All Chapters of The Wife He Never Knew: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Julian didn't shake off Cassandra's hand. Eleanor had expected as much. He'd never once acknowledged what Cassandra was to him publicly, but the fact that he never once let go said everything anyone needed to know. Marcus's eyes flicked between Julian and Cassandra, something knowing in his expression. He waved them all inside and had his assistant bring out coffee. Marcus Wren wasn't president of the Jewelry Collectors' Association, but he had a long-running tradition recommending one rising designer to the association's ranks every year. Which was exactly why both Julian and Peter had targeted him. Since Peter and Eleanor had arrived first, Marcus told his assistant to take both submissions Eleanor's alongside Cassandra's. His rule for every designer who came through: one piece, entirely their own concept, whatever showcased their philosophy best. "Go home and wait. My assistant will let you know once I've decided." Marcus spent most of the afternoon chatting with all four

Eleanor never expected to run into Caleb again like this.He looked just as startled seeing her.Time had reshaped him the boyish softness gone, replaced by something sharper, older.The suit did the rest. He'd fully shed whatever was left of the college kid she'd once known, transformed entirely into someone who belonged in this room."Caleb, you know her?"Isabelle asked, glancing between them.Caleb's eyes stayed locked on Eleanor, mouth parting slightly like he was choosing words and rejecting every option. He didn't answer right away.Peter filled the silence instead, introducing Eleanor to Isabelle."Ms. Frost, this is Eleanor Hale. My girlfriend."Eleanor's eyes went wide, staring at him a silent demand for an explanation.Caleb, for all his effort to keep his composure, couldn't quite hold his expression steady.Days earlier, Marcus had made it clear, gently but unmistakably, that Eleanor was already married. To Julian Cross.Which meant the divorce hadn't gone through.So wha

Eleanor visited five gemstone suppliers over the course of one day. A few outclassed AOD in reputation, but none of the stones carried anything genuinely distinctive.With tomorrow being AOD's final day holding the raw stone, she needed to commit.She'd once thought tens of millions in assets made her genuinely wealthy.Running her own studio had taught her fast how quickly money actually burned, especially in jewelry.And even after dropping that much on a single stone, there was no guarantee she'd beat Cassandra anyway.Sitting in the car, Eleanor shook her head hard.No giving up before it's even started.Right as the doubt crept back in, her phone rang.Julian.She sat there, torn between picking up and letting it go.In the end, she answered."What are you doing? Took you long enough to pick up."His tone came through gentler than a question deserved something closer to actual concern.Eleanor blinked, caught off guard.She and Cassandra were both running independent studios now,

Tyler found the whole idea genuinely repulsive and went to set the sketch back down but a stray glance stopped him. The drawings were covered in revisions, layered corrections, clearly evolved through drafts. Nothing about it read as copied. It looked like original development."No way..."Could it actually be true, those bestselling Cross Group pieces, the ones he'd personally credited Cassandra for saving had come from Eleanor the whole time?Tyler filed the question away, unresolved, and found his usual dislike of her had thinned out slightly.Eleanor came to hungover, head splitting, memory in fragments.She opened her eyes to find herself in her own bed, fully dressed.Nothing pointed to anything having gone wrong the night before small mercy but sobriety brought its own fresh wave of fear.She'd been reckless. Reactive. All because Julian's romantic birthday production had turned out to be nothing but a cover for stealing her stone, and she'd chosen to drown that anger in alcoho

The restaurant actually produced antiseptic wipes and gauze. Once Tyler finished bandaging Eleanor's finger, he returned to his seat quickly.He genuinely couldn't explain why he'd gotten that worked up over her like something had hijacked his own reaction.And he'd done it right in front of Julian, no less.Julian might not love Eleanor anymore, but legally, she was still his wife.Tyler went quiet, embarrassed, and buried himself in his lobster to avoid thinking about it further.Cassandra let out a quiet breath of relief watching Tyler drop the subject and stay silent toward Eleanor.She didn't need to like Tyler. She needed Tyler to like her.Falling for someone else was fine, within limits. As long as that someone wasn't Eleanor.In Cassandra's eyes, Eleanor existed for exactly one purpose, a contrast to highlight everything Cassandra had that Eleanor didn't.Eleanor finished the meal on autopilot.She hadn't landed the last spot for LD Fashion Week after all.All of it, wasted e