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Summon

Penulis: Jenne Lopes
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-03-24 13:32:18

Outside, the bright spring day felt like an insult. I walked aimlessly for several blocks, my mind racing through options that dwindled with each step. Without Vega Davidson's manufacturing capabilities, I was back to creating pieces by hand in my apartment. Without their distribution channels, I was limited to online sales. Without their industry connection, I was just another independent designer making unsubstantiated claims about my talent.

By the time I reached Washington Square Park, my phone had died from the constant notifications. I sat on a bench, watching students sprawled on the grass enjoying the sunshine, their lives uncomplicated by vengeful ex-husbands or industry blacklisting.

"Quite a morning you've had."

I looked up to find Troy standing beside my bench, two coffee cups in hand. He offered one to me.

"How did you find me?"

"I didn't." He sat beside me. "I got fired too. Was walking to drown my sorrows in caffeine and spotted you looking pathetic."

"They fired you?"
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  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Golden Offer 

    Two hours later, I was dressed in Troy's idea of power attire—black cigarette pants, a structured blazer in deep emerald that somehow fit perfectly, and a silver collar necklace of my own design. My hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, makeup minimal but precise."Perfect," Troy declared, circling me critically. "Professional enough for a business dinner, fabulous enough to remind them who they're dealing with.""Which is?""A designer whose talent threatens an entire dynasty." He adjusted the collar minutely. "Remember that when you're sitting across from Grandfather Russo. You're not there because you need him—you're there because he recognizes what you're worth."I wasn't sure I believed that, but his confidence was contagious. By the time the car arrived—a sleek black sedan with tinted windows—I felt armored against whatever awaited me at the mansion.The drive was shorter than I remembered, or maybe time simply compressed with anxiety. We passed through the ornate gates that

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   New Heir

    "Because now you've proven what you can do independently." Grandfather set down his glass. "Your viral success, your partnership at Vega Davidson, your resilience in the face of systematic sabotage—you've demonstrated that your talent wasn't a fluke or a product of Russo resources. It was always you."The validation I'd craved for years, delivered now when I least expected it. I didn't trust it—couldn't trust it—but couldn't deny the hunger it awakened in me either."The board would never accept me after today's articles.""The board follows the controlling interest, which would be yours." He smiled thinly. "Besides, scandals fade. Talent doesn't."A knock at the study door interrupted us. Martha entered with a covered dinner tray, setting it on the table between us with practiced efficiency. The simple meal—pasta carbonara, my favorite—suggested Grandfather had planned this carefully, choosing comfort over impression."Consider this," Grandfather continued as Martha left. "With contr

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Ready

    "Hold still," Troy muttered around the pins in his mouth, making final adjustments to the dress he'd insisted on creating for my first public appearance since the scandal broke. "If you fidget, I'll stab you, and blood ruins silver lamé."The dress was his masterpiece—asymmetrical silver with structural elements that echoed my jewelry designs. One shoulder bare, the other draped in a metallic sleeve that caught the light when I moved. The silhouette was deceptively simple, but the details were pure Troy: hand-stitched metal beading along the neckline that mirrored my signature glass-and-metal fusion technique."It's already perfect," I said, watching him fuss with the hem."Perfection is subjective. Revenge is specific." He stood, circling me critically. "When you walk into that gala on Giuseppe Russo's arm, every person who's whispered about you these past two weeks needs to choke on their champagne."It had been sixteen days since Grandfather's offer and my acceptance. Sixteen days

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   A Public Coup

    "Giuseppe!" A tall woman in her sixties approached, air-kissing Grandfather before turning her assessing gaze on me. "And the famous Maya Russo. Or is it Maya Vega these days? I can never keep up with the rebranding.""Maya is fine, Mrs. Harrington," I replied, recognizing the owner of one of America's largest luxury retail chains."Margaret, Maya will be making an exciting announcement later this evening," Grandfather said. "One I think will interest Harrington's buyers considerably."Mrs. Harrington's perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose. "Intriguing. I look forward to it." She lowered her voice. "And may I say, my dear, that those photos did you no justice. You're far more striking in person."Before I could respond, Grandfather was steering me toward another group of ind

