No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 12

No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 12: She Isn’t Here to Apologize

A brief silence fell outside the door. Brooke was the first to flare up. “How dare she show her face here?”

Arabella raised a hand to quiet Brooke.

The soft female voice came again from outside, polite and gentle. “Ms. Wayne, I know it’s not right to bother you so late. But there are things I think are better said face to face.”

Brooke’s face flushed with anger. She muttered under her breath, “What’s there to say? She’s just here to feel things out.”

Arabella didn’t answer Brooke. She stood still, staring at the door for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Open the door.”

Brooke blinked, stunned. “Huh?”

“She wants to talk.” Arabella walked slowly toward the door. “Then I’ll talk with her.” She pulled the door open.

Daisy stood outside, wearing an off-white coat with her hair pinned up. Her makeup was light, far plainer than she’d looked at the dinner party. She seemed more like someone playing innocent.

She held a paper bag in one hand. The moment the door opened, she offered Arabella a faint smile. “Sorry for coming so late.”

Leaning against the doorframe, Arabella looked straight at Daisy. “You’re already here. What’s the point of saying that now?”

Daisy’s smile wavered for a second before she quickly smoothed it over. “May I come in?”

Arabella stepped aside. “Come in.”

Brooke stood off to the side with a long, sour face.

Once inside, Daisy glanced around the workshop, her eyes lingering a little longer on the restoration table, as if taken aback. “Do you work here all the time?”

Arabella closed the door. “You should’ve asked that long before now,” she said, her voice flat.

Daisy pressed her lips together and said nothing. Then she set the paper bag on the table and said quietly, “This is the inventory list and the return record for the bridal jewelry set from that day.”

Brooke instantly went on high alert. Arabella glanced down at the bag but made no move to touch it. “Why bring these to me?”

Daisy looked at Arabella, her voice still soft. “I know you don’t want to see me right now, but since I borrowed the bridal set, I ought to make things right.”

Arabella suddenly let out a quiet laugh. “If you truly wanted to make things right, you wouldn’t have posted that tweet.”

Daisy’s expression stiffened, and the corners of her eyes quickly reddened. “I didn’t think it through when I posted that,” she said.

Brooke nearly rolled her eyes. “Here she goes again.”

Arabella simply watched Daisy in silence.

Feeling Arabella’s unwavering gaze on her for several seconds, Daisy finally dropped the soft, meek act and let out a sigh. “Ms. Wayne, there’s really no need for us to keep going at each other like this.”

“Just say what you came to say.” Arabella walked over to the restoration table and folded her arms. “I have no patience for beating around the bush.”

Daisy nodded. “Very well.” She straightened up a little, her whole manner shifting. She was still gentle, but no longer as soft as when she first walked in.

“I admit I was careless with the bridal jewelry set.” Daisy met Arabella’s eyes. “But I didn’t come to steal anything from you.”

Arabella shot back almost at once. “You’re not here to steal a thing. You’re here to steal my place.”

Daisy fell completely silent. Brooke stood beside them. Her eyes lit up.

Arabella looked at Daisy and went on unhurriedly. “You’ve already worn the bridal set, posted about it online, and borrowed the Kingston family’s name. Now you show up saying all this. Isn’t it just to feel out whether I’ll make a scene, and whether I’ll stand in your way?”

A crack finally showed in Daisy’s calm face. After a beat, she gave a faint smile. “You really are clever, Ms. Wayne.”

Brooke’s skin crawled at those words. So she’s finally dropping the act?

Arabella was not surprised. She looked at Daisy, her voice still even. “So what?”

Daisy looked at Arabella, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes for the first time. “Then I’ll stop beating around the bush too.

“I knew about the bridal jewelry set long beforehand. I also knew it was originally meant for you by the Kingston family.”

Brooke gasped. Arabella’s expression didn’t shift. It only turned colder. “You did it on purpose,” she said.

“Yes.” Daisy nodded, not hesitating for a second. “I did it on purpose.”

The workshop fell into complete silence.

Daisy seemed to have finally let out the breath she’d been holding, her face relaxing a little. “Arabella, do you know what I hate most about you?

“You’re not even a proper young lady raised by the Kingston family. You were just someone who once kept her head down working in a restoration room.

“Yet the moment you married into the Kingston family, everyone just accepted you in that role. Alma dotes on you, the Kingston family indulges you, and even Maxwell—”

She paused, lifting her eyes to meet Arabella’s gaze. “Even Maxwell has grown used to having you by his side.”

