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
Emelia's POVVictor pulled Lily inside the office and almost slammed the door shut. "Watch your tone! Do you not realize we're at work? There's no reason for you to—"Lily jerked her arm out from Victor's grasp. "Don't try and hide it!" Her voice was sharp and defiant. "I heard your conversation last night. I, for one, fully support the idea of you two getting a divorce."Her words were like a slap to my face. For a moment, I was stunned. Who the fuck did she think she was trying to air out our problems at work? No one else knew what it was I was going through and it needed to stay that way!Not to mention—it was none of her damn business anyway!"Emelia isn't good enough for you. You should've realized that a long time ago." Lily stated with confidence. "Even Aunt Bernadette was against your marriage from the very beginning! She's always been so smart; maybe you should've listened to her instead of being so stubborn and doing it on your own.""Typical." I scoffed. "You must have a six
Emelia's POV"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me like an idiot?" Lily tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. "I know you're pregnant, so don't act like you're not!"I hated having my business pried into, especially by Lily of all people. If anyone was going to know about the intimate, important details of my life, it was going to be people that I trusted. People I knew who wouldn't betray my secret or faith in them.Which Victor definitely didn't fall into that category… At least, not anymore.I shook away the thoughts and met Lily's gaze head on. "Even if I was pregnant, you definitely wouldn't be the one I'd tell. It's none of your damn business and it never will be.""So you ARE pregnant?" She took a bold step towards me."Back up if you know what's good for you!" I barked. "No, I'm not pregnant, and you're not going to trap me in this bathroom like an animal unless you want to feel my claws!"Lily narrowed her eyes at me but took a step back. "I'm watching yo
Emelia's POV"Me? Starting my own business?" I had to repeat the words back to Alexis just to make sure that's what she meant to say.Alexis laughed at my confusion. "Oh, no need to act too humble.""That's not it!" I playfully hit her. "It's just… I don't know. I've never thought about that before. It's one thing to work for another company, but owning one? That requires a little more elbow grease."Honestly, starting my own company hadn't been something that I gave much thought to. Mostly because I was too busy making sure my family and I had food on our table and a roof over our heads… After having been on survival mode for so long, even after I'd married Victor, it didn't occur to me that that was even a possibility.Plus, the thought of being a CEO of anything made me a little wary and uncomfortable. It was a lot of pressure to deal with the inner-workings of making sure a company stayed afloat.I wasn't even sure if I could handle it.Almost as if Alexis had read my mind, she re
Emelia's POVThe man's eyebrows shot up as if he weren't expecting to see me. He excused himself from whomever he was speaking to and made his way towards me with an eagerness that could only be read from his eyes.His features only confirmed that it definitely was Mason that I was looking at."What a pleasant surprise." He greeted me warmly. "I wasn't expecting to see you here.""The same can be said for you." I returned his smile. "Are you enjoying the showcase? The art and jewelry are beautiful.""Oh, absolutely. Everyone did such a splendid job. It's events like these that show you that there are diamonds in the dirt if you're patient enough to look for them."I nodded his head. "Oh, I can agree with you on that for sure. How have you been?""I've been good, thank you for asking. Although, I should be asking you that." Mason gave me a worried look. "Last we spoke, I know you weren't in a good state. You also don't seem to be looking particularly well now."I couldn't lie—his concer
Emelia's POV"Alexis?" I called out as soon as I opened the door to her house. My voice was slightly panicked given how she called me earlier, but I tried to conceal it as much as I could. "I'm home! Is everything okay?"Something about her home felt off, and it made me feel uneasy. There was a stillness that hung in the air; a type of dread. Like I was walking into bad news that was waiting to be delivered.When Alexis didn't answer me, it was getting harder to conceal my panic, as I climbed the stairs to get to her bedroom. Once I reached her door, I hesitated.I then took a deep breath and knocked a few times. "Alexis?"The door opened slowly and cautiously, almost as if Alexis was scared of who would be on the other side, despite hearing my voice. When we made eye contact, she let out her own sigh of relief before letting me in completely.For the lack of better words, Alexis looked horrible. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and her hair was also unkempt and messy. There w
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