Chapter 322
Haynes had never stooped 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 learn 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 naïve 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 stubbornness, 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 ruin Stella’s reputation in a heartbeat-but he held back.
Suddenly, the crowd buzzed with surprise.
“Wait, is that Haynes? What’s he doing here?”
“Does this 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 that’s why she’d landed herself in trouble. Stella, however, had calmly replied, “At the time, Haynes and I weren’t divorced. I was, in every sense, Mrs. O’Brien.”
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 clarifying 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.