Chapter 191

Upon seeing Haynes, Marvin turned to Stella with a knowing look and said, “Stella, I’ll go rest for a bit. Once you’re done talking, come find me.”

Stella’s voice was gentle. “Alright, you go ahead.”

She was determined to retrieve her mother’s necklace, no matter what it took. The big question was if Rachel and Haynes would stick to their word. But even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. She was ready to handle people as shady as them. While the internet might have a short memory, she didn’t mind giving them another moment in the spotlight.

“You play the violin?” Haynes’s voice was low and filled with an unreadable emotion.

Stella didn’t deny it. “Yes.”

Haynes looked at her. “Why didn’t you ever mention it?”

“Did you ever ask?” Stella gave a slight smile. “After our child was born, I said I wanted to work. You insisted it wasn’t safe to leave the baby with someone else, and I should stay home to care for them.”

“At that time, you didn’t even ask what kind of work I did.”

Haynes fell silent. True, he had never asked. Because he never really cared. In that moment, he realized he knew far less about Stella than he ever imagined.

Stella wasn’t up for chit-chat. “The results and scores are posted. According to our deal, Rachel, you should be giving back my mom’s necklace. Mr. O’Brien, I’m sure you’re not going to back out now, right?”

She should have gone to Rachel directly, based on their wager. But standing before her was the man who was Rachel’s strongest ally. Without him, Rachel wouldn’t have had much power to cause trouble.

The most ironic part was that this man was her husband.

Upon hearing her words, Haynes’s gaze deepened. “You always seem to think the worst of me.”

Stella replied, “Isn’t the one who always assumes the worst you, Mr. O’Brien? Every time Rachel so much as sneezes, you think I’m the one bullying her.”

Haynes had nothing to say to that; he was quiet for a few seconds.

“I’ll take you to Rachel.”

Stella didn’t refuse, but she discreetly sent a message to Abby. Rachel had Jasper, Keen, Deanna, and this unpredictable man, Haynes, on her side! She knew she couldn’t handle them all alone. She needed reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Abby received the message and quickly stood up.

“Mr. Connolly, Star is about to make Rachel and Jasper honor their bet. Let’s go watch the show.”

She let out a playful laugh. “We’ve gotta capture this epic moment. Oh, and…”

She looked around and then whispered to Neville, “Star said there were lots of folks around when they made that bet. I bet a chunk of them would kill to see the show now.”

Neville immediately understood, grinning. “Let’s invite everyone to join.”

It was clear Stella was determined to publicly humiliate the O’Brien family and Rachel. Good, he liked people like that—someone who repays debts and doesn’t forget a grudge.

In another lounge, the atmosphere was suffocating. Apart from Callie, who was nervously muttering to herself, everyone’s faces were grim. The more they had underestimated Stella before, the more embarrassed they felt now.

“Uh, Rachel, don’t let it bother you,” Jasper broke the heavy silence.

“Stella only won because of that fancy violin, the Nocturne Stella. She just got lucky, and you were only 0.1 points behind her.”