Chapter 2 Rip Him Off

She said it firmly with confidence in her eyes. Before she could say more, Zachary's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he frowned and answered, "What's up?"

The voice on the other end spoke, and he immediately responded, "I'll be there right away." Without a second glance at Joey, he left the bedroom.

Joey huffed but stayed silent. Sleep was impossible now. She got up, packed her bags, and signed the divorce agreement. After leaving it on the coffee table, she left the apartment.

Selena leaned against the car with her legs crossed and her demeanor casual. When she saw Joey carrying a small suitcase, she stood upright. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously? Is this all you're taking?"

Joey casually put her bag in the trunk and got into the passenger seat. "The rest are all just material possessions. At least for now, I'm free."

Selena seemed doubtful. "Are you really getting a divorce?"

Joey shrugged nonchalantly. "Time to put away the lovey-dovey stuff and go for a fresh start."

Selena knew better than to press for more details and just turned the steering wheel. She couldn't help but curse, "Damn, Zachary is so loaded. Why didn't you rip him off?"

Joey shrugged dismissively. "His fortune is all pre-marital property. I wouldn't dare to covet it."

Zachary was actually quite generous financially. If they strictly divided their assets according to the law, she could have gotten much more than just a few billion. However, she had never been interested in his money.

Selena quickly changed the topic. "The divorce might be a good thing. The studio is swamped with orders.

"My back is about to break from all the work. With all the work I'm doing, others might even think that the studio belongs to me alone."

After graduation, Joey and Selena teamed up to start a fashion design studio known as Emmen Fashion. The name, which sounded similar to "eminence," conveys a sense of superiority and excellence.

Selena was a business whiz, and Joey was a genius designer. So the studio thrived.

However, Joey became a homemaker after marrying Zachary during the peak of her career. So Emmen Fashion had been solely managed by Selena, while Joey worked on designs behind the scenes.

Selena had focused entirely on the business, and with her exceptional skills, had transformed Emmen Fashion into a high-end private clothing design studio. Joey, under the pseudonym "Chloe," was the studio's only designer and a semi-partner, gaining recognition in elite circles.

With the divorce from Zachary, she had practically walked away with nothing. Now, she had to think about making a living.

She had initially planned to return to the studio, but she perked up when Selena mentioned the pending orders.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I give you plenty of design sketches? Why are there still pending orders?"

Selena felt an impending headache at the thought of that.

"You have no idea how demanding those high-society ladies and celebrities are. They can't have the same pattern or color as anyone else, so each design has to be unique. The design drawings you gave last time were only enough for the previous orders."

"I got a bit greedy and accepted a few extra advance orders ..." She gestured with her fingers. "Just a few."

Joey asked in a concerned tone, "What's 'a few'?"

Selena grinned. "Just ... 66 orders." After a pause, she added, "Gowns." Her voice was noticeably softer than before.

Joey took a deep breath. She had initially been considering where she should put up. But now, she'd most likely be bunking up at the studio.

Having 66 orders meant two months of work, even if she produced a design every single day. And she still had to deal with the detailed material checks. She probably wouldn't have time to relax until the end of the year.

Leaning back in the passenger seat, she realized she had been doing too little apart from designing during her years of marriage. "Selena, you've worked hard these past few years."

Selena brushed it off. "Oh, don't mention it! Besides, my efforts are useless without your designs. We're a team from now on.

"Forget everything else. I mean, seriously, those young male celebs in the entertainment biz are better looking than Zachary and way stronger!"

As she vented her frustrations, Selena looked incredibly serious. "I'll make that scumbag, Zachary, kneel before you and beg for you to come back sooner or later."

Joey managed to flash her first genuine smile since yesterday.

At the mention of Zachary, his annoying face once again popped into her mind. Other than being good-looking, he had nothing to offer.

However, she knew that Julia occupied his entire heart and that he wished to get rid of Joey as soon as possible.

"Beg me to get back to him? Not a chance." Joey rolled her eyes as she thought.

"Can you not jinx me?" She had no intention of getting entangled with Zachary again.

Emmen Fashion was located on Eldian Street. It had grown from a single storefront to a row of spaces covering over 4000 square feet. They had even hired several assistants.

Selena dropped Joey off and rushed for a business trip.

She specifically mentioned, "We might have a big client coming in the next few days. They've been wanting custom outfits for their celebrities for a long time. Your timing is perfect."

Joey assured her, "Don't worry. You can leave these matters to me from now on."

There was a dedicated lounge on the second floor of the studio. Joey unpacked and arranged a temporary place for herself to stay. She quickly got to work with the information provided by her assistant.

Immersing herself in work was the only way to momentarily forget about the divorce. After working day and night for three days, she finally managed to rush the urgent drafts to the sample makers.

She was about to lie down when her assistant hurriedly approached and said, "Ms. Linton, we have a client we can't handle."