Emelia's POVI was silent on the drive back to Alexis's home since I was still in shock. The strong heartbeat of my unborn child echoed in my mind. It was all so clear—I was having a baby! It was such a surreal feeling to know that I was becoming a mother.Alexis's enthusiastic voice pulled me from my thoughts. Luckily, she was talking enough for us both, but I figured I needed to be a good friend and listen to what she said."You know, your pregnancy gives me a good reason to clean out that spare room!" Alexis's smile was wide. "I've always wanted to decorate a little nursery!""And what ideas did you have in mind?" I asked."Something to do with animals for sure! Hippos, tigers, and elephants; all of them! Obviously in an art style that's proper for children. I wasn't sure if I wanted decals or to have them painted on, but I wanted the walls to be a light green." Alexis tapped at her steering wheel. "Plus, I figured that animals are loved by both boys and girls. It'll work out whenev
Emelia's POVThe thoughts in my mind ran at a million miles an hour.Should I tell Victor that he was about to be a father? Should I tell him about how I had my first prenatal check-up, and how the baby's heartbeat was strong? Should I tell him about how I was already ten weeks along?Even though I was planning to divorce him, I didn't want my child to grow up without their father. He may not have been a good husband, but what if he was a better father?A part of me didn't want to make such a rash decision based on the possibility of him maybe being a better father than husband. At the end of the day, I knew that if—or rather, when—I decided to divorce him, even if we amicably agreed to become co-parents, that meant my child would have to be raised by Lily, too.The thought alone boiled my blood. Her manipulativeness would've extended to this sweet life growing inside me, and the last thing I wanted for the unborn child was for them to be tainted.Just as I was about to give Victor a
Emelia's POV"Are you really going to go through with it, Em?"Alexis was reading over the email I'd received from my divorce lawyer. Her expression was one of astonishment, as her eyebrows were raised. Despite everything I'd gone through, she probably thought that maybe I wasn't actually going to go through with it.I nodded my head as I took my phone back. "I am. I have to. Especially with this baby on the way, I need them to grow up without malicious outside influences tainting their life."Alexis smiled tenderly as she placed her hand on my shoulder. "Don't let Victor manipulate you out of doing what's right, or let Lily walk all over you. And no matter what happens, you know I'm here for you a hundred percent of the way."There truly was no way of thanking Alexis for her unwavering support in all of this. If anything, it was what gave me the courage to finally go through with this divorce.It was time for me to end things and move on to a life I could be happy and proud of.I had
Emelia's POV"Victor, you're starting to scare me..." Lily whimpered. "Why don't you believe me? Why are you getting angry with me?"I stood in disbelief at Victor's change in behavior over Lily. He'd only vehemently come to my defense once after my accident, but even then, he folded against Lily's and Bernadette's constant pressuring.If anything, I was even more confused. Something had to have happened to their relationship."You want to know why I'm angry with you?" Victor asked Lily. He seemed unmoved by her dramatics today. "Tell me, Lily—what happened to you while I was on my trip at Blasdell with Emelia?""I fell down the stairs and broke my leg! You know that. Why are you even asking me?""Do you remember the name of the doctor who took care of you?"There was a long pause as Lily's features changed rapidly. Confusion. Realization. Hesitation.It should've been a simple question to answer, but it was as if her answer was going to unravel a secret she wanted hidden.Curiosity pi
Emelia's POV"Tell me, Victor!" Lily screamed. "Are you really going to abandon me now?! After everything we've gone through? After everything you promised me?!"Victor fell silent and while his eyes remained on Lily, there was less conviction behind them. It was like he was regretting bringing up the truth at all.I knew what happened then—she found his weakness.She was weaponizing his guilt over her health, and had it dangled above his head like a knife. In her mind, she thought that the truth didn't matter because she knew he was duty-bound to all the promises he made to her in their past.And honestly, I figured that was what was going to be the case.Despite how many times he'd said "sorry" to me, all of his energy would go into prioritizing Lily anyway. No matter what, he showed that he cared for her enough that he'd neglect his own wife.Lily noticed Victor's troubled expression, while he wrestled with his internal struggle, as a triumphant smirk spread across her lips. She rea
Emelia's POVThe air around us grew cold, as the expression on Victor's face froze. I watched his eyes dart from me to the divorce papers, like he hadn't fully comprehended what I asked of him. Maybe he didn't think I was speaking English."You can't be serious right, Em?" Victor finally broke the tense silence. "Please, let's talk about this and be reasonable. I understand why you're upset, but I've realized the truth now. Doesn't that count for something?"I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. "Like that's supposed to undo everything you've done?""I'm not trying to undo anything, Em. I admit to my mistakes. I lied to you about my relationship with Lily, and I prioritized her over you." Victor unraveled my crossed arms and took my hand in his. "It made me doubt you when I shouldn't have."I took my hand back from him. Even though he'd held me not long ago, his touch still felt so wrong. "That's not why I'm divorcing you."Victor raised a brow. "Then I don't understand…" He
