Dumped and Divorced, Renew to be Exclusive

Chapter 10

Liora

The hum of the plane was soft and constant, like a lullaby meant to calm a restless heart. I pressed my forehead against the window, staring at the faint outline of California below. My home. My prison. My battlefield.

For so long, I had thought I’d never leave. I had built my entire life there my marriage, my motherhood, my memories. But now, as the plane rose higher and the city grew smaller, I felt the weight of all those years lift from my chest little by little.

Ezra sat beside me, flipping through documents, his expression calm as always. Every so often, he’d glance at me to make sure I was alright. I wasn’t sure what “alright” even meant anymore, but I nodded anyway.

“I keep thinking,” I murmured, eyes still on the clouds, “what if I never come back?”

“Then maybe that’s the point,” he said quietly. “You don’t need to go back to what broke you.”

His words were simple, but they struck deep. I looked at him, wondering how someone could be so steady when everything inside me still felt like shattered glass.

When the plane landed hours later, New York greeted me with gray skies and cold wind. The city buzzed with noise and motion, so different from the quiet streets I had left behind. Ezra’s driver was waiting for us, and as we drove through the heart of Manhattan, I couldn’t help pressing my face to the window again, this time with something almost like awe.

People here looked alive. They were rushing, laughing, shouting, living. I wondered if someday I could blend in with that energy instead of shrinking away from it.

Ezra’s apartment was on the upper floor of a modern building overlooking the city. The moment I stepped in, I noticed how perfectly organized it was everything in its place, minimalist but warm.

“You can stay here,” he said, setting my luggage near the guest room. “There’s plenty of space. And before you argue, no, I won’t take no for an answer. It’s just until you find your footing.”

I hesitated. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

He looked at me then, really looked, and his voice softened. “You aren’t. You never were.”

For a moment, something inside me wanted to believe him.

That night, I lay awake in the guest room, the sounds of the city drifting through the window. It felt strange not to hear silence. Strange, but comforting. I stared at the ceiling and whispered to myself, “This is the beginning.”

The next morning, Ezra was already dressed for work by the time I came out of my room. He handed me a coffee and smiled.

“Ready for your first day?”

“I don’t even know what my job is yet,” I admitted.

He chuckled. “You’ll see.”

We drove through the heart of Manhattan until his company came into view a tall, glass building that gleamed against the morning light. Inside, people moved briskly, all dressed sharply, eyes focused, phones pressed to their ears. I felt small walking beside him, clutching my bag as if it were the only familiar thing I had.

When we entered his office, I froze. It wasn’t the luxury that overwhelmed me it was the scale of it all. The floor-to-ceiling windows, the city skyline stretching endlessly beyond, the faint scent of polished wood and fresh coffee.

Ezra stood behind his desk and gestured for me to come closer. “This,” he said, “is where you’ll be working.”

I blinked. “Here? In your office?”

“Technically, yes,” he said with a grin. “Your official title is Junior Legal Secretary. You’ll help me manage my schedule, handle administrative correspondence, and assist with client communications. It’s a mix of legal and executive work for now.”

I stared at him. “You want me to be your secretary?”

“I do,” he replied. “But it’s more than that. Think of it as training. You’ll get to decide later whether you want to pursue the legal side or the administrative path. Either way, when you’re ready, you’ll have experience that will open doors anywhere you go.”

Something in his tone made my throat tighten. “You’re giving me a chance.”

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes warm. “I’m giving you a beginning, Liora. What you do with it is entirely up to you.”

For a long moment, I couldn’t speak. No one had ever said something like that to me not without expecting something in return.

Finally, Ezra picked up his phone. “I’ll have HR come up to process your paperwork.”

A few minutes later, a knock sounded on the door, and a woman walked in tall, confident, her heels clicking against the marble floor. When she saw me, her eyes widened.

“Liora?” she said in disbelief.

I turned, my breath catching. “Gina?”

We stared at each other for a heartbeat before both of us burst into surprised laughter. Gina had been my college classmate years ago brilliant, ambitious, and always full of life. She had been one of the few people who treated me kindly during those difficult years.

“I can’t believe this,” she said, rushing over to hug me. “You’re really here? And working with Mr. Reeve? Small world!”

Ezra smiled. “So you two know each other.”

“We do,” Gina said, her grin wide. “We were in the same law elective. She was always the quiet one, but sharp as a knife when it came to case studies.”

I flushed at the compliment, shaking my head. “That was a long time ago.”

“Still true,” she said. “Come on, I’ll help you with the paperwork. We’ll get you set up in no time.”

As we walked through the sleek hallways, I felt a mix of nerves and excitement twist in my stomach. Gina talked the whole way, filling me in on office gossip, the latest company projects, and what it was like working under Ezra.

“He’s intense,” she whispered with a grin. “But fair. Everyone respects him. And if he personally hired you, trust me, that means something.”

Her words settled in me like a small spark of pride I didn’t quite know what to do with.

When I returned to Ezra’s office later, my employee ID card hanging from my neck, he looked up from his computer and smiled.

“Welcome to the team,” he said simply.

And something about the way he said it calm, certain, genuine made my chest ache with gratitude.

By lunchtime, I was exhausted from all the introductions and instructions, but I couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time in years, I wasn’t defined by someone else’s name or shadow. I was Liora Quinn the new Junior Legal Secretary at Reeve Holdings.

When Ezra invited me to lunch, I hesitated at first, unsure if it was appropriate, but he brushed off my worries. We went to a small café a few blocks away, one of those hidden gems tucked between high-rises.

“You did well today,” he said as we sat down.

I laughed softly. “I didn’t do much except fill out forms.”

“Still counts,” he replied. “Starting over is hard work too.”

I looked at him across the table. “Why are you helping me, Ezra? Really?”

He met my eyes, thoughtful. “Because I know what it’s like to lose everything that defines you. And because I believe you deserve more than what life gave you.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

There was something in his gaze that wasn’t pity it was respect. Recognition.

And for the first time, I realized he saw me not as someone broken, but as someone who could rebuild.

That afternoon, as I returned to my desk and watched him work across the room, a quiet determination began to take root inside me.

I didn’t know what the future would bring. But sitting there, surrounded by the steady rhythm of keys clicking and phones ringing, I felt something I hadn’t in a very long time.

Hope.