The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 662

He said at once, “Mom, I’ll be rooting for you.”

Stella just gave a noncommittal hum in response—not cold, not warm, simply neutral.

Once Stella had left, Haynes finally turned his gaze to Joshua.

He’d noticed Joshua long ago.

Even though Joshua kept mostly to himself, trying to blend in, his striking looks made him impossible to ignore.

Haynes strode over, sizing him up from head to toe, his eyes full of a quiet, commanding pressure.

“Who exactly are you?”

He’d seen Joshua a few times before, but hadn’t paid much attention at first.

Frankly, he couldn’t imagine Stella being interested in someone who looked so delicate and out of place.

But as Joshua’s appearances at Stella’s side grew more frequent, Haynes started to find him an eyesore.

Even Neville, for all his closeness, didn’t hover around Stella day and night.

But this man—every time Haynes saw Stella, he saw him too.

At the auction, he’d brushed it off; there were plenty of people there.

But now, for this important competition, Stella had brought only him.

Haynes’s sharp eyes lingered on Joshua.

If Stella trusted him enough to keep him close, there had to be something more to him.

Still, Haynes couldn’t shake the feeling that this mysterious man at Stella’s side was here for reasons he dared not voice.

Most people would have been cowed by Haynes’s intimidating presence.

Joshua, however, didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. He smiled as easily as ever.

“My name’s Joshua. I’m Ms. Cameron’s bodyguard and assistant for the time being.

Ms. Cameron’s fame draws her fair share of trouble. There’s always someone looking to stir things up or put her in harm’s way.”

He flashed a meaningful smile. “Especially Mr. O’Brien’s good friend, Jasper. He seems to take the lead in that department.

With Ms. Cameron’s concert around the corner and an important competition coming up, the last thing she needs is to get hurt again.”

Could it be…?

Was Stella treating him differently?

It wasn’t impossible.

Otherwise, why would she have chosen a male assistant—one who happened to be so strikingly handsome?

Foreman, for reasons he couldn’t quite name, felt even more threatened than Haynes.

…

Aurora Williams had already been confirmed as the violinist representing the Solmaris region.

Today, she’d come to the competition venue with Simone Lerman to check out the talent from the Novaris region.

Just then, Simone gently tugged Aurora’s sleeve.

“Aurora, that guy… who is he?”

Aurora followed Simone’s gaze—and her eyes widened, just a little.