Chapter 9

As soon as I said that, Andrew's expression froze.

Just then, Charles came down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks.

Victoria followed close behind him.

The dining room fell silent.

Stella looked genuinely shocked by how direct I was.

I set my coffee cup down. "When I was in charge of the design, if anything went wrong, it was on me.

"Now Stella's the one in charge. She should be the one to take responsibility. If Andrew wants to give her the position, he has to let her face the consequences."

Andrew glared at me. "You did this on purpose."

"On purpose? What are you talking about?" I snapped back.

"You knew she had zero experience, and you still bailed on us out of nowhere."

"I put in my resignation three months ago. She only decided to join the Design Department yesterday. The timing's not on me."

Charles walked over and sat down at the head of the table. "Vivian, you can quit if you want, but you still have to finish this project."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because the Wedding Collection has your name on it."

"Once it's finished, you can put Stella's name on it instead."

Charles's face darkened. "Are you seriously going to nitpick over this?"

"Yes," I replied.

"It's a name."

"Then why can't you leave it as mine?"

Charles was at a loss for words.

Stella quickly said, "Vivian, I don't need my name on it. The project is still yours. I want to be involved. If that's all, I'll be your assistant."

Her face instantly lost all color.

Andrew snapped, "Enough. Stella's a Shea. If she joins the Design Department as an assistant, how will that look to everyone else?"

I laughed, "So what outsiders think is everything, huh? Guess what I want doesn't matter at all."

"Vivian," Andrew barked.

"I'm done eating." I stood up and grabbed my toolbox.

Victoria asked, "Where are you going?"

"To work," I replied.

"You already quit. What work could you possibly have?" Victoria pressed.

I didn't answer.

As I reached the entryway, my phone buzzed.

Ella had sent me a message.

The client for the restoration project had arrived at the studio early.

As I was about to head out, Stella suddenly caught up to me.

"Vivian," she said, clutching my toolbox. "You can't leave."

I glanced down at her hand. "Let go."

"Come to the office with me first. I seriously have no idea what I'm doing. Andrew already handed the project over to me. If something goes wrong at the meeting today, I'll be a joke to everyone."

"That's your problem."

Stella's tears kept streaming down. "But this collection was always meant for my wedding with Lucas."

I looked up at her. "All the more reason you should be the one to finish it."

Stella finally lost her cool. "Are you waiting to see me embarrass myself?"

"No," I said.

"Then why won't you help me?

"Because I don't want to."

The reason was so simple.

Stella was left speechless.

Andrew strode over. "Vivian, have you completely lost your sense of responsibility?"

I looked at him. "No position, no salary, no credit. Seriously, where do you expect my sense of responsibility to come from?"

"You're a Shea," Andrew said.

"So that's how it is," I said, nodding. I took out my Shea Group access badge from my purse and placed it on the entryway table. "Not anymore."

Andrew's expression changed instantly. "What do you mean?"

"Take it literally," I replied.

"Company property goes back to the company." I pulled out the car keys. "This car's registered under Shea Group. I'm returning it."

Finally, I pulled out a credit card. Victoria had given it to me last year, with a sky-high limit. I never used it. "This card goes back to you, too."

Victoria's eyes filled with tears. "Vivian, do you really have to be so clear-cut about this?"

I stared at the pile of things on the entryway table.

They gave me the access badge, the car keys, and the credit card. Every single thing cost a fortune, but not one of them ever really belonged to me.

"It's better to keep things clear-cut," I said. "That way, when I do something on my own, you won't be able to say I'm riding on the Shea family's coattails."

I picked up my toolbox and walked out.

This time, no one tried to stop me.

It wasn't until I stepped out the front door that I heard Stella's voice, trembling with tears. "Andrew, what about the nine o'clock meeting?"

I didn't look back.

*****

Half an hour later, I showed up at Ella's studio.

When I pushed open the door, sunlight spilled right across the restoration workbench.

Resting on black velvet was an enamel brooch from the late 18th century. Three cracks marred its surface, and the edges were marked with burn scars.

Ella was standing by the window. She looked up at me. "All sorted?"

"For now," I said.

Ella glanced at my toolbox. "Did you bring everything you need?"

"All the essentials are here," I replied.

Ella nodded and slid a contract across the table. "Then sign it."

I flipped to the last page.

The client's section was already stamped.

The contractor's name was still blank.

Ella handed me a pen. "Have you made up your mind? Once you sign, you can't go back to Shea Group anymore."

I took the pen.

As I was about to sign, my phone started buzzing like crazy.

It was Andrew.

I hung up.

He called again.

I answered on the third try.

The other end was a mess.

I could hear guys from the Design Department arguing nonstop.

Andrew's voice was ice-cold. "Vivian, Stella sent the main stone from the Wedding Collection to be recut."

My hand paused mid-signature.

That stone was a rare natural sapphire.

There was a feather-shaped flaw inside it.

I'd designed a unique setting to showcase it.

If it got recut, the whole collection would lose its heart.

But more than that, this sapphire was a birthday gift from Victoria for my twenty-fifth birthday.

"Why did she send it to be recut?" I asked.

"She thought the shape wasn't round enough," Andrew said.

Stella's voice came through the phone, thick with tears. "I didn't know. Vivian, you never mentioned anywhere that it couldn't be recut. I wanted it to look nicer."

Andrew was barely holding back his anger. "The stone's already at the workshop. The cutter's waiting for confirmation. You need to come right now."

I didn't say a word.

Ella stood across from me, her gaze calm.

The contract was right there.

Andrew's voice came through again. "Vivian, that was a gift from Mom. Are you really going to walk away from it?"

I looked down at the contract.

After a few seconds, I laughed. "Andrew, you already gave her the Wedding Collection, didn't you? Of course, the main stone belongs to her now."

The line went dead silent.

I picked up the pen and wrote my name on the contract. "If she wants to recut it, that's her call."