Emelia's POV"I-I don't understand the question." Victor stammered. "Do I love you? Sense of duty? Grandpa's expectations?" He pushed out an exasperated, almost panicked breath of air. "What are you asking me? What are you trying to say?"The last fragile flicker of hope I had left in me was extinguished at that moment.FUCK!Why?! Why couldn't he admit his feelings for me? Did they not exist after all this time? Had I truly not held any part of his heart? Had I not made my home in it after all these years?The tightness in my chest grew and suddenly it was getting harder for me to breathe. "Get out…" My voice was strained as I struggled to hold onto my composure."Em… I—" Victor hesitated. His eyes flickered to me and then away while he tried to search for something to say."Get. OUT!" My nostrils flared as my body shook.The sound of someone barging through my door both startled and enraged me. For a moment, I thought it was Lily. I definitely wasn't in the mood for her antics and I
Emelia's POV"I accept the challenge, Trevor." My words were laced with confidence and conviction. "I can only hope to make you and myself proud with my work."Trevor's smile was wide and bright. "I have no doubts in my mind that you'll be the one to come out on top. There's a reason your design was chosen for next season's flagship after all. Even if it's Lily "managing" the project, it's yours at its core. It's nothing without you."Trevor's encouraging words were instilling me with a confidence I was sure I'd lost the night I confronted Victor about the divorce. It finally felt as if there was a new light emerging from the darkness I'd fallen into.It didn't matter if I didn't have Victor's "support." It was clear there were other people who were genuinely in my corner, and who wanted to see me succeed.Plus, I couldn't quit now. Even though I wanted to, I knew I had to endure this place for the sake of my career.I'd make my break soon."I'll be sure to email you more of the detail
Victor's POV"Maybe you should consider remarrying, Victor." My mother suggested not-so-subtlety. "It's about time you found yourself a woman who was actually worthy of you. Really! I have no idea what you even saw in that Emelia woman."I'd only been home for ten minutes, and my mother was already lecturing me on moving on and trying to find another wife.After having to clean up Lily's mess and narrowly securing her spot in Ezra's competition, the last thing I wanted to hear was her criticism of Emelia.Seeing Em again today… Her indifference, her coldness towards me and Lily… It was like looking at a whole different person."Victor!" My mother called for me. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. "Are you even listening to me?"I shook my head. "Sorry… Today's been a busy day, and I've had a lot on my mind.""Well, I'm sorry, son, but I'm going to need you to get it together!" She placed her hands on her hips. "The investors are starting to get worried because of this whole fiasco wi
Emelia's POV"Alexis?" I asked in a panicked tone. "What happened? Is everything alright? Are you safe?"Alexis had always been the epitome of strength and confidence. To hear her voice be void of those two things was jarring and worrying.I knew she'd been a little off, but she'd refused to tell me anything. Now hearing her like this—so small and scared—had my heart quickening."I-I think I'm fine…" Alexis's tone wasn't convincing. "I… I just really need you to come home and just… be here.""I'll be right there! I promise. I'll call you when I'm on the way.""O-okay. Don't be long, okay?""I won't."I turned back to Lady Ruby and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but there's an emergency that's come up, and I have to leave."Lady Ruby shook her head and rose from the desk. "Go handle your business first, sweetie. We'll have more opportunities to discuss things in the future. I've gone ahead and forwarded your information to my secretary, Alice. We'll be in touch soon.""Thank
Emelia's POV"You're resorting to cheating accusations now?" Victor's words lit a fire in my chest as heat flooded my cheeks. "That's rich coming from you!"In the wise words of my best friend—if men had one thing, it was the audacity!Victor may not have cheated on me outright, but him choosing Lily over me countless times and allowing her to step all over me was certainly no better.Was this outrageous claim meant to make him feel better about our divorce? Was he still in denial about his actions being what led us here? Was this his twisted way of coping?I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. THIS was ridiculous and exhausting!"What are you laughing at?!" Lily's nostrils flared. "No wonder why you were so eager to divorce Victor! All those horrible things you said to him and overexaggerating his "mistreatment" of you—it was all a front to disguise your real actions!""You'd know a thing or two about disguises wouldn't you, Lily?" I asked in a mocking tone. "You
