Five years after the divorce, my ex-husband submitted a wedding planning request to my company. I meant to refuse, but my assistant, Paige, insisted the request was direct: he had specified my name and was offering triple the standard fee. For the money, I agreed. I was giving the bride a final dress fitting—all business, nothing personal—when she snickered. “I heard the reason the Kellers kicked you out was because you couldn’t conceive?” “Heh. A woman who can’t give the family an heir… what’s the difference between her and someone who cheats?” “Not like me. I’m about to give the Kellers their golden grandson. They’re so thrilled, they spent millions just for this wedding.” She peered down her nose at me. “Don’t think I don’t know. You’re only here today because you regret divorcing my husband.” “Just a warning: if you dare try to hook up with him, I will make your life a living hell!” I smiled. My twin daughter and son, Leo and Luna, had just turned two. As for Dean Keller, how could a sterile man possibly father a child? Besides, my event planning company is now valued at over a billion dollars. I didn’t have the time to regret walking away from a piece of trash. 1 I let the smile fall from my face, kneeling to gently smooth out the train of her gown. “Then congratulations are in order.” Tessa Marlow froze, then kicked the toolkit next to my hand, sending brushes and cosmetics skittering across the floor. She loomed over me, her voice dripping with disdain. “Humble yourself for a few broken dollars. Pathetic.” “A barren woman is useless and disgusting. No wonder he divorced you.” “I think this job is fake. You just can’t bear to let go of my husband!” I chuckled softly, calmly picking up a fallen foundation compact. “Mrs. Keller.” “You, more than anyone, should know the real reason why Mr. Keller and I divorced, shouldn’t you?” At the sound of my words, Tessa’s face flickered. Back then, she was a financially-supported student the Kellers had taken in, living temporarily at our estate after graduation. She seemed sweet and demure, and I genuinely grew fond of her. I bought her whatever she fancied, and she was always the first person I thought of when bringing back gifts from business trips. Everyone said we were like sisters. I never imagined that day I came home early from a trip, excited to give her a little something, I would find her and Dean—naked and intertwined—in the bathtub. They were so consumed by the moment, they didn't even notice me standing frozen in the bathroom doorway. Rage hit me like a physical blow. I started sobbing, throwing every cosmetic, every bottle, every object in the bathroom at them. Dean scrambled to cover himself, immediately shielding Tessa in his arms. He rounded on me, his face red with fury. “Sierra Rhys! Haven’t you caused enough drama?” I had been married to him for five years; I loved him deeply. I gave him two options: kick Tessa out, or divorce me. But that night, Tessa slit her own wrist. She collapsed at my feet, weeping hysterically. “Mrs. Keller! I was wrong! I never should have touched Mr. Keller!” “Please! I’m begging you! Don’t post those photos online!” “If you agree, I’ll even kill myself!” I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but Dean had already grabbed my phone. He opened my photo album, and there, inexplicably, were dozens of nude photos of Tessa. Dean’s eyes went bloodshot. For the first time, he hit me. “Sierra! I am so disappointed in you!” His strength was terrifying. He beat me so severely I landed in the hospital with a broken hand, cracked ribs, and a punctured eardrum. I remember it clearly: when the doctor called him to sign off on my emergency surgery, he snapped, “Tessa can’t even sleep because of her! She’s ruined everything!” “That woman? Just let her die!” It took three surgeries before I finally pulled through. When I woke up, I understood everything. I filed for divorce. The rumor about me being barren? Just the dirt the Kellers threw on me to cover up Dean’s cheating and the violence. Five years had passed. I was done hating. Now, I was perfectly happy with my husband, Rhys, and my two beautiful twins. Thinking of all this, I offered only a cool, detached smile. “Do you truly believe I’d regret leaving a man who cheats and assaults his wife, Mrs. Keller?” “I will finish this order and leave. Rest assured.” Tessa seemed to recover. She jutted her neck out and yelled, “Just keep being smug! You’ll regret it when you see my husband!” My assistant, Paige, walked