No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 07

No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 07: She Took It

The next morning, Brooke’s call woke Arabella.

She had spent the night on the narrow sofa in the back room of the workshop. Her lower back was aching by the time she opened her eyes to find the room already filled with daylight.

The moment the call connected, Brooke’s panicked voice came through. “Arabella, Daisy’s Instagram post is everywhere now.”

Arabella’s throat was still hoarse. She propped herself up on the sofa. “Mm.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Brooke sounded close to tears. “Do you know what people are saying?

“They’re saying you’re the wife making a fuss over one bridal jewelry set, and somehow Daisy’s the victim now. They’re even saying Maxwell only gave her his coat because he didn’t want her to be humiliated.”

Arabella rubbed the space between her brows. “Finished?”

Brooke choked. “Not yet.”

“Then keep going.” Arabella got up and walked to the sink, turning on the faucet. “When you’re done, send me the styling director’s contact information.”

Brooke caught on immediately. “Arabella, are you really going to meet her?”

“Yes.”

“What if she refuses?”

Arabella lifted her head and met her own reflection in the mirror.

She had cried the night before, so her eyes were still a little swollen, and her hair was a mess. Today, though, she felt much calmer than she had last night. “She’ll meet me.”

Brooke paused. “Why?”

Arabella turned off the faucet and dried her hands with a paper towel. Her voice stayed calm. “Because the Kingston family isn’t the only one scared this will blow up. Anyone involved with that bridal jewelry set has something to worry about now.”

At 10:30 a.m., Arabella arrived at Royal Craft Atelier.

It was the go-to styling studio for Azure Bay’s elite whenever they had galas or high-society events to attend. Daisy’s look from the night before had been handled by their team.

The receptionist was polite at first, but the moment Arabella gave her name, her smile stiffened. “Oh, Ms. Wayne.”

Arabella looked up. “You know me?”

The receptionist let out an awkward laugh.

By now, everyone knew who Arabella was. After the bridal jewelry set made the trending list the night before, her name had climbed right along with it more than once. The problem was, most people were treating her like a joke.

Arabella didn’t call her on it. She only said, “I’m here to see Heather.”

The receptionist immediately looked troubled. “Ms. Carter is very busy today. Maybe you could make an appointment first.”

“Tell her Arabella Wayne is here to talk about the Kingston bridal jewelry set.”

The receptionist’s face went even paler. “Please have a seat for a moment.”

Arabella didn’t sit. She stood by the front desk with her bag in hand, her expression calm.

The receptionist couldn’t shake the feeling that Arabella hadn’t come here to wait. She looked like she had come to demand answers.

Five minutes later, Heather Carter came out after all. She was in her thirties, wearing a sharply tailored black dress. Her makeup was flawless, though it couldn’t quite hide the fatigue under her eyes.

When Heather saw Arabella, she smiled first. “Ms. Wayne.”

Arabella smiled back. “Ms. Carter.”

Their pleasant smiles only made everything feel more off.

Heather stepped aside. “Let’s talk inside.”

Once the office door closed, the outside noise disappeared.

Heather poured Arabella a glass of water, but Arabella didn’t touch it. She only glanced at the glass before getting straight to the point. “Did you put that bridal jewelry set on Daisy?”

Heather’s hand paused, but she quickly smiled again. “Ms. Wayne, we’re only the styling team. We shouldn’t be dragged into what’s happening online.”

“You’re already in it.” Arabella met her eyes. “I’m not here to ask whether you were involved. I’m here to ask how much of this you handled.”

The smile on Heather’s face finally faded a little. “Ms. Wayne, that’s not a fair way to put it.”

“Then I’ll put it another way.” Arabella took out her phone, pulled up a close-up photo of the bridal jewelry set, and placed it on the desk. “I reworked the setting on the third diamond at the back of the tiara.

“That area is more fragile than the rest. Any stylist handling a piece like this should put on gloves first and avoid putting pressure on that spot.

“But in the backstage photo from last night, someone’s hand was pressing directly against that diamond. That tells me two things.”

She looked up at Heather. “First, your team didn’t know it had been restored. Second, you didn’t receive it through Kingston Jewelry’s project team. Someone handed it to you at the last minute, and you put it on her.”

Heather’s expression finally shifted. She had expected Arabella to come in crying or yelling, not armed with enough professional detail to pull the whole story apart.

Arabella caught the reaction and knew she had hit the mark. She leaned back slightly in her chair, her tone turning lighter. “Let me take another guess.”

“The bridal jewelry set wasn’t delivered backstage by Kingston Group’s project team last night, was it?”

Heather pressed her lips together. “Ms. Wayne, I was only doing the job I was given.”

“So who gave it to you?”

Heather didn’t answer.

Arabella studied her for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “You know, last night, I only planned to settle things with Maxwell. But after Daisy’s Instagram post, one thing became very clear.”

“She didn’t borrow it. She took it.”

The office fell silent. Heather’s expression visibly stiffened.

