Designing My New Life
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Thea wins, Lily is disqualified, and Chase finally asks to know her. But the real fight for his life—and her trust—hasn't started.
245ARX
Thea spends three years married to Chase, invisible and disposable. On their third anniversary, he goes to the airport for Lily Harding, his old flame, with roses flown in from Valeria. Thea waits at home. She has never been seen in public with him. Now she is asked to be understanding again.
Lily moves into the master bedroom that same night. Thea is sent to the guest room. When Chase's mother blames Thea for the arrangement, Chase says nothing. Lily complains to his mother, then apologizes to Thea, and Chase believes her every time. Thea watches the same trick repeat and stops waiting for him to choose her.
Lily wears the dress Thea's dead mother made. She rips it and the jade bracelet shatters. Chase tells Thea it's just an old dress, just a bracelet, stop making a scene. Thea finally asks for a divorce and wants nothing. Chase thinks she's bluffing. She has no job, no money, and her own family shoves her back toward him. He waits for her to return.
She doesn't. She resigns from the station after her interview is reassigned to Lily. When her friend Emma needs a dress for a model casting, Thea designs one overnight. The dress wins the cover. The editor of Ormra tells Thea to open a studio and later offers her a slot in the Nereid Design Competition. Thea enters under her college pen name and builds the Chrysalis series in three sleepless days.
At the competition, Lily presents designs Thea drew three years ago. Lily accuses Thea of plagiarism. Chase stands up. "I can prove that what Lily said is true." Thea asks for a UV light. Every one of her sketches carries an invisible S in the same spot. Lily's copy shows the identical mark. The jury disqualifies Lily and names Thea the winner.
Chase, now revealed as the general manager of Krylion Group, presents the award. He says he never knew she was a designer and asks for another chance. Thea tells him they are already divorced. She waited three years for him to know her. It's too late. Her studio books solid for a year. Then Chase appears at her door asking her to come back to the station. She refuses. Her hand shakes after he leaves, but she keeps working.
