His Rejected Wife, The World's Genius

Gabriella froze mid-step, not even turning around, when Damian's cutting voice sliced through the hum of the Nunez Group lobby.

"Gabriella, I'll have someone send your things down. Don't track dirt all over my company's floors. Don't you know how filthy you are?"

The cruel words hit her like a thunderclap, slamming straight into the center of her chest.

He was the filthy one, yet he had the audacity to turn the blame on her.

She spun around in a rage, her gaze sharp and clear, lazy and laced with unmistakeable contempt. "Damian, aren't you the filthier one here?"

She flicked a pointed glance at Hayleigh, who was clinging to his arm.

Even though the words weren't directed at her, Hayleigh felt as if a hard slap had landed straight across her face.

"Damian..." she ground out through her teeth, glaring viciously at Gabriella.

Damian deliberately pressed a kiss to Hayleigh's cheek. "Be good, Hayleigh. I'll stand in line later and buy you that ice cream cake you love so much."

Gabriella's hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, forcing herself not to look at the gut-wrenching sight before her.

She'd loved ice cream cake too, once. But Damian had always forbidden her from eating it, saying her body was too sensitive to the cold, that it was bad for her health. It turned out he'd just never wanted to buy it for her in the first place.

That was the difference between being loved and not being loved at all.

Hayleigh snuggled obediently into his chest, grinning happily.

Damian narrowed his eyes, staring at Gabriella. She'd changed. She'd always been quiet and cold, but she'd never been this sharp, this unapologetically confrontational before.

It was only then that he noticed what she was wearing: a sharp, tailored crimson blazer that clung to her perfect figure, fiery and stunning, a world away from the muted, modest clothes she'd always worn before.

What shocked him even more was her hair.

Once, he'd said offhand, "I like your hair long."

And she'd barely cut it at all, for four whole years.

Now, it was cut into a sleek, chin-length bob, sharp and polished. In her blazing red blazer, she looked like a completely different woman, her cold eyes calm, composed, and unreadable.

Gabriella had no intention of stepping foot into the building again. She pulled out her phone and called Marla, her former subordinate, asking her to bring down the items in her desk drawer.

She never wanted to set foot in Damian Nunez's company ever again.

A few minutes later, Marla hurried across the marble floor with a cardboard box, handing it over to her. Gabriella checked the contents, confirming it held the files she needed, then clutched the box to her chest, climbed into the waiting luxury sedan, and drove away without a single backward glance.

Hayleigh couldn't believe how lucky Gabriella was. No matter how hard she tried to crush her, Gabriella always ended up in the arms of another wealthy man.

But it was for the best. This way, she could have Damian all to herself, completely.

"Damian, Gabriella's new man must be filthy rich, right? The car she drove off in is even nicer than yours," Hayleigh simpered.

Damian's dark eyes clouded over, unreadable. Whoever this man was, he was powerful. For an entire month, he'd dug into every corner of New York, and he'd found nothing on Gabriella's whereabouts, not a single trace of the man she was with.

"She's divorced from me. We're done, once and for all," Damian said, voice flat. He turned and walked toward his car parked at the curb.

Hayleigh stared at his back, her mood souring instantly. For a month, she'd been by Damian's side every single day, desperate to have him completely. But beyond his gentle words and pretty gifts, he'd never once spent the night at her apartment.

"Damian, wait for me!" Hayleigh ran after him, climbing into the car beside him. There was a charity gala that night, and rumors were swirling that a rare, priceless blue-violet diamond would be up for auction.

She was determined to make Damian buy it for her, to set it in an engagement ring, a symbol of their love.

Damian had called her that morning, telling her he'd be taking her to the auction, and she'd giddily spent hours getting dressed up for him.

Gabriella hadn't driven far when her phone rang. It was her grandfather, Cornelius Carlisle IV.

"Grandfather," she said, voice softening.

"Little one, at the charity gala tonight, there's a rare blue-violet diamond going up for auction. No matter the cost, you must win it for me," Cornelius said, voice firm and commanding.

Gabriella blinked in surprise. "Grandfather, since when have you been interested in diamonds?"

"Don't worry about that, little one. Just win it for me. Grandfather has his reasons," he said, tone leaving no room for argument.

Gabriella smiled. "Alright. I'll be there later. Have someone send the invitation over to the manor."