chapter1883
"Aurora's pregnancy basically gave him the perfect excuse to step up.
"He... he really is in love with her."
Stella fell silent.
When someone is truly in love, they'll unconsciously invent every excuse in the book to justify their partner's worst actions.
After ending the call, Stella kept her eyes cast downward, turning the new information over in her mind.
Just then, someone wrapped their arms around her from behind.
"Star, what's on your mind? You look a million miles away."
Stella turned her head and looked at Joshua. "My dad just called. He said Aurora and McCoy got their marriage license. The families are having dinner together this weekend."
Joshua raised an eyebrow, not looking particularly surprised.
He simply remarked, "I figured McCoy would hold out a bit longer. I didn't expect him to cave this fast."
"Lauretta told me Aurora is pregnant," Stella said softly.
A look of clear realization washed over Joshua's face. "With her reputation completely trashed, marrying well was off the table. But now that she's pregnant, Skyler would move heaven and earth to force the Chapman family to take responsibility.
"Because, right now, the Chapman family is the absolute best she's ever going to do.
"It's a good thing Sellers is currently missing, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Stella asked.
Joshua's dark eyes glinted with an unfathomable depth. "Otherwise, Aurora could have easily used that baby to string both Sellers and McCoy along."
Catching the dark implication in his words, Stella was taken aback.
"Are you saying that Aurora and Sellers were..."
Stella's shock was entirely justified. Aurora had always been fiercely protective of her image. She might have kept a stable of admirers on the hook, but very few had ever crossed the line into anything physical.
Even her tangled mess with the Fordham Group brothers back in the Delta made a twisted kind of sense she was doing it to stay alive.
But Stella never would have guessed that after getting involved with McCoy, Aurora was still fooling around with Sellers.
Joshua pulled her a little closer.
"Star, the world isn't as kind as you
want it to be. There are plenty of people out there who will do absolutely anything to get what they want."
"Don't worry," Joshua added smoothly. "I'll handle this mess for you."
Stella's heart gave a violent lurch, a sudden, powerful wave of anxiety washing over her.
"Joshua, we don't have any real bad blood with the Chapman family. And Lauretta is
a close friend. Please tell me you aren't going to go after them."
Any help McCoy had offered Aurora had strictly been defensive providing security and sending people to look for her when she went missing.
His actions hadn't directly threatened Stella's interests in the slightest.
Joshua looked down, his dark eyes meeting hers as a faint smile touched his lips.
"Star, the Chapman family's
influence in Solmaris is far deeper
than you realize And McCoy isnt a
ruthless operator like Leonard or Sellers. Why would I ever target him?"
Hearing him phrase it like that, Stella felt her tension ease just a fraction.
Joshua didn't just have money and muscle; his intellect was entirely unmatched.
If he ever truly took the gloves off, Stella honestly couldn't imagine anyone being able to stop him.
...
The weekend arrived in a flash.
Joshua attended the Chapman family dinner seamlessly in his role as Stella's fianc .
When Skyler had caught wind of Stella and Joshua's impending marriage, he hadn't put up a single fight.
After all, it didn't matter how loud he ed; Stella wasn't going to listen to him anyway.
Plus, having Joshua officially tied to
the family was guaranteed to bring
major benefits to The Williams
Group, so Skyler simply washed his
hands of the matter.
Because the dust still hadn't settled from Aurora's massive scandal, the dinner was
hosted privately at the Chapman estate to keep a low profile.
The smiles plastered on McCoy's parents' faces were visibly strained.
They clearly hadn't wanted to welcome Aurora into their family.