Chapter 122
If that happened, they’d be jealous, not teasing.
I smiled despite everything. Ethan could lighten even tough moments.
He leaned forward, serious now. “I’ve spent all day getting friendly with those troll farm admins. I know who’s been coordinating the attacks against you.”
“Who?” I set my cup down.
“Someone named Jennifer Carson meets them and assigns their daily tasks. He watched my face. “Know her?”
“Laurel Rose’s agent,” I nodded.
His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? Isn’t that careless? Using her own agent makes it easy to trace
back to her.”
“It’s not carelessness,” I said with a cold smile. “It’s arrogance. She thinks she can do whatever she
wants without consequences.”
I ran my finger along my cup. “She expects me to be like before swallowing every insult, never fighting back.”
“Audrey…” Ethan looked concerned.
I waved it off. “It’s in the past.‘”
“Yeah,” he agreed, though still troubled. “It’s over.”
He sent me the evidence he’d collected. We spent the next two hours going through messages and payment records linking Jennifer Carson to the smear campaign. By 10:30, we had everything we
needed.
Though Ethan kept things light, I saw the anger beneath. I suspected he understood how much I’d endured during my marriage. The fact that someone I’d known briefly understood me better than my husband of three years was both comforting and sad.-
A few months ago, I might have, hesitated to move against Laurel. I would have worried about William’s reputation and the Parker name. But now? I had nothing to lose and little time left. Why protect people who never protected me?
on my
After putting Ethan in a taxi, I walked the last few blocks home alone. The night air felt c skin. I stretched my arms out, taking deep breaths as I walked, feeling freer than I had in years.
1/3
Chapter 122
The divorce I’d dreaded had finally happened, and the world Hiún 1 and
– beginning – brief, given my diagnosis, but mine to control.
I was so deep in thought I almost missed the figure by my door until I reached for my kent
Audrey.
1 turned to see James standing in the hallway, his tall frame casting a shadow in the dim light.
I closed my door, leaning against it. “James. It’s late. What do you want?”
He noticed my defensive stance, his face falling. “I saw the news today.”
He held out a small package. “I brought you a divorce gift”
I didn’t take it.
James smiled bitterly. “Audrey, I know you’re still mad about letting Snow escape, but..
I remembered the night I collapsed and James let my cat out, then told Blake I didn’t want her. Snow had been one of the few genuine gifts from my marriage. James knew what she meant to me, but he deliberately destroyed that connection.
“We’re going to be colleagues,” he continued. “Can’t we be civil? We need to produce your designs in the next three months, remember?
Finally, I took the box. “Fine.”
“When can I start at the studio?” I asked.
He looked surprised. “Whenever you want, but… don’t you need time to recover after everything?”
“There’s nothing to recover from.”
“So tomorrow works?”
“Yes,” he nodded, then paused. “But management spoke with me today.”
He shifted uneasily. “Your divorce is all over the news, and Parker Group is expanding into jewelry…”
James looked at me directly. “To avoid problems, your designs… might need a different name.”
I saw his discomfort, his expectation that I’d be upset. Instead, I felt oddly peaceful.
“That’s fine,” I replied calmly. “My works will be under Rachel Hayes‘ name.”
