Semua Bab The Wife He Never Knew: Bab 131 - Bab 139

LD Fashion Week provided a professional styling team for every designer, handling model fittings so designers didn't have to manage every last detail themselves backstage, and didn't have to worry about a piece being styled wrong.Eleanor sat in the audience now.Dylan beside her.This time, she'd only brought him. Covering her own costs meant she couldn't justify flying the whole studio out Dylan came along specifically because she might need an extra set of hands for the heavier logistics.Cassandra sat in the audience too, VIP section, right beside Julian.Even in the dim house lighting, Eleanor could make out Cassandra laughing with him, completely at ease, radiating confidence.Eleanor found herself curious, despite everything, what Cassandra's actual theme would turn out to be.LD ran jewelry as the headline, fashion as the frame around it.Not long after, Eleanor watched Cassandra slip out of her seat, then return a few minutes later.Right after, the next segment began Cassand

Following tradition, LD Fashion Week closed the runway segment with a formal dinner for every participating designer and guest, held in the Grand Hall.Cassandra never got an invitation.She pushed the point herself, and only then did the organizers admit the oversight.Holding the late invite in her hand, her flawless makeup did nothing to hide the resentment underneath.What is this supposed to be?Did she actually need to beg her way into this dinner like some kind of charity case?She'd brought three priceless couture gowns specifically for this event.Changing in the dressing room, she'd noticed Eleanor had only brought one formal dress.If she sprayed the remaining acid onto that dress, Eleanor would be stuck showing up in some plain black suit instead.Cassandra had slipped over to it while Eleanor was tossing something out.Then stopped herself.Even with the dress ruined, Eleanor would still have something to wear.Too petty. Too small a victory.Thinking back through the who

"This is for you."Derek held out a large bouquet of stamen-less red roses, and Eleanor had no words ready for it."How did you even get here?""Heard you thank me on stage. Figured I'd show up."Derek meant it, plainly.Behind his glasses, his eyes usually carried that same cynical edge but this time, Eleanor couldn't catch a lie anywhere in it."You can take this one without worry. Pulled every stamen, glued the petals back one at a time. Took longer than you'd think."He said it like he was fishing for credit, and Eleanor couldn't help but think why not just send something simpler in the first place?"Thank you. I'll take them."Whatever his motives, the gesture read as sincere enough that refusing felt unnecessary.First time she'd held a bouquet this size without a single sneeze.Eleanor stepped into the hotel elevator. Derek followed."You're staying here too?" she asked, confused.Given his money and standing, a hotel at this tier made no sense for him."No." He shook her head.

Eleanor took the package in hand.A plain paper envelope, just the right thickness for three copies of a divorce agreement.She didn't open it at the office. Waited until she got home.Late that night, the old row house on Willow Street sat lit from within.Eleanor settled at her desk and pulled the contents free.DIVORCE AGREEMENT, bold across the top.She flipped through page by page.Her memory held up well enough she remembered the last version clearly. This one matched it almost exactly, at least at the start.Which meant, despite the long delay, Julian hadn't buried anything new in the fine print this time.Then she reached the part that had actually changed.As expected, something was different.Not in the direction she'd expected, though.He'd kept the ten-percent stake transfer. But the conditions attached had multiplied far more restrictive than before.Most notably: she was explicitly barred from ever transferring that ten percent again. Not as a gift. Not for sale. Permane

Diane's scolding only deepened Cassandra's sense of grievance.The last time her mother had sat her down for a long talk, drugging Julian had come up.Cassandra had refused.Partly because she still believed in herself believed Julian would eventually be unable to resist her.Back in high school, dating him, he'd never touched her.He'd said they were too young, that he wanted to protect what they had.Now, years later, he still hadn't touched her.She'd tried everything subtle, obvious, every signal she could send. She'd even moved into his place for a stretch. He'd still refused to share a room with her.Climbing into his bed herself felt like crossing a line she couldn't take back, too desperate, too cheap.Which meant, after all this time, there'd never once been anything physical between them.The anxiety of that gnawed at her constantly.She hadn't dared take the medication, though.She knew Julian too well.Sharp enough to catch something like that instantly, and even if the dr