All Chapters of Divorced, Now Watch Me Rise!: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

JULIANThe alarm went off at five thirty AM, pulling me from restless sleep. I'd been dreaming about the opera, about Claire sitting beside me in the dim box, her hand warm in mine.About the way she'd looked at me when I'd wiped away her tears, about how close I'd come to kissing her right there in front of hundreds of people.I shut off the alarm and lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, this was getting complicated, more complicated than I'd planned when I first offered Claire this partnership.I got out of bed and showered quickly, trying to push thoughts of last night away. I had a meeting across town at seven AM, one I couldn't reschedule or handle remotely.An investor was threatening to pull out of a major deal, and I needed to fix it in person. I dressed in a suit and walked quietly to the kitchen, not wanting to wake Claire.She'd looked exhausted after the opera, emotionally drained in a way that made me want to wrap her up and protect her from everything. I made

CLAIRE I stared at her, my mind struggling to catch up. “You’re lying,” I said, but my voice lacked strength. “I’m not.” I shook my head slowly. “You expect me to believe that my father… that he sold me? That he knew everything and still...” “He did,” Patricia cut in, her tone steady. “And you know it.” My fingers tightened around my bag. “No,” I muttered. “No, I don’t.” “Think about it,” she pressed. “Every decision he made, every time he pushed you toward that marriage, every time he ignored what was happening right in front of him.” My chest tightened. “Stop,” I said quietly. “He didn’t care if you were happy,” she continued. “He cared about what he

CLAIRE "Do you think she was lying?" Julian asked. I thought about Patricia's face across that table. The coldness in her voice, the certainty. "No," I admitted. "I don't think she was." Julian walked back over and crouched down in front of me, his hands resting on my knees. "Then we use this," he said. "We find the proof and we make sure everyone knows what kind of man Richard Whitmore really is." I looked at him, at the intensity in his gray eyes. "What if we can't find proof?" I asked. "We will," Julian said with absolute certainty. "Men like your father don't make deals without documentation. There's a paper trail somewhere. We just have to find it." He squeezed my knees gently. "And when we do," he continued, "we're going to make sure he loses everything. Just like he tried to make you lose everything." "I don't want to become like t

CLAIREI woke up to sunlight streaming through the window and my face feeling stiff and swollen and for a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, my mind blank and heavy.Then yesterday came flooding back. Patricia, the coffee shop, my father's deal, four million dollars. My stomach twisted and I sat up slowly, my body aching like I'd been in a fight.I touched my face and felt the dried tear tracks on my cheeks. I'd cried myself to sleep. The clock on my nightstand read eight thirty AM, which meant I'd slept for almost fourteen hours.I stood up and walked to the bathroom, turning on the light and immediately regretting it. My reflection looked terrible, eyes red and puffy, face pale, hair a mess.I splashed cold water on my face and brushed my teeth, trying to make myself look somewhat human. When I walked out to the living room, Julian was already awake, sitting at the dining table with his laptop open and his phone pressed to his ear."I understand," he was saying, his v

CLAIREI stared at our joined hands for a moment longer, then pulled mine away and stood up. "I want to confront him," I said.Julian looked up at me, his expression unreadable. "You don't have to do that," he said carefully."I know," I replied, crossing my arms. "But I want to."Julian stood as well, his eyes searching my face. "Claire, we have everything we need," he said. "We can file the lawsuit without you ever having to see him again.""I don't want to do it that way," I said, my voice firm. "I want him to know that I know, I want to look him in the eye and tell him exactly what he is."Julian was quiet for a moment, clearly weighing his response. "It won't change anything," he said finally. "He won't apologize, he won't admit he was wrong, confronting him won't give you closure.""I don't need closure," I replied. "I need him to know that he didn't get away with it."Julian studied me, then nodded slowly. "Okay," he said. "Then I'm going with you.""You don't have to..." I sta