The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1369

Soon, it seemed Stella and Joshua had reached an agreement. She held the umbrella steady as he went to the trunk to get the spare tire. Joshua worked quickly and efficiently, managing to change the tire in under five minutes despite the downpour. Even with Stella's help, he was completely soaked by the time he finished.

Once they were back in the car, Stella pulled out two clean towels from a storage compartment and handed one to Joshua. They both silently dried themselves off as Joshua turned up the heat. "Let's just get to the restaurant," he said.

The rest of the drive was silent. Upon arrival, Stella and Joshua, who both had spare clothes, went to take hot showers and change.

While they were gone, Leonard stared out the window at the rain, seemingly lost in thought. Aurora noticed his unusual quietness. "Leonard," she began softly, "is something wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood."

He turned to her, his focus returning. "No."

Leonard had been acting strangely for a while now, and Aurora couldn't figure out what was on his mind. Taking advantage of their moment alone, she asked, "Leonard, why did you suddenly decide to give Stella all the parts for the Dawnlight?" Just last week, he had sworn he wouldn't make it so easy for her.

"That car means a lot to you," he said flatly. "Why let it disappear forever over a moment of anger? Besides, your race is next month. Don't you want to drive the Dawnlight?"

Aurora stared at him, speechless. If he had the parts, he could have just rebuilt it for her himself. Why go through Stella? Was he planning to use this as an excuse to cause more trouble for her later?

As if reading her mind, Leonard asked, "Aurora, did you know Stella understood cars?"

Recalling the scene in the workshop, she replied, "No, I didn't."

"And did you know she could paint?" he pressed.

Her expression shifted slightly. "Star… knows how to paint?" Aside from knowing she played the violin, Aurora was completely unaware of Stella's other talents. She studied Leonard's face. "Leonard, how did you find out she could paint?"

He briefly recounted his encounter with her at the hospital. Aurora smiled faintly. "Perhaps Star just recently decided to take up painting."

In the past, Leonard would have said that her presence was gift enough. But today, he said something different. "Aurora, I only started celebrating my birthday with you after I became head of the family. We missed so many years before that. I want to make up for all of them. What do you think?"

His words brought a soft smile to Aurora's beautiful eyes. Leonard had been acting strangely since his recent setbacks, but he was still the same man who would do anything for her. He even wanted to celebrate the birthdays they had never shared.

"Simone told me that when you were children, you were too poor to ever celebrate birthdays," she said softly. "And after you returned to the Lerman family, you were too busy fighting for survival to even think about it. But you always made sure to get Simone a cake and a gift for her birthday."

Her expression grew earnest. "You had such a difficult past, Leonard. You absolutely should make up for all those missed celebrations."

The ice in his expression seemed to melt, a rare warmth touching his features. "Since you put it like that," he said softly, "will you give me a gift for every birthday I've missed, from the day I was born until now?"

Aurora's smile froze on her lips. "Leonard… what did you just say?"