Chapter 183 Divorce Court Hearing
Arabella looked confused until Mark walked over with his tablet, showing her the screen. "These are behind-the-scenes shots from yesterday's shoot that I posted onsocial media. Look at the engagement—over 200,000 likes!"
Arabella froze, staring at him for a moment before asking with obvious displeasure, "You posted photos of me without asking first?"
Mark grinned broadly. "I'm a photography influencer—that's what I do. I post street photography and portrait work on my accounts all the time."
Arabella was speechless. The kid clearly didn't see anything wrong with what he'd done.
Ella noticed her darkening expression and quickly jumped in to smooth things over. "Mark, you can't do that anymore. I know you're trying to grow your following, but yesterday's shoot was for brand promotion. Posting to your personal account could land us in legal trouble."
Mark took a sip of his iced coffee, looking pleased with himself. "I'm not stupid! Everything I posted was close-up portrait work of Arabella—no brand logos were visible anywhere."
Arabella's mood soured further.
So he'd been secretly taking extra shots during their professional session, building his own collection of her photos.
The thought of her image being stored on someone else's device, potentially used for who knows what purpose, made her deeply uncomfortable.
Later, Arabella brought the issue up with Ella again.
Ella understood her concerns but, considering Mark's solid technical skills and reasonable rates, decided to give him another chance.
More puzzling than Mark's boundary-crossing, however, was the explosive success of this particular campaign.
This was especially puzzling after she spoke with the brand representatives, who mentioned that many customers were purchasing multiple items in single transactions—something that struck Arabella as highly unusual.
"Ella... I've been analyzing our backend data, and I noticed something odd. Most of these big spenders are brand-new followers. Don't you think that's strange?"
As she asked the question, Arabella already had her suspicions, though no concrete proof.
Ella looked up from her computer, thoughtful. "You mean these new followers were referred by someone?"
"I think it's more likely they were... pressured."
"Pressured?" Ella looked surprised.
Arabella hesitated before voicing her theory. "After our blog post went live, Gabriel called me. He somehow found out about the modeling work and mocked me for being desperate for money, for putting myself on display..."
Ella's eyes lit up with understanding. "You're saying Mr. Sterling mobilized his network to artificially boost our sales—well, your sales?"
"But that doesn't feel right... He's incredibly image-conscious. Why would he do something so beneath him?" Besides, he'd been so contemptuous of her work—why would he secretly help her?
"Then..." Ella frowned, thinking. "Could it be Mr. Wright?"
Manuel?
Arabella's eyes widened with sudden realization.
How had she forgotten about Manuel?
Seeing her expression change, Ella pulled out her phone with a knowing look. "Don't worry, I'll just call and ask."
After dialing, Ella had barely finished her greeting when Manuel's amused voice came through with obvious amusement, "I was just about to call you two."
Ella put the phone on speaker and gestured for Arabella to listen in, and responded cheerfully, "Mr. Wright, what were you going to tell us?"
"Congratulations on your success! I saw the campaign did incredibly well. I had no idea Arabella would be such a natural model—absolutely stunning work."
What Manuel didn't mention was that he'd spent half the night scrolling through those photos, more captivated each time he looked.
Ella shot Arabella a meaningful glance, then got straight to the point. "Mr. Wright, did you give us a little behind-the-scenes boost? We had a lot of new followers making substantial purchases—some accounts spent thousands!"
Manuel laughed warmly. "You figured it out? I just thought the brand looked promising, so I recommended it to some friends, mentioned it was a social media venture I'd invested in. They were genuinely impressed by Arabella's presentation and couldn't resist making purchases."
He made it sound casual, but Arabella knew his friends had probably bought items purely out of respect for his endorsement.
Understanding the real reason behind their "viral success" left Arabella with mixed feelings.
At least the mystery benefactor wasn't Gabriel—that would have created an awkward debt of gratitude.
But Manuel's help was equally problematic.
How could she ever repay these mounting favors when she had so little to offer in return?
The situation felt increasingly overwhelming.
Seeing Arabella walk away, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, Ella thanked Manuel profusely before ending the call.
"Why do you look so troubled? He did this voluntarily—you didn't ask him to. There's no reason to feel guilty," Ella said, trying to reassure her.
Arabella smiled bitterly. "Easy for you to say. You think someone can keep giving without expecting anything back? Every gesture comes with the hope of reciprocation, and I owe him far too much already."
"Yeah... you're right. He's obviously devoted to you, and if you never respond, that's not really fair either." Ella grimaced, recognizing the complexity of the situation.
————
The success of that sponsored post brought in even more followers, and their impressive conversion rates caught the attention of numerous other brands, who began reaching out with lucrative collaboration offers.
Fortunately, both Ella and Arabella kept level heads.
To protect their reputation and ensure long-term success, they resisted the temptation to accept every opportunity. Instead, they carefully vetted potential partners, focusing on familiar product categories, thoroughly researching company backgrounds, and personally testing items before agreeing to any endorsements.
As their business flourished, Arabella's divorce proceedings finally reached their court date.
That morning, she dressed carefully for the hearing.
This divorce wasn't an ending—it was the beginning of a new life. She needed to look more polished and confident than ever to prove she'd made the right choice.
Manuel arrived early to escort her to the courthouse, where they unexpectedly encountered Gabriel in the building's main entrance.
Gabriel cut an imposing figure in his long wool coat, tall and composed with an air of cold authority. His sculpted features caught the morning light as he approached, the play of shadows across his face making his expression seem even more intense and mysterious.
Only his attorney accompanied him, the two were engaged in what appeared to be last-minute strategy discussions.
Seeing Arabella, Gabriel's composed expression faltered, his gaze immediately darkened.
Both parties stopped, and he made no attempt to hide his scrutiny of the woman before him.
Perhaps success had been good to her—she looked considerably better than before. Her complexion was radiant, her eyes bright and clear, her skin almost luminous. Even without makeup, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Gabriel found himself thinking that now that she was earning money, surely she surely wouldn’t need to continue that degrading modeling work.
Arabella studied Gabriel's face, her brow slightly furrowed. She wanted to acknowledge him but couldn't find appropriate words.
Despite being with Gabriel for over two years, she still felt unable to relax in his presence.
Whenever Gabriel fell silent and fixed those dark, unfathomable eyes on her with that overwhelming intensity, his commanding aura made her feel as though she were standing naked before a judge. The sensation filled her with deep embarrassment and a raw sense of vulnerability.
Even here in broad daylight, bundled up against the winter cold, with Gabriel maintaining his characteristic icy demeanor—she still felt exposed and ashamed, as if every intimate moment they'd shared were playing out before her eyes.