When Dawn Breaks, All is Calm

After Quinn Ward, the daughter of Jake Fisher’s mentor, became pregnant, he asked me for a divorce.

“The girl’s reputation matters. It’s just for show. Don’t overthink it.”

Even my own son, Spencer Fisher, chimed in, “We should repay in kind. Besides, that’s Dad’s child, too. Mom, don’t make things hard for him.”

Just when everyone thought I would make a scene, I simply nodded. I went through with the paperwork and then married Luca Ziegler, the man who had once saved my life.

In my previous life, because I had refused the divorce, Jake and Spencer abandoned me and left for another country. After that, I became a laughingstock, and my life fell apart. So this time, I agreed to the divorce and disappeared from their world.

That was until six years later, at an exclusive luxury cruise party, Jake and Spencer pushed through the dancing crowd and grabbed my wrist, furious.

“Didn’t I say it was just for show? Where have you been all these years?”

I was slightly startled. Before I could respond, a little girl crashed into my arms.

“Mommy, who are you talking to? Daddy’s looking for you.”

…

The next time I saw Jake, I was standing on the deck in a satin mermaid gown, sipping a drink. I had been up until midnight finishing some design the night before, so I hadn’t planned to show up. However, as the hostess of the cruise, I had no choice.

I sighed. Just as I raised my glass, hurried footsteps sounded behind me. The next second, I was suddenly pulled around. Both Jake and I froze. His eyes were wide as he stared at me in disbelief.

“Emma, it really is you. Where have you been all these years?”

My expression remained calm. Before I could answer, Quinn, who was standing beside him, let out a dramatic gasp.

“Emma, you’re so thin now! You used to be so overweight that you were too afraid to show your face.”

Spencer burst out laughing. It had been years since I last saw him, and he had grown much taller. However, the arrogant look on his face was the same as Quinn’s.

Having caught the implication in her words, he sneered. “Mom, you’re trying to be Quinn again. But what’s the point? You can’t be a model anyway.”

His tone was hateful, just like the countless times in the past when he mocked me for being fat, stupid, and nothing more than a housewife with no charm of her own. What he didn’t know was that before I got married, I had been one of the rising prodigies in the fashion industry. Major fashion houses had extended invitations, hoping I would design for them. Yet, everything changed after I got married.

Jake had constantly accused me of neglecting my family, saying I was never around. He drilled it into my head that appearing in public and pursuing a career didn’t make a good wife, let alone a good mother. Then one day, without telling me, he emailed all my partners, claiming I had retired from the industry.

When I found out, I broke down. I cried and screamed like I had lost my mind. However, he simply told me to calm down, as if it were nothing. From that day on, I became like a bird with broken wings, devoting myself entirely to the family.

It was in the seventh year of our marriage that he cheated with his mentor’s daughter. He said she was dazzling and that she made him feel alive again.

Just as I was lost in those memories, Quinn let out a sweet, affected laugh.

“Emma, even if you can’t be a model, don’t feel down. You could always apply to be an escort. I happen to have a friend who manages a hotel. They’re hiring escorts for seven thousand dollars a month. Would you like me to introduce you?”

Spencer laughed out loud. “Quinn, you should stop. My mom’s super sensitive. She might start crying in a second.”

He proudly pointed toward a stage not far away and continued, “Quinn was invited to walk the runway today. It’s for a famous designer’s collection.”

I paused for a moment and found myself wanting to laugh. It was because I was that designer, and this show? It was just the opening act for my husband, Luca’s, business event.