Chapter 109

Chapter 109

That hit a raw nerve. If it hadn't been absolutely necessary, Ellington would never have agreed to the divorce.

"You called me here just to tell me this?"

Maurice looked Ellington up and down. "Last time I saw you, you hadn't taken over the Carnegie Group yet. How long has it been? You look worse than you did five years ago."

They say life begins at forty for men. Ellington was barely thirty, yet he looked years older than he should.

Rough road in the love department, clearly.

"Cut the crap. Why'd you want to see me?"

Silence settled between them.

Maurice's smile faded, his expression growing complicated. "Can't an old friend just drop by without an agenda? You're becoming more and more like that transactional father of yours."

At the mention of Flynn, something flickered in Ellington's eyes, though his tone didn't change. "Don't compare me to him."

He didn't consider being pragmatic a flaw. Pragmatism wasn't the same as being cutthroat. He knew the difference between the two.

Right now, he simply wasn't in the mood for Maurice's banter.

"You two are father and son — genetics don't lie. The way I see it, who's to say Mr. Carnegie didn't deeply love Ms. Stewart when he was young? People change. Give it a few more years, and maybe you won't care about Cordelia anymore either."

It wasn't that Maurice looked down on Cordelia. That woman was clearly genuine, still untainted by the cynicism of their world, and talented in her own right. Given time, she'd undoubtedly make something of herself.

No — if she hadn't married Ellington, she might already have.

Who was really holding whom back in that relationship? Hard to say.

If being together was nothing but torment, why not end it sooner and set each other free?

"I won't change." Ellington's response was immediate. "He's him and I'm me. Cordelia is the only one for me. In this lifetime."

He'd said the same thing to so many different people he'd lost count, and most of them didn't seem to believe him.

Did his love for Cordelia really look that fragile?

Even an old friend he hadn't seen in years didn't have faith in them.

"If you really loved her that much, you wouldn't have agreed to the divorce so easily."

Maurice's words drove the knife deeper.

"While you were still married, there was still a chance. But without that legal bond, you don't even have a reason to see her. How exactly do you plan to fix things between you two?"

"Look at where you are now — you want to help her and you have to go through me, a friend you haven't contacted in ages. I can help you this once. But what about next time?"

"Doesn't it exhaust you?"

With every word, Ellington's expression darkened further.

"My father sent you to talk sense into me?"

Even his tone sounded like Flynn's.

But the Maurice he knew wasn't the type to play messenger.

Maurice didn't deny it. He knew when to stop pushing.

"Who could possibly talk sense into you? Stubborn as a mule — you slam into a wall and still refuse to turn around, just keep plowing ahead."

"Forget it. Let's eat. I came straight from the airport to see you. Don't tell me you're actually going to give your old friend the cold shoulder."

Ellington's expression remained stony. "Oh, so now you remember we're old friends."

He wasn't truly upset with Maurice. He just hadn't expected that even after the divorce, Flynn would still find ways to meddle in his love life.

"Don't bring this up again." He paused. "Instead of trying to talk me out of it, help me figure something out. I don't even know how to face her."

Why else would he have gone to such lengths to contact Maurice about the design project — pulling strings so Maurice would choose Vogue Vortex, ideally with Cordelia as lead designer?

That way, even if her public disagreement with Holden damaged Vogue Vortex's brand image, Maurice's endorsement would shield her. The other employees wouldn't give her a hard time.

Of course, things hadn't spiraled nearly as badly as he'd feared.

The negative press had already been suppressed. Ellington had people quietly managing the online narrative, filtering out everything except comments favorable to Cordelia.

Maurice studied his dejected demeanor with genuine puzzlement. "Honestly, I think you're overthinking this. It's not as complicated as you're making it."

"If you want to win her back, then do it. But not by being overbearing — and definitely not just with words and no action."

"Think about it. The hurt didn't happen overnight. Getting her to open her heart to you again won't happen overnight either. Take it slow."

Maurice's advice differed from Liliana's.

One told him to be patient. The other urged him to act fast. And here he was, too ashamed to even show his face in front of her.

Ellington reached for a cigarette, lit it, and took a long, hard drag.

Maurice said nothing more.

He'd said everything he could. If Ellington couldn't figure it out, that was his problem. Even if things with Cordelia were truly beyond repair, he'd have no one to blame but himself.

...

Vogue Vortex hadn't made any internal announcement about the visitor from headquarters. Business carried on as usual.

Only Cordelia and Griffin had been present when the secretary reported it, so Cordelia kept the information to herself, not breathing a word to anyone.

But a strange rumor began circulating through the company.

Where did that helicopter on the rooftop come from?

"Cordelia! Have you been up to the roof? There's seriously a helicopter parked up there!"

Liliana had snuck up to the rooftop during her break. Through the locked gate, she could still see half the helicopter's fuselage.

"Where do you think it came from? It's not like any VIPs have shown up around here."

Cordelia privately suspected everyone had too much work stress if something this minor could become office lore.

Her expression didn't change. Her tone stayed casual. "Maybe someone important did come. We just haven't seen them."

Now that she thought about it, she was curious too. The mysterious executive from headquarters had been here a whole week without showing their face.

"Oh God — then I should keep my mouth shut before I offend someone way above my pay grade."

Liliana looked so genuinely alarmed that Cordelia couldn't help but be amused.

"What are you so worried about? You've got the Stewart family and the Carnegie family behind you."

With Raina's fierce protectiveness over her own people, Liliana would never be left out in the cold.

"But what if it's some big name in the design world? Better safe than sorry!"

Since the two of them had cleared the air, Liliana had been asking for Cordelia's guidance far less often.

She clearly wasn't clueless about design — her skills were actually quite solid.

Cordelia knew exactly what she was really doing here.

She was watching over her. For Ellington.