Chapter 17
Elena
The black SUV pulled smoothly to a stop in front of Waldorf Fashions' headquarters in Manhattan.
Elena stepped out moments later, adjusting the strap of her handbag as the fresh breeze brushed against her face.
Now back home from the beautiful wedding of Ivy and Aaron, it was time to get back to work.
The familiar glass building rose before her, and for the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely excited to be here.
There was less than a month left before the fashion show.
Just thinking about it sent a spark of anticipation through her.
This wasn't simply another event on the company calendar.
It was Waldorf Fashion's comeback. After months of financial struggles, bad press, and internal conflicts, this show would announce to the industry that they were still standing.
And this time, Elena would have a real voice in it.
As much as she hated admitting it, Carter Evans deserved credit for that.
The thought irritated her almost as much as it pleased her.
Professionally speaking, he had been exactly what the company needed.
The restructuring plans his team implemented had decreased the financial bleeding within a month.
Departments that had been wasting money were reorganized.
Vendor contracts were renegotiated. Marketing budgets were redirected toward campaigns that actually generated sales.
The results spoke for themselves.
One of Elena's biggest ideas had finally been approved after years of being dismissed.
She had proposed launching a limited-edition luxury capsule collection aimed at younger customers who loved designer brands but couldn't afford the highest-end pieces.
Her aunt had called it childish and claimed it would dilute the company's image.
The collection had sold out in three weeks.
It had generated millions in revenue and brought an entirely new customer base to the company.
Imagine that.
Elena hadn't been the reckless wild child Aunt Julia always made her out to be.
Who would've thought?
A small smile tugged at her lips as she crossed the plaza toward the building entrance. For the first time in years, people were actually listening to her ideas. It felt nice. More than nice, actually. It felt deserved.
"Elena."
Her smile instantly disappeared.
She turned automatically at the familiar voice. The second she saw who it belonged to, she wished she hadn't.
Kyle.
Standing near the entrance in an expensive gray suit, looking every bit the rich businessman. If she hadn't known better, she might have mistaken him for a decent human being. Unfortunately, she did know better.
"Kyle," she said flatly.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"What is this, Elena?" he demanded, spreading his hands dramatically. "I leave for a business trip and come back to find half the house empty and divorce papers waiting for me."
Elena stared at him.
Kyle stepped closer, lowering his voice as though they were discussing something private and tragic. His expression shifted into wounded confusion. The performance would have been impressive if she hadn't already seen the evidence with her own eyes.
"Save it, Kyle," she said coldly. "I know you're cheating on me. We're done. It's that simple."
For a brief moment, genuine fear flashed across his face.
It disappeared almost immediately.
Years of corporate negotiations had clearly taught him how to recover quickly.
"I can explain," he said. "There has to be some misunderstanding."
Elena nearly laughed.
A misunderstanding.
Right.
Because women accidentally ended up in hotel rooms with married men all the time.
"I don't care," she said, already turning away. "I don't have time for your excuses. Go find one of your mistresses and bother her instead."
She resumed walking toward the entrance.
Kyle hurried after her.
"Elena, please." His voice softened. "I'm sorry. It was a mistake."
She kept walking.
"It didn't mean anything," he continued desperately. "I've been under a lot of pressure. Work has been difficult. I wasn't thinking clearly."
There it was.
The victim act.
Somehow he had managed to transform his affair into a tragedy where he was the one suffering.
"I made a mistake," he said again. "People make mistakes. Three years together has to mean something. Please. We can fix this. We can make it work."
Elena stopped walking.
Slowly, she turned around.
Kyle immediately looked hopeful.
Big mistake.
Because the expression on Elena's face was anything but forgiving.
"You want to talk about three years?" she asked quietly.
His hopeful expression faltered.
She took a step toward him.
"You should have thought about those three years before sleeping with other women behind my back."
Every word landed like a slap.
Kyle opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
"Security!" Elena called sharply.
Two guards immediately looked over from the front entrance.
Kyle's eyes widened.
The guards approached quickly.
Elena pointed directly at her soon-to-be ex-husband.
"This man is no longer welcome anywhere near Waldorf Fashions." Her voice was calm, professional, and absolutely ruthless. "If you ever see him on these premises again, call the police immediately."
The guards nodded.
"Of course, Ms. Waldorf."
Kyle's face darkened with humiliation.
Without giving him another glance, Elena turned and walked into the building.
The glass doors closed behind her.
Only then did she allow herself to roll her eyes.
The freaking audacity.
The man cheated on her, got caught, received divorce papers, and somehow had the confidence to act like she was the unreasonable one.
Honestly.
Men had a lot of nerve sometimes.
****
First Kyle ruined her morning.
Now Aunt Julia was determined to ruin the rest of her day.
Elena sat across from her aunt's desk, trying very hard to remain patient. Unfortunately, patience was becoming a limited resource lately. Between her cheating husband, an upcoming fashion show, and Carter Evans stubbornly existing, she was running dangerously low.