in holding a steaming cup of coffee. She heard the tail end of the exchange and whispered in my ear, “Ms. Rhys, what happened?” I simply smiled, indicating it was nothing. I re-organized my toolkit, stood up, and brushed imaginary dust off my skirt. “Mrs. Keller, the dress is perfect. Shall we move on to makeup?” Tessa snorted, plopping down in front of the vanity. She smoothed her hair, her tone careless. “Honestly, having a hand-me-down like you do my makeup feels like bad luck.” “But my husband has a kind heart. He said he felt sorry for you—a bitter ex being kept by some old man—so he threw you some money.” She didn’t bother to lower her voice. The bridesmaids and several female relatives instantly clustered around, their eyes wide with curiosity and judgment. The foundation brush paused in my hand. “Kept?” 2 “Mrs. Keller, slander like that can land you in serious trouble.” I put the brush down. “Can you prove what you’re saying?” She shot up from the chair. “Am I lying?!” Tessa pointed to herself, her voice rising. “I’m a Senior Director at this very hotel!” “I’ve seen you here a dozen times! You walk in and out of here every day, with a different old man every time! I have witnesses!” “I’m not slandering you! If you don’t believe me, let’s check the security footage!” I understood instantly. She seemed to be entirely unaware that my husband, Rhys Easton, is one of the wealthiest men in the state. And this entire hotel is his property. The "old men" she was referring to were my company’s shareholders, meeting in the conference room. Were we suddenly doing something wrong by holding board meetings in our own property? The surrounding guests started whispering, their eyes glinting with malicious amusement. “So that’s the ex-wife. Doesn’t look like much, no wonder he left her!” “She left Dean, and now she’s a makeup artist?” “Makeup artist is probably just a side gig! Didn’t Tessa just say she’s being bankrolled by an old man?” “Tessa’s a Director here, why would she lie?” “Haha, look at the pink diamond Tessa is wearing. That woman couldn't earn that in a lifetime!” “Tessa, you better keep your distance! Who knows what kind of filth she’s picked up, selling herself like that.” Paige finally reacted, her voice trembling with indignation. “You! Do you even know who Ms. Rhys is?” “She personally came to handle the makeup and styling for this wedding, and you’re slandering her!” “Ms. Rhys?” Marilyn Keller, Dean’s mother, strode out of the back room, laughing a sharp, grating sound. “Sierra Rhys, I can’t believe after five years divorced from my son, you still can’t stop lying!” “Tessa is carrying the Keller heir! How dare you shout at her!” Marilyn had always hated me. She spent my entire marriage to Dean trying to break us up. Now, her face was a mask of pure disgust. She shoved me aside. “We were kind enough to let you earn a measly tip, and now you’re trying to inflate your own importance?” “A discarded woman! Who do you think you are?” “The way you treated Tessa just now… you could have upset my precious grandson!” “I am ordering you now: Kneel down and apologize to Tessa! Or do you think I won’t call your company and have you fired instantly?” Tessa slandered me first, and now she wants me to kneel? However, the job was halfway done. Getting paid was the priority. I took out my phone, my voice flat. “If you aren’t happy with my service, I can arrange for someone else to take over.” “But you’ll have to run that past Mr. Keller first, as he personally requested me.” Paige immediately backed me up. “That’s right! Our contract specifically names Ms. Rhys as the lead consultant for this wedding!” “Unless Mr. Keller approves, you can’t back out and then try to stiff us on the fee!” Tessa slapped Paige across the face. She pointed a furious finger at my assistant. “Stiff you?!” “What kind of family are the Kellers? We would try to weasel out of a few hundred, a few thousand dollars? What a joke!” A few hundred, a few thousand? I pulled Paige behind me, my anger finally peaking. “I think you misunderstand, Mrs. Keller.” “It’s not a few hundred. It’s three million dollars.” “Furthermore, I will be reserving the right to press charges for the assault on my assistant.” “Three million?!” Tessa shrieked. “A wedding planner of your caliber is trying to extort three million from the Keller family!” “Did leaving Dean make you this poor and desperate?!” At that moment, Dean rushed into the room, looking frantic.
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