All Chapters of His Hidden Devotion. : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"He probably just quit," Priya said, not even looking up from her screen. "People do that, most especially site guys." "Maybe," Teresa said, barely understanding what Priya was talking about. "You don't sound convinced.""I'm not thinking about it." She wasn't, either not with three inspection reports open on her desk and a contractor who'd just called twice in five minutes. "Get me the import certificates for the marble. All of them!""Why?" Priya asked. "Because customs flagged the shipment."Priya's head came up. "The whole shipment?""Yes. The whole shipment!" Teresa emphasized. The site manager was pacing the entryway like the marble itself had personally betrayed him."Three months," he said. "Three months we waited on that stone, and now it fails inspection?""Moisture content," Teresa said, scanning the report. "It's not the marble's fault. It's how it was stored in transit.""So what, we start over? Wait another three months?""No." She was already flipping to the supplie

She didn't reply. She looked at the photograph one more time. Emma between them, that ordinary courtyard, someone standing far enough away that neither of them had felt it and then she deleted the notification without opening the message thread again.It wasn't the picture that stayed with her. It was the distance. How far away someone had to be standing to get that angle. How long they must have waited, watching, before Asher had what he wanted.She set the phone face-down on the counter and didn't touch it again for the rest of the night."The Ambrose Hotel wants us in the boardroom at two," Priya said, sliding a folder across Teresa's desk before she'd even set her coffee down. "Their board, their chairman, the whole thing. This is the lobby redesign. This is the one.""I know what it is.""You don't sound excited.""I'm terrified," Teresa said. "That's not the same as not excited. Get me the elevation drawings. All three versions.""Already printed." Priya dropped a second stack on

Teresa wasn't able to sleep and every time she closed her eyes, the photographs came back — cropped edges, careful angles, Emma erased from every frame like she'd never been standing there at all. She lay in the dark and listened to the city outside her window, and somewhere around three, she gave up pretending rest was coming.She got up instead and walked down the hall. Stood in Emma's doorway.Her daughter slept the way she always did, sprawled sideways, one arm flung off the mattress, mouth slightly open. The stuffed rabbit had fallen to the floor.Teresa picked it up and set it back beside her."I'm not losing you," she whispered. "Whatever he throws at me. I'm not losing you."✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦Natalie arrived very early with tired eyes that told Teresa she hadn't slept either."Show me the video again," Natalie said, before she'd even sat down.Teresa handed over her phone. Natalie watched it twice, jaw tight, then passed it back."It's unsettling," she admitted."Unsettl

For a second, Teresa didn't move. Her hand stayed on the door handle, her feet stayed rooted just past the threshold, and something old and familiar tightened low in her stomach — the same reflex years of marriage had carved into her, the instinct to shrink first and think later.She stepped fully inside and let the door click shut behind her."You don't have an appointment with me," she said."I didn't think I needed one." Asher's voice came easy, almost warm, like he was catching up with an old friend rather than sitting in a chair that wasn't his, in an office he had no business entering. "Since when do I need an appointment to see you?""Since the divorce.""Hmm." He smiled like she'd made a joke. "Right. That!"He didn't get up. He leaned back instead, one arm draped over the armrest, taking his time surveying the room like he'd bought tickets to an exhibition. His eyes moved over the framed concept sketches on the wall, the material samples stacked neatly by the window, the phot

The days before the hearing moved faster than Teresa expected, like the calendar itself had decided to conspire against her."Sign here," Priya said, sliding a contract across the desk. "And here. And the initial page, they added a clause about the delivery timeline.""Is it a problem?""No, it's fine. Standard stuff." Priya watched her sign, then tilted her head. "You've had four new client inquiries this week. Four!! And they were all from Evelyn's referrals.""I know, Priya.""You don't sound excited.""I'm excited." Teresa set the pen down. "I'm also getting dragged into court in three days, so forgive me if I'm not throwing a party.""Fair." Priya softened. "But for what it's worth, you're good at this. Really good. Whatever happens Thursday, that part's not going anywhere."Teresa wanted to believe that. Some mornings, buried in supplier calls and finalized floor plans, she almost did."You smiled today," Mrs. Lim said one evening, setting a cup of tea beside Teresa's stack of fl