What was Aunt Julia's problem lately?
Actually, scratch that.
The problem hasn't been lately.
It was just more noticeable now.
The company was finally moving in the right direction. Sales were improving. Investors were happy. The upcoming fashion show had generated buzz throughout the industry. Everyone should have been celebrating.
Yet Julia seemed annoyed more often than pleased.
The answer wasn't exactly difficult to figure out.
For years, Aunt Julia had controlled everything.
Every decision. Every department.
Now she didn't. And she hated it.
"You really should reconsider your decision regarding Kyle," Julia said, folding her hands neatly on her desk. "At least until after the fashion show."
Elena blinked.
Surely she hadn't heard that correctly.
"You're my aunt," Elena said slowly. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
Julia sighed dramatically.
"I am on your side, Elena. It's just that our upcoming show is important. You don't want divorce news distracting from the event."
Elena actually scoffed out loud.
Was this woman serious?
Maybe her brain had really matured recently. She'd once read somewhere that your frontal lobe fully developed around twenty-five. Whatever the reason, Elena suddenly felt like she was seeing things much more clearly than before.
Nobody cared about her marriage nearly as much as Aunt Julia seemed to.
"Nobody cares about my personal life, Aunt Julie," Elena said firmly. "And even if they did, that's my problem. Just stay out of it."
Julia's lips tightened slightly.
Elena continued before her aunt could interrupt.
"I'm not getting back together with Kyle. He cheated on me."
The room went quiet.
For a brief moment, something flashed across Julia's face. Surprise maybe. Or calculation. Elena couldn't quite tell. Then just as quickly, it disappeared.
Julia's expression softened.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Elena nearly rolled her eyes.
Sweetheart.
That usually meant damage control was coming.
"You've been through a lot recently," Julia said gently. "Perhaps I've been too focused on the business side of things."
Well.
That was unexpected.
Julia leaned forward slightly.
"I only want what's best for you. If Kyle truly betrayed your trust, then I understand why you're upset. I just don't want you making decisions while you're hurting."
Elena studied her aunt carefully.
The concern looked genuine.
Maybe it was.
Maybe Julia really was trying.
"I appreciate that," Elena said cautiously. "But this decision isn't emotional. I'm done."
Julia nodded.
"Then I'll support whatever choice you make."
That was suspiciously easy.
Before Elena could think about it too much, Julia smoothly changed the subject.
"Speaking of business," she said casually, "when exactly am I meeting our new investor?"
"You've been asking that for weeks."
"And you've been avoiding answering for weeks."
Elena sighed.
"He's busy."
Julia raised an eyebrow.
"Too busy to meet the company's owner?"
Too busy to answer basic questions apparently.
Too busy to explain why he disappeared from her life four years ago.
Too busy to stop making her think about him every five minutes.
Fortunately, Elena kept those thoughts to herself.
"I'll see what I can do," she said.
Julia smiled immediately.
And suddenly Elena was very ready to leave that office.
****
Elena refused to let either Kyle or aunt Julia ruin her day.
There was simply too much work to do.
The upcoming fashion show consumed almost every waking thought she had. The event was less than a month away, and every department inside Waldorf Fashions seemed to be operating at full speed.
Which honestly suited Elena perfectly.
Busy was good.
Busy left less time to think.
Mrs. Nolan, one of the senior executives from Carter's team, stood at the front of the conference room giving a detailed presentation on the company's event promotion strategy.
The woman was brilliant.
"If we release behind-the-scenes content a week before the event, engagement projections increase by forty percent," Mrs. Nolan explained.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of meetings, sketches, and endless decisions.
Elena barely noticed the hours slipping away as she moved from one department to another, approving designs and finalizing details for the upcoming show.
Everywhere she looked, people were working toward the same goal.
For the first time in years, Waldorf Fashions felt alive again.
The designers gathered around her were some of the best in the industry. A few of them had even worked alongside her father years ago, back when Waldorf Fashions had been at its peak.
Every now and then, one of them would share a story about him—something funny he had said, an argument he had started over a design, or the impossible standards he demanded from everyone, including himself. Each story made Elena smile, even as something ached quietly inside her chest.
Her father had loved this company.
Not because it made money or because it carried his name.
He loved it because fashion was his art, and every collection he created carried a piece of himself within it. Waldorf Fashions had been his dream long before it became a business.
For years, Elena had watched that dream slowly fade.
Aunt Julie’s egocentric poor decisions, internal politics, and endless power struggles had chipped away at the company her father built with his own hands.
There were moments when she had genuinely feared his legacy would disappear completely. The thought still terrified her.
As she stood in the design studio surrounded by sketches and fabric samples, a quiet determination settled inside her.
This fashion show wasn't just another event.
It wasn't about headlines, investors, or proving critics wrong. It was about reminding the world what Waldorf Fashions had once been—and what it could become again.
She would protect her father's legacy.
No matter what it took.