She Ruined My Studio, So I Ruined Her Wedding

Chapter 2

He knocked on the door, looking road-weary and harried.

"Ms. Whitmore, I was stuck in meetings all day. I just heard about what happened."

I shot him a wary look.

"Mr. Lennox, you show up this late at night. Don't tell me you're here to demand an apology from me on Vivian's behalf?"

Julian waved his hands frantically, his face full of remorse.

"No, no, not at all. I came to apologize. I was trying to arrange a surprise for Vivian, but it completely blew up in my face. Ms. Whitmore, Vivian's young and spoiled. Be the bigger person, will you? Don't hold her behavior against her."

I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Vivian is my cousin, after all. It's not like I'm actually going to hold a grudge over this. But the damages on my end..."

"I'll cover every last cent!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Julian pulled out his phone and transferred the money right then and there.

"I've paid the remaining balance for the ring set in full, and I'm also covering the cost of all the damaged equipment and supplies. That should make us even, right?"

Sadie, who'd been standing quietly to the side, couldn't hold back anymore. She pointed at the brace around my wrist.

"Mr. Lennox, your fiancée stepped on my boss's wrist hard enough to fracture it."

"I'll cover all the medical expenses. No problem."

Julian agreed immediately without asking a single question.

"Ms. Whitmore, I'll even pay an extra 500,000. Can you rush a new set of wedding rings for me overnight? Vivian and I have been together for years. I still want to give her the surprise I'd planned."

No one turned down easy money, and I was no exception.

Still, I wasn't about to take the order without laying down a few ground rules first.

"I can do it, but I'm going to be straight with you. The wedding is only 7 days away. Even if I work around the clock, I'll only have enough time to make one set.

"If you can't keep Vivian in check and she pulls another stunt, that's on you. I'm not taking responsibility, and there'll be no refund."

Julian thanked me repeatedly.

"No problem. That's perfectly fine with me. But since this is supposed to be a surprise, I need to keep it from Vivian for the next few days.

"I'll have to ask you to put up with a little unfairness for a few days. I'm flying out of town tonight to handle an urgent matter. I'll be back in time for the wedding, and I'll clear your name in front of everyone. I promise."

Putting up with a few days of nonsense for an extra 500,000? I'd be a fool if I refused.

Once we'd signed the digital contract, Julian got up to leave for the airport.

He hadn't even reached the door when someone started pounding on the door so hard the walls shook.

Julian and I froze at the exact same time.

We had a terrible feeling.

'Please don't be Vivian! Please don't be Vivian! Please don't be Vivian!' I desperately prayed.

Sadie went to unlock the door, and two people burst inside.

Thank God it wasn't her.

The two people were Mandy Silver, one of the top jewelry store owners in Calbrook City, and Zoey, the wedding planner.

The second Mandy stepped through the door, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Nora, I heard Vivian smashed up your shop! Has she lost her damn mind?"

I'd worked with Mandy so many times over the years that we'd practically become best friends.

I figured she'd come to stand up for me.

But my biggest client, Julian, was still standing right there. I couldn't exactly make a scene in front of him, so I tried to calm her down first.

"Mandy, it's already been handled. Don't worry about it."

Mandy never beat around the bush.

"I'm not just worried about you. I'm freaking out for myself, too!"

She pointed at the dark bruise on her forehead, practically seething with rage.

"Right after Vivian left your place, she stormed straight into my store. She accused me of sleeping with Julian, came at me swinging without even giving me a chance to explain, and smashed the entire custom bracelet set I'd locked away in the back, along with the matching sapphire collection.

"That three-piece sapphire wedding set? Julian paid a fortune to have it made specifically for her! If he hadn't begged me repeatedly to keep it a secret, I would've spilled everything right then and there. How'd you handle things on your end? Tell me what you did. I need to copy it exactly!"

Mandy was so caught up venting that she hadn't even noticed Julian awkwardly standing in the corner the entire time.