The Ultimate Ex-wife

Emilia “I’m sorry, but we cannot invest in a design with no foreseeable future” This must be the millionth time that I’ve heard the same thing from all the other famous Jewelry companies in Milan. At this point, I was already tired and ready to give up. But I decided to try one last time. “But, signore,” I persisted, pointing out some features of my design, “This piece is the future. You might not see it now…maybe because you’re old and using spectacles as a result of your eye defect, but this piece will be the number one piece of jewelry in the whole of Italy very soon, and it can even rank number one in the whole world.” I noticed that he had stopped listening to me, and his face had hardened. Peering at me through his thick glasses, he banged his hand on the desk and shouted. “Are you trying to insult me and my craft?” Oh, s**t. My mouth has done it again. I was starting to think that this was the main reason I’d been getting rejected all the time. Why couldn’t I just state my points without being too blunt? “Signore” I started, trying to control the damage that I’d already caused. “No, I would never do that. I just need you to give me a chance to show you how great this jewelry design can be. It’s—” “Get out,” the old man interrupted. “What? No, please just listen to me—” “I said…” he packed my book of designs and dumped it on my arm, then pointed to the door. “Get out!” There goes another million chances. Defeated, I packed up my books and my shoulder bag, stepping out of the company with the tiny dignity that clung to the soles of my shoes. The moment I got into my car, I threw my head on the dashboard and let out a frustrated scream. “Phew!” I breathed, “That felt good” Being the heiress of a sinking company that was about to go bankrupt is draining. As an heiress wasn’t I supposed to be flying around the world, going to spa dates, and shopping without restraint? I’m just twenty-three years old for Christ’s sake! I should be falling in love, having s*x, and doing crazy things with my life. I should be in the club drinking and flirting. But nope. That wasn’t for me. My father’s company, Hugo Jewelries, had hit rock bottom two years ago. Even after trying to salvage it to the extent of selling one of my priceless pieces to our rival, Lombardos’ Jewel, just to offset our debts and make the company stand again, it has never been the same. “I wish I was never an heiress” I muttered, leaning against the seat headrest. “It’s so exhausting.” At least then I wouldn’t need to worry about having feelings for the son of a rival company. I would be free to approach him and tell him how I felt. Even though he has a cold exterior, I bet he would be a lot warmer inside. Enzo Lombardo, the man of my dreams—intriguing, yet simple, cold, yet warm. But that union is something that I could only dream of. It was entirely impossible. The shrill ring of my phone brought me back from my musing, hauling me down to reality. Scrambling through the contents in my tote bag, I took the screaming device and swiped, putting it to my ear. “Hello?” “Ms Emilia; you need to come to the office immediately. The shareholders are withdrawing their shares and demanding explanations. It’s chaotic right now.” Indeed, I could hear some chaos in the background. But shareholders withdrawing their shares? That will make the company go completely underwater. “Grace, calm down,” I said to my personal assistant who was visibly shaking over the phone. “Are my parents there? They can handle the confusion while I drive down there” “They left a long time ago, Ms. It’s just the M.D and the P.R units here. This is bad, Ms Emilia. The media might get an idea of what has been going on in the company. What if it becomes the headline in the papers tomorrow?” I couldn’t wrap my head around how quickly the company went down. I mean, I knew that it had been shaky for a while, but I never knew that it would get to that point where the shareholders withhold their shares and support. “Try to hold them down. Tell the PR unit to handle everything and make sure nothing leaks to the press. I’ll be there soon” I hung up, exhaling deeply. As usual, the mantle has fallen on me to cover up the business of the company. I just couldn’t understand why my parents even bothered with the company if they couldn’t keep up with the financial overload and requirements. Turning the ignition on, I pumped my foot on the accelerator and drove to the company. When I got there, contrary to what Grace had told me on the phone, everywhere was calm. “Where are the shareholders?” I asked her when I got to my office. “They already left. But they promised to be back. And I don’t think they meant for good. I’m scared that one of them might go to the press to divulge information about us.” I gulped down the coffee that Grace had handed me, my brain almost pumping from excessive thinking. I had to meet my parents to talk about this. This wasn’t something that I could handle alone. “Take care of things over here. I’ll go and meet the president to put an end to all of this” I said and grabbed my bag. I got into my car and drove the one-hour journey to my parent’s house, my mind trying to make sense of a lot of things. By the time I got to the mansion, I met my parents mumbling over some issues. They stopped talking immediately they saw me come in, which was quite suspicious to me. “Honey, you’re here,” my father said, opening his arms for a hug. I frowned, moving past his open arms to sit on the couch. I wasn’t the naïve little girl that they could deceive with a hug and some kisses. “What’s going on, father? How come you never told me that the company was this deep in debt?” “We didn’t want to bother you, sweetheart. We wanted to handle it ourselves” my mother replied. “And how has that been? You could have at least told me that the jewelry I sold couldn’t offset the debt” “You’re so young and we didn’t want to put so much responsibility on your shoulders. We know how much you hated doing this work” At least they were right about that one thing. “We think we found a solution to end all of this, Emilia. But it involves you doing something huge” I removed my palm from my eyes, looking suspiciously at my parents. I didn’t like the tone of their voice, or the way they looked at me with pity. “How does it involve me? Do I need to make more beautiful designs? Do I need to find more companies to pitch our company to?” My father shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I fear it’s something that involves more commitment” It took a while for his words to sink in before I understood them. Something that involved more commitment? What could possibly require that level of commitment if not— Oh, no effing way! “Please don’t tell me that you’re planning to sell me out to an old billionaire in need of a wife as a way to revive your drowning company,” I said, looking from my mother to my father. I might be a jeweler, but I also had an interest in reading a lot of romance stories. Somehow it helps to transport me from the harsh realities of this world to a fairytale where there’s always a lovely happy ending for the female lead. But I’ve also read stories where the female lead is sold to old billionaires in exchange for the resurrection of her father’s businesses. It never ends well, and I never want to be caught up in that kind of story. “Emilia, sweetheart, we didn’t have any other choice. This was the only way we could think of to save the company” “By selling me to an old man? That was the only way you could think of?” I yelled, sprinting off the sofa. “Calm down Emilia.” But I didn’t want to calm down. I didn’t want to listen to them. They were about to make me live one of my worst fears—getting sold to revive a company. They’ve just managed to ruin all my dreams—all my plans of meeting Enzo one day and making him fall helplessly in love with me. They ruined my chances with my first love. “You have to tell him that you’re not interested. I’ll find a way to save our company. I’ll make different designs and go around the world until I find someone to partner with us. I’ll—” “We can’t do that, Emilia.” My father cut me off. “We’re not selling you off, and he’s not an old man.” I sighed in defeat, my hands raking through my hair. “So, who’s this man and what does he do?” My parents exchanged glances before my mother replied. “Hi s name is Enzo Lombardo, the CEO of Lombardo’s Jewelry”