The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 2067

"It's beautiful."

The man's smooth, resonant voice came abruptly from behind her.

Stella turned around. Seeing Joshua standing there, she blinked in surprise before pulling herself back to reality.

She checked her watch and realized two entire hours had slipped by.

She had been so absorbed in the work that she had completely forgotten he was even in the room.

And Joshua hadn't made a single sound to interrupt her.

Stella looked at him, standing quietly to the side. "Sorry, I was completely zoned out. I forgot to go over the final design details with you."

Joshua didn't mind at all. He just smiled. "You look as stunning when you work as the designs you paint."

Stella awkwardly averted her eyes.

She checked the time again. "Let's call it a day. A design like this takes more than a day or two to finish."

"That works. Just let me know the next time you come in," Joshua said.

Stella agreed.

Just as she was about to pack up, Joshua seemed to remember something. "Where did you put the things you gathered from my car the other day?"

"They're locked in the cabinet over here," Stella said. "Did you want to take them with you?"

"Mhm," Joshua hummed.

Stella unlocked the metal cabinet and handed the neatly organized items back to him.

"Take a look, Mr. Gardner. Make sure nothing is missing."

Joshua gave the pile a cursory glance. "Nothing of high value was in there anyway. It should be fine."

Seeing that he didn't really care, Stella was about to say her goodbyes when he suddenly picked up a small velvet box.

"What is this?"

Stella's breath hitched.

"I was getting hypnotized because of my severe migraines," Joshua continued. "Laurel and Beckett told me I lost about two years of my memories. In the memories I do have, this ring doesn't exist. Which means it must be tied to the memories I lost."

Stella's fingers curled into tight fists.

"This is a woman's ring, engraved with my initials," Joshua mused. "Which means the person who owned it was likely my girlfriend, or my fiancée."

Stella forced herself to keep her composure. "Did Beckett or Laurel... ever mention her to you?"

"No."

Stella didn't know how to respond, so she kept her mouth shut.

Joshua didn't seem to care whether she answered or not. Staring at the ring, he said lightly, "Though, there are only two reasons why they wouldn't tell me."

"Which are?" Stella asked instinctively.

"The first is that she was extremely important to me, and they didn't want me chasing after memories that could hurt me, so they kept quiet."

"And the second?" Stella asked.