chapter1252

"And you agreed?" Joshua asked, his gaze steady.

"No, I used Neville as an excuse for now," Stella explained. "But I don't think Mr. Vance was convinced. He wants me to bring Neville to his birthday party. This content belongs to find(?)ovel.net

Thankfully, Neville and I already have an understanding, so he should be able to help me handle it."

Joshua's eyes darkened slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "Star, I might need to take tomorrow off."

He had barely taken a day of rest since they arrived in Solmaris. Stella was surprised but knew he must have an important reason. "Do you need any help?" "Actually, I've asked Aurora to go racing with me," he said directly.

Stella paused. "You and Aurora are going racing?"

It was strange. Her relationship with her three half-brothers was openly hostile, but she and Aurora had never truly clashed. They weren't close, but they had never had a direct confrontation. Yet, so much of her misfortune had stemmed from Aurora. Sellers despised her because of Aurora. Leonard had destroyed her hand because of Aurora. While she didn't hate Aurora, she certainly couldn't bring herself to like her.

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Joshua, whatever your motives are... please don't play with a woman's feelings."

Stella could stomach almost any kind of scheming, but emotional manipulation was a line she couldn't cross. After all, Sherman had once used that tactic on her for Aurora's sake, only to stab her in the back.

Joshua's deep gaze met hers, and a faint smile touched his lips. "Don't worry. She's not worth the effort of seduction."

"As long as you know what you're doing," Stella said, trusting him completely.

At the Williams estate, Israel and Coleman Williams burst out laughing when Aurora told them Joshua had invited her to go racing.

"I thought Joshua was some tough nut to crack, always hovering around Stella," Coleman said. "Turns out he's just like any other guy."

Israel sneered. "The way he was always defending Stella and confronting us, you'd think he was her loyal guard dog. Now it looks like he was just trying to get your attention, Aurora. He turned to his sister. "Did he even hesitate when you invited him to lunch?

"No," Aurora replied, "but he said some rather pointed things." She recounted Joshua's warning to them.

"He was just trying to make you jealous," Israel concluded. "It's a classic move. Some guys think that by acting tough and saying mean things they'll get a girl's attention. I bet he took down Leonard not for Stella, but to eliminate a rival for your affection."

"His behavior is contradictory," Coleman mused, more cautious. "We can't be sure. We should keep an eye on him. What if this is a trick to get close to you and spy for Stella?"

Israel scoffed. "Stella wasn't smart

enough to beat Rachel. You think

she can play us? If Joshua really has We have to do

feelings for her all we

tell Stella that he was the one who helped Rachel ruin her marriage. You think she'd still trust him then?"