chapter1864

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

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

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

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

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

Stella looked at him. "Did you plan 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 plan. 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," Stella 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 Stella'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."

Stella wanted to ask what his plan was, but she held her tongue.

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

A few days later, Stella received a call from Abby Murphy.

"Star, I just landed. Where are you? I'll come find you."

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

Abby laughed. "I saw the news about Aurora. I figured you've been busy lately and didn't want you to waste time on me."

"Everything's settled down now, so I'm not as busy as before," Stella 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 hour later, Stella and Abby met at the entrance of a mall.

Stella 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 Stella's. "Star, I knew you were

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

"Speaking of which," Stella said, "Abby, are you really not planning 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?"

Stella 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 fianc ."

The reason Abby hadn't had a boyfriend in so many years was related 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 claimed to be his childhood sweetheart and fianc e-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 relationship, Abby didn't want any trouble and quickly cut off all contact with him.