All Chapters of Divorced, Now Watch Me Rise!: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

CLAIREI stood in the empty emergency room hallway, staring at the doors Julian had disappeared through, the smell of antiseptic burned my nose.Everything felt surreal, like I was watching myself from outside my body. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. Marcus calling.I'd forgotten to tell him what happened. "Hello?" I answered, my voice shaking."Ms. Cross, I heard ambulance sirens at the building," Marcus said. "Is everything alright?""It's Julian," I said, my throat tight. "He had chest pains, they brought us to Crestview Hospital.""I'm on my way," Marcus said immediately."You don't have to..." I started."I'll be there in ten minutes," he interrupted firmly.The line went dead. I walked to the waiting area, a room with plastic chairs and outdated magazines.bA TV mounted in the corner played the news on mute.I sat down, then stood up, then sat down again. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I kept replaying the moment Julian's hand went limp in mine.The paramedic s

CLAIRE I woke up to sunlight streaming through the hospital room window and my neck screaming in pain, the chair I'd slept in was definitely not meant for overnight stays.Julian was already awake, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. "Morning," I said, my voice rough with sleep.He turned his head slightly. "Morning," he replied. "You stayed all night?""Of course I did," I said, standing and stretching carefully. "How do you feel?""Physically? Better," Julian admitted. "Everything else? Not great."I walked over and took his hand. "The doctor will probably discharge you this morning," I said."Good," Julian replied. "I need to get out of here."Before I could respond, Dr. Patterson walked in with a tablet. "Good morning, Mr. Cross," he greeted, checking the monitors. "Your vitals look much improved.""Can I leave?" Julian asked immediately."Let's talk about that," Dr. Patterson said, pulling up a stool. "Your blood pressure is stable, your heart rate is normal, and physica

CLAIRE "Please share that with the court," the prosecutor instructed.Ethan took a breath. "Three days before Elena died, my father came to my apartment," he began. "He was drunk, angry, talking about Elena leaving him."The courtroom went silent."What specifically did he say?" the prosecutor prompted."He said he wouldn't let her take Julian," Ethan continued. "That she was his wife and Julian was his son, that they belonged to him."Victor's face had gone pale."Did he say anything else?" the prosecutor asked.Ethan nodded slowly. "He said that if she tried to leave, he'd make sure she never could," Ethan replied. "That he'd rather see her dead than gone."Gasps echoed through the courtroom and Julian's hand crushed mine."And did you report this conversation to anyone?" the prosecutor pressed."No," Ethan admitted, his voice quieter now."Why not?" she asked.Ethan was silent for a moment. "Because I didn't think he'd actually do it," he said finally. "I thought he was just drunk

CLAIREFor the next two hours, we worked together. Julian helped me create spreadsheets for production capacity, profit margins, growth projections.He asked smart questions about suppliers, manufacturing, and distribution. "You need to hire someone," he said finally. "A production manager who can handle scaling.""I can't afford that yet," I said."Yes you can," Julian countered, showing me the numbers. "With the Nordstrom deal and these boutique orders, you'll be profitable enough to support one full-time employee."I looked at the projections he'd built, he was right."Okay," I agreed. "I'll start looking for someone.""I can help with that too," Julian offered. "I know people who specialize in fashion manufacturing.""You don't have to do all this," I said."I want to," Julian replied. "It's helping me, actually, focusing on something productive instead of spiraling about Ethan."My phone rang again and this time it was Lisa Hayes from Vogue. "I should take this," I said."Go ahea

CLAIREI woke up to the smell of coffee and something cooking, the bed beside me was empty but still warm. I stretched, my body pleasantly sore, and smiled at the memory of last night.Pulling on one of Julian's shirts, I padded out to the kitchen. Julian stood at the stove, wearing sweatpants and no shirt, flipping pancakes."Morning," I said.He turned and smiled, his eyes warming when he saw me in his shirt. "Morning," he replied. "How did you sleep?""Amazing," I admitted, coming over to wrap my arms around him from behind. Julian flipped another pancake before turning in my arms to kiss me properly."Good," he said when we pulled apart. "I made breakfast.""I can see that," I replied, looking at the spread he'd prepared.Pancakes, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, coffee. "When did you have time to do all this?" I asked."I woke up early," Julian explained, guiding me to sit at the counter. "Couldn't sleep anymore so I figured I'd make myself useful."He plated food and set it in front o