all this behind the scenes?"

"I asked around," Abby replied. "A friend told me it leaked from a media company under The Wilkinson Group."

Stella was quiet for a moment, then said, “Jasper really outdid himself this time. I thought he was only good for bragging with his drinking buddies—I never expected him to pull something this big."

Abby frowned. "What's gotten into Jasper, though? Why would he play along like this? Spreading rumors about Sellers-what's in it for him? Isn't he worried about making an enemy?"

Just then, Joshua, who'd been silent until now, finally spoke up.

"Jasper's boldness comes from believing that pushing this story out will only deepen the rift between Ms. Cameron and Sellers. He thinks he's stirring the pot, letting you two fight each other to exhaustion so he can swoop in and pick up the pieces. And if he covers his tracks well enough, he could even pin all the blame for spreading rumors on Ms. Cameron."

Abby nodded slowly. "That really does make sense. Star, remember how The Wilkinson Group tried to calm public outrage a while back by making it seem like you were one of their talents? If Jasper tries to shift the blame onto you, it might actually stick." noveldrama

She scrolled through the news on her phone, adding, "And now there's

another wave online-people are going after the 'homewrecker.' Star, even with your face blurred out

you're so well-known now. Sooner or later, someone's going to connect the dots."

Stella took the phone Abby handed her and fell silent for a few seconds.

"If it's only a matter of time before they figure it out, maybe we should just throw more fuel on the fire."

She turned to Abby, a sly smile on her lips. "Abby, post a statement online. Say that I only met Sellers twice, barely know him, and had no idea he had a girlfriend. If I'd known, I never would've agreed to that blind date."

Abby's eyes widened. "Star, are you sure you want to admit to that? It'd be so easy for people—especially Jasper-to twist it and say you're the homewrecker." Stella's tone was calm. "I'll get Foreman and Neville Connolly to help us out. If Jasper can hire an army of fake accounts, don't you think we can do the same?"