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-26
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   The Sister’s Appearance

    The Guild president took the stage, tapping her microphone for attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, before we move to dessert and our awards presentation, we have a special announcement." She smiled, a practiced expression that revealed nothing. "It's my honor to welcome to the stage Giuseppe Russo, founder of Russo Designs, for what I'm told is a historic moment in the company's evolution."A ripple of interest moved through the room. Unscheduled announcements at the Guild Gala were rare—the program was typically planned to the minute. I caught snippets of whispered speculation from nearby tables."—retiring perhaps?" "—heard rumors of acquisition—" "—why is she here with him instead of Daniel?"Grandfather rose with deliberate slowness, the room quieting as he made his way to the podium. The spotlights followed him, leaving the rest of the room in dramatic shadow. Even in his eighties, he commanded attention—his posture straight, his movements purposeful. He adjusted the microphone, su

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-26
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   The Goat still Fights

    Fiona stood swaying in the center of a cleared space, her designer dress rumpled, her makeup smeared. She was gesturing wildly as she spoke, voice too loud, words slurred."—just sits there, accepting awards for designs she stole! Ask anyone who really knows her work!" She spotted me and pointed dramatically. "There she is! The fraud herself!"Silence fell as every head turned toward me. I froze in the doorway, unprepared for Fiona's sudden appearance after weeks of her complete absence from my life."Maya," she called, lurching forward. "Tell them! Tell them how we worked on those designs together! Tell them how you took all the credit!"Grandfather appeared at my side. "Security is on the way," he murmured. "Say nothing."But Fiona was advancing through the crowd, her intoxication evident in her unsteady gait. "You're all being fooled! She's not a genius—she's an opportunist! First Daniel, then Alex Thorne, now Giuseppe. She sleeps her way into every opportunity!"A few uncomfortabl

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-26
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Family Matters

    I woke to the insistent buzz of my phone vibrating against the nightstand. Squinting at the screen, I saw twenty-seven missed calls, forty-two text messages, and over a hundred social media notifications. It was 7:18 AM."What the fuck," I mumbled, scrolling through the texts. Troy had sent eighteen of them, each more dramatic than the last:WAKE UPTHE VIDEO IS EVERYWHEREYOU'RE TRENDING #TeamMaya vs #TeamFionaINDUSTRY CIVIL WARCALL ME IMMEDIATELY YOU GLORIOUS VIOLENT QUEENI opened Instagram to find my feed flooded with clips of last night's confrontation. Someone had recorded Fiona's drunken accusations, Alex's defense, and my slap—the moment captured in high definition, my silver dress catching the light as my hand connected with Fiona's cheek. The most popular version had over 200,000 views already.Comments ranged from supportive to vicious:This is the energy I'm bringing to my next design review meetingRich people fighting over jewelry. Eat the rich.Russo family drama is b

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-27
  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   The Goat’s Explosion

    I stepped into the room, keeping my distance from Daniel, whose body radiated tension like heat."What matters?" I asked, though I already knew."The scene at the gala last night," Grandfather replied. "And its aftermath."Daniel made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort. "The scene? You mean her assault on Fiona in front of the entire industry?""I mean Fiona's drunken disruption of an official announcement, followed by Maya's admittedly dramatic response," Grandfather corrected. "Which has resulted in quite the media situation.""She slapped her sister across the face," Daniel said through clenched teeth. "After you ambushed me with this ridiculous 'transfer of power' stunt. The board will never—""The board has already approved the transfer," Grandfather interrupted. "The paperwork was completed yesterday afternoon. The announcement was merely a formality."Daniel's face went pale, then red again. "You did this behind my back.""I did this through proper corporate channels