At those words, Arabella’s fingers curled inward slightly. Daisy caught it and smiled faintly. “See? You still care about him.”

Arabella looked at Daisy, the corner of her mouth tugging coldly. “So you didn’t come here to apologize tonight. You came to gloat?”

“No.” Daisy shook her head. “I came to remind you.”

“Remind me of what?”

“Remind you that Maxwell isn’t someone you can hold onto when you want and toss aside when you don’t.” Daisy spoke slowly, her voice low but every word dripping with a cloying edge.

“You’re only kicking up such a fuss now because you think he’ll still come after you and still be unwilling to let you go,” Daisy added.

Brooke flew into a rage. “You’re totally crazy.”

Daisy didn’t even spare Brooke a glance, her eyes fixed solely on Arabella.

Standing under the workshop light, Arabella went quiet for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Daisy.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever stopped to think about one thing?”

“What’s that?”

Arabella stepped closer, stopping right in front of Daisy. “You rushed over here tonight to say all this, not because you’ve won. It’s because you’re scared,” she said, her voice soft and low.

A subtle flicker passed through Daisy’s eyes.

Arabella stared at Daisy and went on steadily. “You’re scared I’ll push this all the way, scared I’ll strip the Kingston family’s facade bare, and scared Maxwell will end up siding with me.

“That’s why you’re in such a hurry to test me, to provoke me, to tell me you know the truth behind the bridal jewelry set and to brag that you dare take what’s mine.”

She smiled, but her eyes stayed ice-cold. “Daisy, if you were really so sure of your place, you wouldn’t be standing here tonight.”

Daisy’s smile finally faded completely. The two women held each other’s gaze, neither backing down.

After a long pause, Daisy spoke again, her tone turning icy. “Arabella, don’t be so sure of yourself. Just because Maxwell is coming after you now doesn’t mean he’ll always take your side.”

Arabella nodded. “I know. So what?”

Daisy was struck speechless for a moment.

Arabella looked Daisy straight in the eye, every word clear and deliberate. “Do you think I’m still fighting you over a man?”

“Aren’t you?” Daisy shot back.

“No.” Arabella’s voice was soft but firm. “I’m fighting you over something far more real now.”

“What are you fighting for?”

“My name. My face. And what the two of you owe me.”

Daisy stared at Arabella, suddenly unable to force a smile. It hit her then that Arabella had truly changed.

It wasn’t the kind of change born from tears and outbursts. It was the kind that came from letting go of Maxwell for good. And that made her harder to deal with.

After a brief silence, Daisy pushed the paper bag across the table. “I’ve delivered what I came to bring. Whether you believe me and whether you take it is up to you.”

She turned to leave, then stopped at the door. “Arabella,” she said, without looking back.

“Yes.”

“You’re only making such a fuss because you think Maxwell still can’t bear to lose you.”

Brooke was about to charge forward, but Arabella held her back.

Arabella looked at Daisy’s retreating figure, her voice flat. “You can pass this along to him. If he really can’t bear to let me go, tell him to sign the divorce agreement first.”

Daisy’s body visibly stiffened. The next second, she pulled the door open and walked out without a single backward glance.

The moment the door closed, Brooke paced around in anger. “What is her problem? Is she out of her mind?”

Arabella said nothing. She walked over, picked up the paper bag, and opened it slowly. Besides the inventory list and the return record, there was a photo inside.

It was taken on the day when the bridal jewelry set restoration was finished. Alma sat in the middle, with her and Maxwell standing on either side. The bridal jewelry set on the table gleamed dazzlingly under the light.

Staring at the photo, Arabella finally understood. Daisy didn’t come to deliver the bag. She came to remind me that I once really stood in that spot, and that’s why losing it cuts so deep.

Brooke leaned over to glance at the photo and fell silent too. After a long moment, she asked quietly, “Arabella, are you okay?”

Arabella pulled the photo out and set it gently on the table. “I’m fine.” But as she said it, her eyes darkened little by little.

Daisy was right about one thing. Maxwell still comes looking for me, still tries to stop me, pressure me, and force me. But it means nothing. It only means he hasn’t gotten used to me walking away yet.

Arabella stared at the old photograph for a long time before speaking in a low voice. “Brooke.”

“Yeah?”

“Ask Charlotte to draw up the formal divorce agreement tomorrow.”

Brooke froze. “You’re starting the official process now?”

Arabella said quietly, “Yeah. The sooner, the better.”

She flipped the photo over and tucked it beneath the stack of papers. “I’m not leaving myself any room to hesitate anymore.”