The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 358

Marvin was the future heir of The Connolly Group. Yet here he was, unable to handle a spat between kids, coming home in tears. Neville thought, maybe he really wasn’t cut out to take over the family legacy.

It was one of the reasons Neville never intervened, not even when he saw Marvin get hurt because of Keen. He figured the boy would have to toughen up on his own.

Neville’s way of raising Marvin had its ups and downs. On one hand, he was grooming the next head of the Connolly family—nothing wrong with that. But emotionally, Neville was distant, almost cold.

So when he saw Stella worrying that Marvin might be bullied, Neville couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Star, trust me, Marvin’s usually the one doing the bullying. No one’s going to push him around. That kid’s tougher than he looks.”

The truth was, Marvin had a streak of coldness running deep in his bones. He only cared about people or things that mattered to him. For everything else, he was shockingly indifferent—hardly like a child at all.

Remembering the environment Marvin grew up in, Neville could only sigh quietly to himself.

Stella, for her part, thought Neville was just trying to comfort her.

She didn’t press the issue. “If anything happens with Marvin, let me know right away, okay?”

Every month, Neville wired money into Stella’s account—right on schedule. She’d told him, more than once, that it wasn’t necessary; she genuinely liked Marvin and didn’t need to be paid to look after him. But Neville insisted—business was business.

The billion she’d blown through was long gone, but with a few more months of caring for Marvin, Stella joked she’d be set for life.

***

That morning, Marvin had barely set foot inside the preschool when he noticed a group of kids standing off to the side, whispering and pointing at him.

Some parents spotted Marvin and, as if he were contagious, hustled their children away from him.

Even the kids who used to be friendly with Marvin now kept their distance, scattering as soon as he came near.

He glanced at them, face unreadable, and walked straight into his classroom.

Across the room, the teachers exchanged looks tinged with regret. None of them approached him, either.