Israel said, "Ste got married and had a child five years ago. Her ex-husband was none other than the famous Haynes from Novaris."
Aurora and Coleman were both stunned.
Aurora was the first to find her voice. "Raven was married? And she has a child?"
Coleman added, "Ex-husband? They divorced that quickly?"
Israel nodded. "Yes, they separated not long ago. The reason, as far as I know, was that Haynes couldn''t let go of his first love."
He paused, then continued, "After Dad found out he had a grandson, he was absolutely thrilled. Right now, he''s preparing a gift for Ste''s son to give when they meet."
Aurora''s brow furrowed in disbelief. "The O''Brien Group is a major powerhouse in Novaris. How did Raven manage to marry Haynes?"
She didn''t spell it out, but everyone in the room understood what she meant. With Ste''s background, it should have been almost impossible for her to marry into the Haynes family. Old-money families cared about social standing more than anything, especially when it came to someone as distinguished as Haynes.
Suddenly, Israel said, "If she was the daughter of the Williams family, then marrying Haynes wouldn''t have been a stretch at all."
Aurora and Coleman exchanged nces, immediately grasping his implication. Coleman pressed, "You mean she told Haynes her real identity a long time ago?” Israel replied, "If she wasn''t a Williams, there''s no way Haynes would have married her. Even if she got pregnant first, he would have made her terminate the pregnancy."
"Pregnant before marriage?" Coleman picked up on that detail, his tone sharp. "She got pregnant out of wedlock? How could she do something so shameless?"
He remembered something. "Last time, she imed someone was smearing her name. But now it seems she was the one seducing Sherman all along."
"Coleman, let''s not rehash the past," Aurora cut in, steering the conversation away. "If she was pregnant before they married, then it makes sense-once Haynes learned her true identity, he wouldn''t dare cross the Williams family. That''s probably why he married Raven."
Israel nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with her assessment. "Even if she did manage to marry Haynes, the gap between their backgrounds is huge. They see the worldpletely differently—it was doomed from the start."
Aurora offered a correction. "Israel, Raven and Haynes are actually well-matched in social standing."
Israel gave a wry smile. "The difference isn''t just about money. They grew up inpletely different worlds. The chance of them truly connecting was always slim. After that failed marriage, she finally realized how much better off she is with family."
He went on, "Recently, our oldest brother and Dad have been talking about bringing her back from
Novaris. After all she''s been through, I hope she can finally understand her ce."
...
Two dayster, Ste received a call from Antoney Watson.
"Star, I managed to get an invitation to Mr. Walden''s music symposium. I''ll have someone deliver it to you tomorrow."
Ste asked instinctively, "What about you? Aren''t you going?"
"I only have the one ticket," Antoney replied, his voice low. "I''ve attended plenty of
events like this. You need the opportunity more than I do."
Unlike someone like Haynes, who could pull strings and get an invitation with a single call, Antoney didn''t have that kind of influence.
This one ticket was the best he
could do.
"Antoney, you should keep it," Ste said gently. "I already have an invitation."
Antoney was surprised. "Star, how did you manage that?"
Ste exined in detail how she''d gotten the invitation from Noah.
Antoney was silent for a long moment after her story.
"Star, I''m sorry."
Ste was puzzled. "Antoney?"
His voice was heavy with guilt. "You''ve gone through so muchtely, and I haven''t
been able to help at all. I''m sorry, Star. I just feel so useless."
Ste couldn''t help butugh. "Antoney, why are you saying things like that?"