His gaze was a tangled knot of emotions.
Anger. Disappointment. Pain.
So many feelings swirled in his eyes that they couldn’t be put into words.
Jonathan spoke in a flat voice. “What’s this? Are you jealous?”
Niamh said nothing.
With nothing left to say, Jonathan turned and headed for the door.
Just as he was about to leave her office, Niamh’s voice rang out behind him–clear, almost trembling.
“Jonathan… Do you really want me out of the competition?”
Jonathan paused and glanced back.
He didn’t answer, but his silence said everything.
Niamh drew a shaky breath. “Then how about we make a bet?”
For the first time, a flicker of interest sparked in Jonathan’s cold, distant eyes.
“What kind of bet?”
She could tell she had his attention now. “Let’s bet on the Nova Jewelry Design Awards. If I take first place over Marina… you agree to divorce me.”
At the word “divorce,” a storm seemed to pass through Jonathan’s dark gaze.
Niamh looked calm on the outside, but inside, her nerves were a wreck.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of losing to Marina in the jewelry competition.
No–what truly terrified her was the possibility that Jonathan wouldn’t accept the
bet.
The silence in the office stretched on, longer than Niamh had anticipated.
She had no idea how long she and Jonathan just stared at each other room, wordless, until at last he parted his lips.
oss the
“All right. I’ll take the bet.”
With that, Jonathan strode out, never looking back.
1/2
19:51 #
υπαρισι
Niamh slumped into her chair, her heart pounding against her ribs.
He actually… agreed?
She pressed a hand to her chest, still struggling to believe it.
Jonathan, who had always resisted the very idea of divorce, had just accepted her terms. Did he have that much faith in Marina’s victory–or was there something else she didn’t see?
Either way, after years of going nowhere, they had finally taken the first step toward
ending their marriage.
For Niamh, it wasn’t just about her own brand. Whether for her career or her freedom, she had no choice: she had to win the Nova Jewelry Design Awards.
Jonathan left Niamh’s company and headed to Marina’s studio.
On the way, he stopped at a florist and bought a bouquet of blush–pink roses.
“So Niamh’s competing in the Nova Jewelry Design Awards too?”
When Jonathan shared the news, Marina’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That woman–honestly. She’s hit so many dead ends, but she just keeps copying me!” Marina feigned a sigh. “I opened my own studio, so she opened hers. I reached out to collectors, so she did too. I got an invitation to Luminous Divas Fashion Week, she wanted in as well… And now, I sign up for the competition, and she follows along right after.”
“It’s the classic copycat syndrome,” Jonathan replied dryly.
Marina hid a pleased smirk. As long as Jonathan’s impression of Niamh remained this way, the title of Mrs. Thomas would soon be hers.
“Niamh’s already skipped the preliminary selections thanks to Peter and made it straight to the qualifiers. The Thomas Group might not be one of the world’s top ten jewelry houses, but leave it to me–I’ll make sure you get into the qualifiers as well. Whatever Niamh gets, you’ll have too.”
Jonathan’s tone was calm and certain, as always.
Marina never doubted he would keep his promise.
They discussed the upcoming competition a while longer, but Jonathan never breathed a word about the bet–or the possibility of divorce.
212