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-27

Bab terbaru

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Black SUV Arrival

    "It wasn't revenge," I countered instinctively. "She was protecting me.""Was she?" Eleanor asked, voice neutral. "Or was she protecting her legacy through you? The line between protection and possession can be remarkably thin."That struck uncomfortably close to what I'd been wrestling with since finding the journal. Had Mami Lulu loved me for myself, or as a vessel for her stolen techniques? Had she been genuinely maternal, or calculating in a different way than the Kingstons?"Why are you here?" I asked, changing the subject. "What do you want?""I watched you work at the fair." Eleanor set her cup down. "It was like seeing a ghost. Not just the technical execution, which was flawless, but the intention behind it. Lupe's techniques perfectly preserved, down to the way you angle the mandrel during the final turn."I didn't respond. There was nothing to confirm or deny."When I heard someone had bought Lupe's old cabin, I wondered if it might be you. Few people would have reason to w

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging    Eleanor

    A week passed in self-imposed isolation. I'd barely left the cabin since returning from town, the memory of that black SUV creeping through Spring Creek still nagging at me. Could have been anyone—some rich tourist looking for a quaint mountain café, some lost city driver checking addresses. But instinct told me otherwise. Daniel had resources, connections. Just because he hadn't found me yet didn't mean he wasn't looking.I'd turned the place into a glass workshop that would've given safety inspectors a heart attack. Beads piled on every flat surface, tools scattered wherever I'd last dropped them. My latest obsession was taking photos of everything I made—setting pieces against the east window where the light hit best, snapping them from every angle. If someone tried to steal my work again, I'd have dates, images, proof it was mine first. Paranoid? Maybe. But paranoid people sometimes have real enemies.I'd been saving the best shots as Instagram drafts, ready to post when I finally

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Everyone gets a share

    A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. One of the staff, not bothering to wait for an answer before entering."Phone call for you, Fiona. Your mother."I followed her to the communal phone, accepting the receiver with a practiced neutral expression."Hello, Mother.""Fiona." Caroline's voice was tight, controlled. "How are you progressing?""Excellently. I'm journaling my feelings and embracing sobriety one day at a time."The sarcasm was thick enough to spread on toast, but Caroline ignored it, as she ignored anything unpleasant that couldn't be fixed with money or public relations."Good. We've arranged for you to stay at The Residence when you're released next week. It's a transitional living facility for people in recovery. Very discreet.""I thought I'd be coming home." I knew the answer even as I said it."That wouldn't be best for your recovery." The practiced line of someone who'd consulted experts for the right way to abandon their child. "Besides, your father and I are

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Displacement

    I hurled the notebook across the room, my carefully maintained composure cracking. The soccer mom—Tracy? Stacy?—jumped in her bed, eyes wide with alarm."Sorry," I muttered. "Bad memory."She nodded with the instant forgiveness of the perpetually frightened and turned back to her recovery romance novel.I closed my eyes, but the memories kept coming. The day my parents brought Maya "home." The press conference, the tearful reunion carefully staged for maximum emotional impact. Me, standing to the side, watching Caroline Kingston touch Maya's face with a reverence she'd never shown me."Look at you," she'd whispered. "You have your grandmother's eyes. We thought we'd never see them again."I'd given interviews, playing the ecstatic sister. I'd shared my room, my clothes, my parents. I'd shown her the family business, introduced her to industry contacts I'd cultivated for years. All while watching Caroline and Robert orbit around her like she was the sun and I was just some distant, dis

