Million-Dollar Heartbreak

Hearing Chloe’s whining complaints, Declan furrowed his brows. He cast a harsh, scrutinizing glare at Kendall, letting his dark eyes sweep over her simple staff uniform. He openly questioned why she would subject herself to such a servile, low-class job instead of utilizing the generous amount of money he had provided her.

"Stop following others and dive into the service industry if you can't stay humble," he sneered. His voice dripped with unmistakable condescension, the deep timbre echoing in the opulent space of the fitting area.

Pricked by his arrogant dismissal of her actual career, Kendall simply curled her lip. She maintained her icy professionalism, refusing to let the sting of his insult show on her face. "Very well, then," she replied, her tone perfectly even. She politely declared that she would arrange for another assistant to serve them immediately, before turning on her heel and stepping away without sparing him another glance.

Walking swiftly to the back room, she grabbed a junior replacement assistant and issued strict, precise instructions. She made it clear that her true identity as the head designer, Celine, must remain a secret.

"And if they ask why," Kendall added, her eyes flashing with a sudden streak of dark spite. She leaned in closer to the nervous assistant. "Tell them that Celine's husband has just passed away, so she currently isn't in the mood to design any dresses."

Inside the luxurious fitting room, Chloe continued to whine about the attendant's terrible attitude. She pouted at her reflection in the mirrors, demanding better treatment. Declan stood by her side, his posture relaxed. He reached out to tenderly stroke her hair, promising in a soft tone that he would use his vast corporate connections to get Celine's private number for her.

However, their intimate conversation was interrupted when the new assistant nervously entered the fitting area. Keeping her head down, she delivered Kendall's fabricated, morbid message regarding the mysterious designer's newly widowed status.

Upon hearing that Celine's husband was dead, Declan's eyelid twitched. His handsome expression tightened, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his features. Yet, he dismissed the setback with a casual wave of his hand. "We shall wait until she's ready, then," he decided, his tone carrying the weight of a man accustomed to getting what he wanted. He stood there, blind to the massive irony that the 'dead husband' in question was him.

Hours later, the adrenaline from the encounter faded. Kendall sat in the empty studio, realizing she found herself no longer sleepy from the distress. The quiet humming of the air conditioner was her only company. Needing an outlet, she pulled out her phone and dialed her best friend, Tessa, demanding they throw a wild celebratory party for her massive 1.3 million profit.

Tessa, listening to the hurried excitement on the other end, started piecing the details together over the phone. She realized that Kendall had sold *the* wedding dress. It was the singular masterpiece she had spent three agonizing years meticulously working on in secret, pouring every ounce of her soul into the delicate lace and premium silk.

"Which magnificent customer bought it?" Tessa asked, her tone cautious, sensing something amiss beneath Kendall's forced cheerfulness.

"Declan," Kendall replied. She stared at the blank wall of the studio, forcing a wry smile that didn't reach her eyes. "He bought it for Chloe."

Horrified by the sheer cruelty of the situation, Tessa shrieked through the speaker. The sound was a sharp spike of genuine outrage. But Kendall gripped her phone, her knuckles turning white. She struggled hard to hold back her welling tears, insisting that the massive financial profit was the only thing that mattered now.

"We're rich," Kendall said into the receiver, her voice cracking slightly. Yet, in the quiet of her own mind, she knew it was a bitter victory. She deliberately set the 1.3 million price tag for a very specific reason. It mirrored January 3rd, the long-forgotten date Declan and she had stood in the quiet registry office and applied for their marriage license.

They ended up at a loud local bar downtown. After a grueling night of heavy drinking that left empty shot glasses scattered across their sticky wooden table, Tessa passed out, her head resting heavily on her crossed arms. Kendall managed to haul her unconscious friend out to the curb and loaded her into a waiting cab, sending her home with the driver.

Standing alone on the cold pavement, the chill of the night air bit at her flushed cheeks. She hailed another cab for herself. She climbed into the backseat, resting her heavy head against the window as the neon city lights blurred past.

Halfway through the quiet journey back to the studio, a sharp thought pierced her inebriated mind. Declan still hadn't seen the signed divorce settlement. The physical papers were still sitting on the coffee table at the apartment.

Determined to sever ties tonight, she leaned forward and redirected the driver. She commanded him to return to the upscale apartment she had called home for three miserable years.

The cab pulled up to the familiar residential building. Kendall paid the fare and stumbled out. Staggering slightly, she rode the elevator up and unlocked the heavy front door. She pushed it open and stepped inside the dark foyer.

Before she could even reach for the light switch, she was pinned against the entryway wall by an overwhelming, strong force. The hard impact knocked the breath from her lungs.

Before she could scream or even register the sudden assault, her lips were captured in a punishing, domineering kiss.

The unmistakably familiar, intoxicating scent of Declan’s cedarwood cologne mixed with his burning body heat enveloped her. The raw dominance of his heavy frame trapping her against the wall sent a shockwave through her nervous system, nearly bringing her to tears of deeply repressed longing. His mouth moved against hers with a harsh, demanding hunger, bruising her lips in the darkness.

But the agonizing, crystal-clear memory of him tenderly accompanying Chloe that very afternoon at the studio crashed down on her. The image of him stroking Chloe's hair acted like a bucket of ice water, sobering her up.

Utilizing every ounce of strength in her body, Kendall shoved his solid chest away. She broke the kiss, gasping for air, and wiped her swollen mouth with the back of her hand in raw disgust.

"How desperate are you?! Did Chloe not satisfy you enough?" she spat out, her voice shaking with unadulterated rage.

Declan stepped back, the faint hallway light casting harsh shadows across his face. He was still dressed in the same tailored suit from earlier that day, his tie loosened around his collar. He stared down at her with dangerously sullen, dark eyes, a muscle feathering along his sharp jawline.

"What about you?" Declan retorted. "You said you were going to divorce me, right? So, why are you still here in the middle of the night?" He took a slow, menacing step forward. "What's the matter? You can't stand the hardship of your current job?" he interrogated, his voice a low, threatening rumble that vibrated in the narrow space.

Balling her hands into tight fists at his unwavering disdain, Kendall refused to back down. She met his intimidating glare head-on and snapped back fearlessly.

"The pay isn't as great, but the suffering is really far from when I was working for you."

Without waiting for his response, she bypassed his towering frame, bumping her shoulder against his. She marched straight into the dim living room, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor.

She zeroed in on the glass coffee table. She snatched the printed divorce settlement and the stack of shiny bank cards right off the surface where she had left them that morning.

She turned around, facing Declan who had followed her into the room. Marching right back up to him, she shoved the entire pile hard into his chest, forcing him to catch the scattered items before they hit the floor.

"I came back here to get these," Kendall declared, her chin held high as she glared at him. "I'm glad that you're here. That way, I won't have to make an extra trip tomorrow."