Arabella held Heather’s gaze and continued, each word clear, “Borrowing means someone handed it to her, and she wore it without knowing any better. Taking means she knew exactly what it was and still put it on her head.”

“She even had the post ready, making it sound like the Kingston family had handed her some special favor. That means she knew exactly how much it would humiliate me.”

Arabella paused there. “So right now, I’m not asking what Kingston Group was thinking. I’m asking what Daisy was thinking.”

Heather’s fingertips finally moved, so slightly that most people would have missed it. Arabella caught the tiny movement and knew she had found the crack she needed.

Arabella stopped pressing and instead gave Heather a way out. “Ms. Carter, I didn’t come here today to make you take the fall for anyone. I only need you to tell me three things.”

“Who brought the bridal jewelry set backstage. Whether Daisy knew where it came from. And whether Maxwell ever touched that set.”

At the last question, Heather finally looked up at Arabella, something like sympathy and hesitation crossing her face.

Several seconds passed before Heather spoke in a low voice. “The bridal jewelry set wasn’t delivered by Kingston Group’s project team.”

Arabella’s chest tightened. “Who delivered it?”

“Ms. Hart’s assistant brought it in herself.”

Arabella’s fingers slowly curled.

Heather avoided Arabella’s eyes and continued, “Before it arrived, Ms. Hart had already told us Mrs. Alma Kingston had approved lending it to her, and that no one would have a problem with it that night.

“She specifically told us to position the tiara low enough to hide the restoration work at the back.”

In that instant, Arabella understood everything.

Daisy had known exactly what she was doing. She knew Arabella had restored the bridal jewelry set, and she knew it had been meant for Arabella from the start.

That was why she had worn it and posted about it on Twitter.

The realization hit Arabella hard in the chest, and for a long while, she couldn’t speak.

Heather’s voice dropped even lower. “As for Mr. Kingston…”

Under Arabella’s gaze, Heather bit her lip before finally telling the truth. “Mr. Kingston did go backstage later.”

Arabella’s throat tightened. “Why was he there?”

Heather didn’t answer directly. Instead, she opened a drawer and took out a phone. “Filming wasn’t allowed backstage, but there were too many people last night.

“One of the junior assistants took a quick video and missed it when she was cleaning things up.”

Heather pushed the phone over. “I wasn’t planning to keep it, but at this point, I can’t keep it buried for them either.”

Arabella lowered her eyes. The video was only a dozen seconds long.

Backstage at the gala, the lighting was chaotic and the camera shook. Daisy sat in front of the makeup mirror with the bridal diamond tiara sitting slightly crooked on her head.

Maxwell stood behind her. After a brief look down, he raised a hand and straightened the tiara for her, the movement far too gentle and practiced.

There was no sound in the video, but the moment Arabella saw it, the whole world seemed to go quiet around her.

What hurt wasn’t that Maxwell had touched the bridal jewelry set. It was that he had known exactly what it was, who was wearing it, and what it would mean for Daisy to walk out in it.

And still, he had reached out to straighten it for her.

Heather spoke softly from across the desk. “Ms. Wayne, if Mr. Kingston really hadn’t wanted her to wear it last night, one word from him would have been enough to stop it. But he never said it.”

Arabella stared at the video, her fingers slowly curling. A few seconds later, she turned off the screen and pushed the phone back. “Send me the video.”

Heather froze. “What do you need it for?”

Arabella looked up at her. Her eyes were red, but her voice stayed steady. “You just said it yourself. One word from him would have been enough. But he said nothing.”

At that, Arabella suddenly smiled. “I need proof, so he can’t come back later and tell me I was overreacting.”

Heather looked at her, and unease crawled up her spine. After so many years in this circle, she had seen plenty of women turn on each other over men.

Some had cried, caused scenes, and slapped people across the face over men. But women like Arabella, who only grew colder and steadier the more they were hurt, scared her most.

People like that didn’t let things go. They remembered every slight, every debt, and Arabella was clearly keeping score now.

By the time Arabella left Royal Craft Atelier, the sky had turned cloudy.

She stood by the curb for a long time, gripping the phone that now held the secretly recorded video.

Brooke called. “Arabella, Mr. Kingston is looking for you.”

Arabella came back to herself. “What does he want?”

“It’s not about what he wants. It’s like he’s lost his mind.” Brooke sounded frantic. “He called me three times asking where you are.”

Arabella laughed. “And why does he need to know where I am now?”

“How would I know?” Brooke lowered her voice. “But he sounded terrifying. Arabella, don’t meet him alone.”

Arabella looked at the red traffic light and replied calmly, “Too late.”

“What do you mean, too late?”

Arabella lifted her head. Across the road, a black Maybach was parked by the curb, and Maxwell stood beside it, looking straight at her.

The wind tugged hard at the hem of his coat. His face was cold, but the anger in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Looking at him, Arabella suddenly thought of the hand in the video, the same hand that had straightened the bridal diamond tiara and stopped her from leaving the night before.

She tightened her grip on her phone, then slowly curved her mouth. “I already see him.”