Ste wasn''t entirely convinced. "Is that what happened?"


    "Yes. I have no reason to lie to you."


    Joshua walked over to Ste and gently pulled her into an embrace before changing the subject. "What was the oue of today''s meeting?"


    Ste replied, "The shareholders have unanimously voted to remove Aurora from The Williams Group. It won''t be easy for her toe back now."


    Joshua nodded slightly. "She''s basically no longer a threat to you."


    Ste looked at him. "Did you n everything that happened at Aurora''s engagement party? And... did you arrange for the Fordham brothers to be there?"


    "I only let them know that Aurora was getting married," Joshua said. "What they would do if they came, and what would happen after they arrived, was not part of my n. I had no idea what cards they were holding. To be honest, I was just taking a shortcut. I never expected it to be so effective."


    He had to admit, the Fordham brothers were ruthless.


    "Joshua," Ste said, "thank you for doing so much for me."


    But Joshua replied, "You don''t have to thank me, Star. I didn''t just do it for you; I did it for myself. Anyone who stands in our way should be eliminated. Next, it''s Sellers''s turn."


    At the mention of Sellers, a flicker of hesitation crossed Ste''s face.


    "But, what about Mr. Burton..."


    Joshua took her hand. "Don''t worry about Mr. Burton. I won''t put you in a difficult position."


    Sensing her concern, he added, "Besides, I''m still setting things up. We''ll need to wait a little longer."


    Ste wanted to ask what his n was, but she held her tongue.


    They chatted for a few more minutes before Ste''s phone rang. She still had some work to do, so after letting Joshua know, she went back to her study.


    A few dayster, Ste received a call from Abby Murphy.


    "Star, I justnded. Where are you? I''lle find you."


    Ste was a bit surprised. "Abby, why didn''t you tell me you wereing back? I would have picked you up from the airport."


    Abbyughed. "I saw the news about Aurora. I figured you''ve been busytely and didn''t want you to waste time on me."


    "Everything''s settled down now, so I''m not as busy as before," Ste said. After all, she had been working at The Williams Group for over a year, and her capabilities were widely recognized. Most of the shareholders now supported her.


    "That''s great!" Abby said. "We haven''t seen each other in a while. I have so much to tell you!"


    An hourter, Ste and Abby met at the entrance of a mall.


    Ste said to Abby, "We made a promise that whoever got married first, the other would be their maid of honor for my wedding with Joshua, you''re definitely it. I''ll help you pick out a dress in a bit. You can choose whatever you want, my treat."


    Abby''s face lit up, and she looped her arm through Ste''s. "Star, I knew you were


    the best! I won''t hold back, then!"


    "Speaking of which," Ste said, "Abby, are you really not nning on getting married?"


    Here she was, about to get married for the second time, and Abby didn''t even have a boyfriend.


    At the mention of it, Abby''s expression soured. "Star," she asked, "do you remember Melody Vasquez?"


    Ste recalled the name almost instantly. "That spoiled rich girl? What about her? Did you run into her again?"


    Abby looked exasperated. "Yeah, I ran into that psycho Melody again, along with her annoying fiancé."


    The reason Abby hadn''t had a boyfriend in so many years was rted to an incident in college. Abby, being outgoing and friendly met a guy from the business school at a mixer. He was very interested in her, asked for her number, and took her out to dinner a few times. He was handsome, charming, and well-spoken. Like her, he was also from Novaris, and Abby found herself quite taken with him However, before they could make things official, Melody-who imed to be his childhood sweetheart and fiancée-showed up and verbally assaulted Abby with all sorts of warnings.


    It was only then that Abby learned the guy came from a wealthy family. The incident caused quite a stir at the time, Although Melody and the guy weren''t actually in a rtionship, Abby didn''t want any trouble and quickly cut off all contact with him.