All Chapters of Once An Overlooked Housewife, Now A Queen Of Fortune: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Wren had turned down William’s invitation to dinner—she needed to go home, do her homework, and pick the right gown for tomorrow. William left first.Suddenly, Wren felt the urge to use the restroom. She stepped inside, unlocked her phone, and froze at the headline flashing across the screen.“Former Mrs. Morel stole a ten-million-dollar heirloom necklace before leaving the mansion?”By the time she woke up the next morning, every channel was running the story, and her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing with calls from people asking if she was all right.It wasn’t the divorce headlines that shocked her—it was the second wave of reports spreading everywhere.Had Felix really accused her of stealing from him?That man had some nerve.She scrolled through article after article, her name smeared with labels like gold digger and thief.Wren could tolerate almost anything Felix had done to her. But after a marriage that had already felt like hell, for him to tarnish her character with lies—that sh

8:39 became 8:40 on the screen of Wren’s phone where it sat on her lap. Twenty minutes was all that stood between her and the grand doors of the Manhattan Grand Ballroom. Tonight was the annual banquet where all elites gathered, and it was going to be her formal unveiling as Vice President of Ellington Enterprises. She felt the energy of nervousness fizzing under her skin, as well as a bit of excitementFor the past few weeks since the news of her divorce from Felix reached the public, Wren felt like all the branding she had been getting was ‘Felix’s ex-wife’. Being his wife wasn’t even a worthy enough identity, let alone the aftermath title of it. She needed them to see Wren Austin from now on and not the discarded appendage of a man she wasted three good years of her life with.The hairstylist was now in front of her face, blocking the view of Wren’s reflection in the mirror and leading her to notice the stains of hair cream on the stylist's white tee. She felt her phone vibrate in

Maria finally brought the girl home, the one she shouldn’t stop telling everyone about; that she saved from an accident. Sixteen-year-old Wren stood in the living room. She observed the house with watchful eyes until she noticed a pair of legs hurrying down the stairs. It was Felix, and he only slowed down when he noticed her. Standing beside the new face was his grandmother who looked like she had been waiting all those long months to introduce them to each other. Felix was twenty at the time, a college student.“Felix, come meet Wren,” Maria told Felix.He stared at the pale plaster on Wren’s forehead a bit too distractedly, remembering she was reportedly in a coma for weeks.He then muttered a ‘hello’, to which Wren smiled, ‘hi’.Wren didn’t live with them in the house (but she might as well have); Maria had arranged for her to stay at one of her hostel establishments, but Wren was pretty much around the Morell family a lot, especially because Maria had taken a liking to her.Over

The ladies’ bathroom.Wren’s chin touched her chest as she leaned the weight of both hands on the sink. And then she stared at herself in the mirror, with the smear of lipstick on the corners of her mouth. She was this close to using a smear-proof lipstick when the makeup artist had asked earlier.“It’s not like I was expecting to get kissed at an event,” she hissed at herself.“Fucking animal,” she hissed again.She then pulled out some paper towels and savagely scrubbed at her mouth.Every swipe she made felt like erasing a layer of him… the pressure of his mouth…the invasive thrust of his tongue and the grip on her arms.Stop it. She snapped herself out, shaking her head quickly before flinging the paper towel into the trash can. She missed and it landed on the floor next to the can.“Bastard.”She walked out of the door and William fell into step beside her. His face was granite as his eyes scanned her freshly scrubbed face.Wren avoided looking at William. She knew he was looking

William put his hand on her back and led Wren out of the banquet altogether. He guided her down the back hallway and towards the elevators, to avoid the press people who could still be there. Neither of them spoke until they were inside, doors closing, and then William hit the button for the parking garage harder than necessary.“What the hell was that?”She leaned against the elevator wall, suddenly showing exhaustion.“I didn’t like what went on in there at all,” William voiced out. We could have just said no.”“What? You understand better than I how much we needed this deal.”“Well, it’s not a do-or-die affair. There will always be other companies we can reach out to,” he argued.“Yes I know, but Anthony’s got serious connections. All the reach we need. You said so yourself.” She then closed her eyes. “You know I’m right.”“I know you just agreed to spend every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning with your ex-husband who, let me remind you, treated you like shit for three years.”