Emelia's POV"You're Lady Ezra Ruby?!" We all asked in unison as our faces displayed an equal measure of shock."The one and only!' Lady Ruby curtsied with a wide smile. "When my secretary told me that we had more applicants for this year's competition, I rushed back from my hair appointment. I'll be honest, I'm very pleased with the turnout.""Well…" Her eyes dragged over to Lily as a frown tugged down the corners of her lips. "Most of the turnout."I watched as the crowd around us bowed their heads in respect, and not looking at Lady Ruby directly. The power she exuded could be felt around us—it commanded our respect.But her displeasure with Lily was also palpable. The air around her was sharp, tense. She wanted us to know that slighting her was a mistake for one's career without saying it.Lily dropped to her knees as she scrambled at Lady Ruby's feet. "M-miss Ruby, I—""It's Lady Ruby." She interrupted sharply as her gaze remained intensely on the groveling girl at her feet. "Firs
Emelia's POV"S-she's lying!" Lily stammered as her eyes widened in shock. "That old hag is lying! She doesn't actually have proof at all!"The older woman scoffed and held her phone high in the air as she played back the video she captured.Right there for everyone to see, was the video of my encounter with Lily. From her blocking my way when I was trying to walk away, her grabbing my wrist, and then her charging for me before falling to the ground when I stepped out of her way.The crowd and I stood in a stunned silence.I just couldn't believe it—a completely random stranger had stood up for me! Not only did she not fall for Lily's lies, but she even had proof! It almost felt like I was dreaming.Suddenly, the crowd's murmurs escalated once more, but this time, their anger was directed towards Lily. The three strangers that accosted me earlier and tried to accuse me bowed their heads at me."I'm sorry… I really didn't know!' One said."At least the truth finally came to light…" The
Emelia's POV"You're kind of pathetic, you know." Lily laughed. "You were the one to divorce Victor, and leave his company, but you're still entering this competition in hopes of staying close to him? Just give him up already!"I narrowed my eyes, the blood in my veins felt as if it was about to boil over. Just the mere sight of her made my resentment towards her grow.She was the cause of all my pain and suffering. She was the reason why I no longer had a husband or a child to love.If we weren't out in a public space, I would've slapped the hell out of her. But I had to compose myself as best as I could do.The last thing I wanted to do was make a scene when I was supposed to be meeting one of the most important people in this industry."Delusional as always." I scoffed. "Do you truly have nothing better to do than to annoy me like some fly? Leave me alone."I turned to walk away, but not before Lily rushed to block my path. As I got a closer look at her, I noticed just how much bett
Emelia's POV"So… Is everything okay between you and Mason?" Alexis asked as she was washing the dishes.I nodded as I was packing away the decorations. "Yeah, everything's fine between us. He was just a little taken aback by my decision to start my own business.""Oh, jeez… Was he trying to pressure you into reconsidering the job offer? Was he being a douchebag about it? I was just starting to like him!"I couldn't help but laugh at Alexis's protectiveness. "Relax! Quite the opposite actually. He's confident in my abilities and has actually offered to help me with anything I need for the business.""Oh? Is that so?"I turned to look at a mischievously smiling Alexis as she wiggled her eyebrows at me. Luckily, Mason had to leave a little early due to a work meeting, so he wasn't here to witness what Alexis was implying."Oh… Don't start!" I could feel my cheeks getting hot. "I'm just barely getting out of my divorce with Victor. The last thing I want to think about is another relations
Emelia's POV"I have a surprise for you, by the way." Mason smiled widely at me just as we pulled into Alexis's driveway."You're full of those, aren't you?" I teased."I can be. But I had some help with this one.""What do you mean by that?"Mason motioned for me to follow him as he knocked on the door.Without missing a beat, it swung wide open, and Alexis stood on the other side with a party hat and a wide grin."HAPPY DIVORCE DAY!" Alexis squealed as she grabbed me by the arm and ushered me inside.Her living room had golden garlands hanging from the ceiling, with black and white balloons tied across various pieces of furniture. Confetti trailed to her kitchen, and in the middle, sat a big, white cake. The top was decorated with a bride dragging the groom by his collar, and in bold letters was written:TAKING OUT THE TRASH!I couldn't help but laugh. "What is all this?""We're celebrating your freedom day! Duh!" Alexis beamed as she hugged me."And you were in on this, too?" I rai
Emelia's POV"I wish it hadn't come to this..." Victor said in a low, saddened tone. "I would've given you the world."At one point, Victor was my world. My considerate, although stubborn world.If only he hadn't been so blind. Hadn't been so foolish.All he had to do was say three words; he could've given me the reassurance I'd wanted all this time. He could've stayed true to his promises instead of taking advantage of me.But it was clear that this was nothing more than just an obligation to him. There was no affection, no love.I shook my head. "I had the world. They were growing inside my belly; so innocent and pure. Now with them gone, I want nothing more than to be done with whatever this was supposed to be."Victor winced at my words, the reminder of our dead child like a whip against flesh. With trembling hands, his signature still came so smooth against the creme-colored paper of our divorce agreement.When he handed me back the papers, it felt like a weight had been lifted of