The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1370

"If we're making up for lost birthdays, then we should make up for the gifts too," Leonard said, looking directly at Aurora. "Is that a problem?"

Leonard was twenty-nine. Did that mean she had to come up with twenty-nine gifts? Even though she had given him presents for the past few years, it would seem strange to skip over the earlier years. One gift was nothing to her, but making up for all of them… A wave of anxiety washed over Aurora. Choosing a suitable gift for Leonard each year was already a stressful ordeal. As the head of the Lerman family, any present had to be both worthy of his status and practical. In previous years, she had given him watches, lighters, ties, cologne, and wallets—all of which he had used. But now, to start from scratch… The mere thought of it triggered her indecisiveness.

"Leonard," she began, her expression strained, "perhaps I could give you one, more meaningful gift instead…"

Before she could finish, Leonard cut her off. "I've found Violet."

Aurora froze. Although Israel had announced his engagement, it was only a temporary measure to quell the scandal. He was just waiting for the storm to pass before dealing with Violet. But to do that, they had to find her first. No one wanted violence if it could be avoided; getting Violet to cooperate publicly was the ideal solution. If she refused, however, other methods would be necessary. The Williams family couldn't be directly involved, but Leonard, with his ruthless reputation, was the perfect person for the job.

Aurora had grown tired of cleaning up Israel's messes, but as members of the same family, their fates were intertwined. If she let the situation fester, her own reputation would suffer. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "If unwrapping gifts makes you happy, Leonard, then I will prepare them."

Before Leonard could retort, Joshua continued smoothly, "And you can spare me the lecture about respect. I don't like ordering, and Star happens to know what I like. We're together every day, and sometimes we're too busy to fuss over menus. It would be exhausting to have that same conversation every single meal."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Leonard and Aurora with pointed meaning. "On the other hand, Mr. Lerman and Ms. Williams have known each other for so long. Don't tell me you still don't know what the other likes to eat and have to ask every single time?"