Chapter 1 The Verdict on the Desk\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1 The Verdict on the Desk\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
+35 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
The divorce agreement was delivered by his assistant and laid before me like a verdict. It demanded my voluntary demotion-from wife to \u201clive-in girlfriend\u201d-a neatly packaged disgrace to make room for Teresa Easton, the new face who endorsed his brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I signed. Jasmine Watson. The pen moved smoothly, a stark contrast to the fracture it finalized. Kevin Stephenson\u2019s voice was still cool and calibrated, his arm slinging around his new investment. \u201cThe role of Mrs. Stephenson requires pedigree. An influencer?\u201d He paused, letting the word hang, toxic and thin. \u201cBe realistic, Jasmine. Are you even qualified?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next day, Stephenson Group was swarmed by guards of a global financial entity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Men in black suits moved with silent efficiency, sealing the Stephenson Group\u2019s headquarters floor by floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the conference room, the head of those emissaries knelt in front of me. \u201cMs. Watson,\u201d he stammered, \u201cYour father says your little\u2026 experiment is over. It\u2019s time to come home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the room, Kevin and Teresa scrambled back, their chairs screeching a discordant symphony of panic against marble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I accepted the matte black card-an object of silent, absolute power-Charles Loggins, the head of my security, swept his gaze across the stunned assembly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve received word,\u201d he said, his voice low, devoid of heat, and terrifying for it, \u201cthat someone has threatened the sole heir of Horizon Capital.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in Kevin\u2019s office, the air conditioning hummed a constant, arctic tune, and the agreement still lay on the cold granite desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His assistant avoided my eyes, his voice a monotone stripped of all empathy. \u201cMr. Stephenson believes this\u2026 simplifies matters. Ms. Easton\u2019s public image is more aligned with the brand\u2019s future needs. She requires the status that comes with the title.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted my gaze..\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond the sweeping glass, the city pulsed with indifferent life, a river of steel and light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And there he was-Kevin-with Teresa, the latest It girl, a breakout star, tucked against him on the lounge sofa, trading quiet laughs that felt too intimate for the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wore that season\u2019s couture, a slash of crimson on her fingertips tracing his collar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine, broadcasting scorn and victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finishing murmuring to her, he finally deigned to approach me. That familiar, condescending smile played on his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tue, Jan 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1 The Verdict on the Desk\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJasmine, let\u2019s end this on good terms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
86\u00a0<\/p>\n
+35 Free Coins\u00a0<\/p>\n
He tapped the document with a manicured finger. \u201cThe title of Mrs. Stephenson requires pedigree. Tangible benefits. A washed-up influencer who trades on her face\u2026 Be realistic, Jasmine. Are you qualified?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone was flat, a clinical observation, yet it carved a hollow of shame inside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSign it, and the penthouse is yours. Plus thirty million. Be a good\u2026 \u2018friend\u2019. Keeping things civil between us will only help you, Jasmine. In your industry\u2014or whatever\u2019s left of it\u2014that kind of image still sells. It\u2019s the smartest move you\u2019ve got.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t yet formed a response when Teresa detached herself from the sofa and swayed over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJasmine,\u201d she simpered, her voice dripping with fake concern. \u201cdon\u2019t be upset with Kevin. He\u2019s only thinking of the company\u2019s future. Besides,\u201d she added, her smile a razor blade, \u201cwe can all still be such good friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three years of marriage. I had stood beside him when his name meant nothing, weaving a web of connections and resources he never knew existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When his finances had first crumbled, it was I who had quietly sold the last precious piece of my mother\u2019s jewelry\u2014a final, tangible link to her-to keep his dream afloat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of it. And in his eyes, it had distilled down to \u201cAre you qualified?\u201d And a payoff so paltry it felt like an added insult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t look at Teresa\u2019s carefully composed face. I just reached for the gold Parker\u00a0<\/p>\n
pen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My name flowed from the nib, smooth and irrevocable. No hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerous terms,\u201d I said, setting the pen down. A smile touched my lips, cold and sharp. \u201cMy sincerest wishes to you and Miss Easton. May you be eternally., entangled. Spare the rest of the world your particular brand of collaboration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face tightened, a flicker of something-irritation, perhaps-at my ease, at the blade in my words. But Teresa was already pulling him back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Kevin, I knew you\u2019d take care of everything,\u201d she purred, practically hanging off him. Her eyes were all heat and invitation-like she might start the show right there in front of everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
}<\/p>\n
Unremembered Beforefall by Mark Twain 1 Chapter 1 The Verdict on the Desk\u00a0 Chapter 1 The Verdict on the Desk\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-room"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}