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Maya’s Look Alike

    FionaThe white walls of the rehab center wouldn't stop spinning. Thirty days sober and I still couldn't get my balance. The therapist said it would pass, but what the fuck did she know? She hadn't lost everything in one night.I studied my reflection in the bathroom mirror. They'd taken my makeup during the "contraband check," claiming the compact mirror was a "cutting risk." As if I'd slice my wrists with a cheap plastic mirror. If I wanted to die, I'd do it with style. Nothing half-assed for Fiona Kingston.Kingston. I traced the outline of my face, searching for traces of them in my features. Was my nose Robert's? My eyes Caroline's? I'd spent years finding family resemblance where there was none."You're making excellent progress, Fiona." Dr. Levine's voice echoed in my head, that patronizing tone she used when lying to make patients feel better. "These breakthrough revelations about your adoption are painful but necessary for healing."Breakthrough. Like I hadn't known since I w

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Her Journal

    I left without waiting for her response, clutching my earnings—just over six hundred dollars—and my remaining jewelry. Instead of heading directly to my truck, I ducked into the general store and waited near the window, watching the street. The SUV had disappeared, but my nerves remained on high alert.After fifteen minutes with no sign of the vehicle, I hurried to my truck and drove back to the cabin, taking two wrong turns just to make sure I wasn't followed.Back at the cabin, I tried to research "Vega technique" and "Lupe Vega" online, but the internet connection was spotty at best, and my searches yielded little useful information. A few obscure references to innovative glass bead techniques from the 1980s. A mention in an archived design magazine about "promising newcomer Lupe Vega." Nothing that definitively connected this designer to my Mami

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Black SUV

    I spent the afternoon gathering supplies, then worked through the night preparing pieces for the fair. I created six more complete jewelry sets, each built around those distinctive spiral beads. By dawn, I had enough inventory to fill a small display, if not a full booth.I arrived at the square precisely at eight, carrying a folding table I'd found in the cabin's shed and a wooden tray that displayed my pieces against dark velvet. A few other vendors were already setting up, arranging pottery or paintings or handwoven textiles. Eleanor pointed me to a corner spot beneath a massive oak tree, the dappled shade perfect for displaying jewelry without harsh glare."You have your own table. Good." Her tone was clipped, but not unfriendly. "Need anything else?""I'm all set, thanks."She nodded and moved on, but I noticed her watching me from time to time as I arranged my pieces. Something about her attention felt oddly specific, though I couldn't place why.I wondered if she recognized me.

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Getting a Booth

    Two weeks passed in a blur. I'd fallen into a routine that felt both new and achingly familiar. Wake with the sun. Coffee on the porch. Hike the overgrown trails that surrounded the cabin until my legs ached. Sketch whatever caught my eye—a particular twist of tree branch, the pattern of lichen on stone, the way light filtered through pine needles. Then work with glass until my fingers were raw and my back screamed from hunching over the flame.I'd cleaned out the workshop properly now, scrubbing years of dust and grime from every surface. I'd cataloged all the supplies, surprised by how much Mami Lulu had left behind. Hundreds of glass rods in every imaginable color. Tools in pristine condition, despite the years of neglect. A small kiln that, miraculously, still worked when I plugged it into the generator I'd bought during my first supply run to town.The cabin itself had transformed too. I'd scrubbed every surface, repaired what I could with my limited skills, and arranged my meage

  • Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging   Trying Again

    I spent the next several hours continuing the cleaning I'd started yesterday—more sweeping, more scrubbing, removing sheets from the bedroom furniture I hadn't gotten to yet. After more fiddling with the water system, I finally located the main valve outside and, after several attempts, managed to get the old pipes to deliver rust-colored water that eventually ran clear. The electricity was another matter—apparently disconnected long ago—but I'd come prepared with battery-powered lanterns and the camping stove I'd used last night.By mid-afternoon, I was filthy, sweaty, and oddly satisfied. The bedroom was now reasonably clean to match the progress I'd made in the main room yesterday, the bathroom was functional if primitive, and I'd aired out more of the musty odor. My arms ached from scrubbing and carrying water, but the physical exhaustion felt good—clarifying, somehow.I dragged an old wooden chair onto the front porch and collapsed into it, watching as the sun began its descent t

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