Chapter 3
Desmond seized my shoulders, his grip firm and urgent.
"Adira, you have nothing now. So you'd better think carefully," he said.
I shoved his hands off, disgusted.
"Since you know I've got nothing left, why do you have to be so ruthless?" I snapped. "Did you send Lois over to grab your clothes just so she could rub it in my face?"
Desmond explained, "No, she insisted on coming. Besides, she's my secretary. It's normal for her to pick up my clothes."
I snorted. Lois was already coming to his house, getting chummy with his mom, and he still said it was normal.
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Just sign the papers," I said. "I added one more thing at the end. The divorce is my decision; it's got nothing to do with you.
"From now on, you go your way, I go mine. No more entanglements."
Desmond picked up the papers, glanced over them, and replied, "Alright. Remember, this was your call."
After signing the papers, we headed straight to city hall to file the divorce paperwork. The official certificate would take a while to process, so we'd have to wait before it was all truly over.
I wheeled my suitcase back to the Moreno family's house.
Back when I helped Desmond out, this place was way out in the suburbs and barely worth anything, so I just held onto it.
Who would've thought it would actually come in handy now, giving me a place to crash.
After I finished cleaning up the place, I was about to head out to pick up some essentials when an elegant old lady with white hair showed up at my doorstep.
"You look just like her," she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion.
I asked in surprise, "Ma'am, are you looking for someone?"
"Are you Adira Moreno? I finally found you," the old lady said, her voice trembling as she gripped my hand.
Turned out, she was my grandma.
Back then, my mom got lost as a kid, was taken in by some kind souls, and eventually married my dad.
My biological maternal grandparents only had one child, my mom.
All these years, they'd never stopped looking for her.
Three years ago, they finally got a lead, but it suddenly went cold. After a ton of asking around, they finally found me here.
Grandma already knew my parents had passed away.
She hugged me tight and cried for a long time.
After wiping away her tears, Grandma asked, "Why are you living here all alone? Where's your husband? I heard you did a lot for him back then."
I told her about the divorce.
Grandma was so furious that she hit her cane hard against the floor.
"That jerk! How could he do this to you? What a heartless, ungrateful bastard," she snapped. "Don't you worry, honey. I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him."
I told Grandma, "Guess I just picked the wrong guy back then.
"Desmond and I are done. I'm not wasting any more time on him."
Grandma squeezed my hand, her face full of concern.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I've got plenty of properties and assets. If you want, they're all yours," she said.
All these years, my grandparents were busy looking for my mom while building up their business empire.
To expand their connections, their business kept booming until they eventually established a multinational corporation right in Rystorm City.
But my grandpa passed away suddenly from a heart attack just six months ago.
"Grandma, I'm worried I don't have what it takes to run such a huge company yet. I think I need to get some real-world experience first," I admitted.
"That's perfectly fine, sweetheart. Whenever you feel like coming back home, just drop by here and come find me," Grandma said warmly.
Before she left, Grandma handed me her phone number and address.
*****
The next day, I headed over to Evie's jewelry design studio.
As soon as she saw me, she gave me a big hug.
"Congrats on being single again! That jerk never deserved all you did for him," she said.
I gave a breezy, unbothered smile.
"Yeah, I was way too naive back then, totally head over heels and not thinking straight," I said.
When I first saved Desmond, I fell for him in a heartbeat; he looked so put-together, and the way he spoke was gentle and charming.
I handed over all my savings, hoping we could stay together for life.
Looking back now, it all felt like a joke.
That day, Evie dragged me along to meet a client.
She said the client was offering big money, but was super picky.
She told me I had to land the deal, no matter what.
When I stepped inside, I saw the client was none other than Lois.
Lois got up and strutted around me, looking disdainful.
"This is the star designer you found? Her? Seriously? You think she's good enough?" Lois said to Evie.
Lois was dressed to impress, her whole vibe screaming authority. She didn't look like just a secretary at all.
If anything, she looked like a CEO's wife.
Evie flashed a smile and introduced me. "Miss Mullin, this is Ms. Adira Moreno, our newly hired chief designer," Evie said.
"Trust me, if you go with her, you won't regret it," she added.
Lois let out a mocking laugh and settled herself back onto the couch.
"Look at her. She looks like a housewife who's not even presentable enough for polite company," Lois sneered. "I highly doubt she can design jewelry."
Evie, eager to show what I could do, asked someone to fetch my old design portfolio.
Lois just stared, totally stunned.
Just as Lois was scrambling for a way to save her dignity, Desmond walked in.
"Desmond, you're here. Can you believe it? Miss Wyden said Adira designed these. I swear, they look totally fake," Lois remarked.
Lois was dying to get someone to back her up, to prove she wasn't wrong.