No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 15

No More Picking Up His Pieces Chapter 15: Chaos

When Maxwell returned to Kingston Group, the meeting room was already packed. Jessica, the PR team, the legal team, the head of Kingston Jewelry, the brand director, and two board members were all there.

The moment Maxwell pushed the door open, the room went dead silent. Every gaze turned to him.

Maxwell’s face was cold and hard. He walked straight to the head seat, sat down, and tossed the crumpled divorce agreement onto the table. “Speak,” he said.

Jessica was the first to turn her laptop toward him. “Subdued Lumina sent an official email.”

Maxwell scanned it, his brow pulling tighter by the second.

The email was short, but its message was clear.

Given the recent ownership dispute over the bridal set project, Subdued Lumina would suspend the collaboration launch and all promotions until it was made clear who the lead designer and restorer was.

After reading, Maxwell pushed the laptop back. “Who spoke with them?”

The brand director answered reluctantly. “Ms. Zachary and I did.”

“And then?” Maxwell asked.

Jessica pressed her lips together. “They only gave us one line.”

Maxwell lifted his eyes.

Jessica lowered her voice. “They said from the very start, what drew them in wasn’t Kingston Group’s name.

“It was Arabella’s craftsmanship. Now that Arabella has stepped away, they see no reason to take risks with Kingston Group.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Maxwell’s face stayed unreadable. Only his knuckles tapped lightly against the table.

The head of Kingston Jewelry spoke up under the weight of the silence. “And the workshop. The resetting of the bridal diamond tiara, the re-welding of the diamond settings, and the final edging work.

“All of it was done following Ms. Wayne’s restoration notes. She’s now taken away all her original and revised drafts as well as restoration archives. The workshop doesn’t dare go on without them.”

The head of the legal team added, “What’s more, her legal team has already sent the demand letter to the relevant platforms and partners.

“Public opinion is no longer framing this as the Kingston family lending out the jewelry. It’s being seen as Kingston Group robbing the restorer of her professional credit.”

Jessica, head of PR, handed over another document. “Lumen Arcana just let slip that they may run a feature piece tomorrow.”

Maxwell didn’t even glance at it. “On who?”

Jessica looked at him, her voice dropping even lower. “Arabella.”

At the name, Maxwell’s jaw tightened visibly. He had always known Arabella held real weight in Kingston Jewelry. But in his eyes, that weight had always come down to her being reliable, having good taste, and looking the part.

Only today did he truly understand that Arabella was no decorative vine threaded through Kingston Jewelry. She was its backbone.

Without her, the pieces could still sit on display. But the moment anyone touched them, the whole thing would fall apart.

No one in the meeting room dared to speak.

After a few seconds, Maxwell broke the silence, his voice calm and cold. “Stall the collaboration for now. Keep talking to the workshop with better terms. Kill the Lumen Arcana piece.”

Jessica hesitated. “Mr. Kingston, killing a Lumen Arcana story may not be easy. Ryan has always been—”

“Then replace them.” Maxwell fixed her with a dark, heavy look. “Azure Bay has more than one jewelry media outlet.”

Jessica swallowed her words and said nothing more.

The head of the legal team spoke up next. “There’s another matter.”

Maxwell looked over.

The legal head flipped open the file. “Arabella’s demand letter asks for more than just professional credit.

“She’s also demanding Kingston Group immediately stop all commercial use of the restored bridal jewelry set and issue a formal public apology. She reserves the right to pursue further legal action.”

At the words “formal public apology,” Maxwell let out a cold laugh. “She really thought of everything.”

The legal head didn’t dare to respond.

Maxwell stared down at the letter on the table, silent for a long moment, then suddenly asked, “Who from Subdued Lumina reached out to Arabella first?”

The brand director looked caught off guard. “Mr. Kingston, how did you know they contacted her first?”

Maxwell lifted his eyes. “If it were only for the demand letter, they wouldn’t have pulled out so fast.”

Several people in the room traded glances.

Finally, Jessica spoke. “After things blew up last night, Subdued Lumina did reach out to Arabella right away. They wanted her to step forward and calm things down publicly, but she refused.”

“And then?” Maxwell asked.

Jessica paused. “Then they confirmed one thing,” she said.

“What thing?”

“That Arabella really has no plans to come back.”

Her words were soft, but they seemed to hush the whole room for a moment.

Maxwell leaned back in his chair and said nothing. The divorce agreement still sat there on the table. The first page had already been flipped open, its edges creased.

He suddenly pictured Arabella standing in the meeting room doorway earlier that day and setting the agreement down in front of him.

There were no tears, no tantrums, no pleading, and no real hatred. She had simply told him that she didn’t want it anymore. That quiet resolve stung far worse than any harsh words could.

Seeing Maxwell’s silence, Jessica went on with her report. “Mr. Ascot from South Citadel Atelier gave a straight answer today. He won’t take on any work that hasn’t been signed off by Arabella herself.”

“Why?” Maxwell asked coldly.

The head of Kingston Jewelry rushed to answer. “Mr. Ascot said Ms. Wayne knows how to restore jewelry. Kingston Group only knows how to repackage old pieces with a shiny new front. You two aren’t cut from the same cloth.”

The moment those words landed, everyone’s faces went stiff. The comment was brutal. It was a straight-up slap in the face to Kingston Group.

Maxwell’s expression turned pitch-black. His hand clamped down on the table, and the pen beside it jumped half an inch.

Jessica quickly tried to smooth things over. “I’ll find another way.”

Maxwell closed his eyes for a beat. When he opened his eyes again, his voice was ice-cold, stripped of any warmth. “Everyone out.”

The group looked startled. “Mr. Kingston.”

“Out,” Maxwell repeated.

No one dared to argue. They gathered their papers and filed out one by one.

Once the door shut, the meeting room fell silent, leaving Maxwell alone. He sat there without moving, staring at the divorce agreement and the demand letter on the table for a long time.

He had always thought that no matter how much Arabella argued or fought, she would come back in the end.

Over the past three years, whenever she was upset, the worst she’d do was freeze him out for a few days. She never took things so far.

But this time was different. She wasn’t throwing a fit. She was pulling herself free from the Kingston family, from Kingston Group, from his side, bit by bit.

First it was the bridal jewelry set. Then it was her professional credit. Then it was the project. Then it was her title as Mrs. Kingston. Now she was even letting go of the name.

Maxwell leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers to his forehead. For the first time, he felt the tight knot in his head throbbing.

His phone buzzed. It was not Arabella. It was a message from his mother, Margaret. [When exactly are you bringing her back?]

Maxwell stared at the words for two seconds, then shut off the screen. Bring her back. Everyone keeps telling me to bring Arabella back, as if that would fix everything.

But the truth is, even if I brought her back now, it might never be the same again. Because Arabella doesn’t want to stay anymore.

—

Back at the workshop, Arabella was sorting through her restoration documents one by one.

Brooke squatted beside Arabella, murmuring. “Subdued Lumina paused the collaboration. The workshop’s at a standstill. Lumen Arcana is running your interview tomorrow. Kingston Group must be falling apart by now.”

Arabella didn’t look up. “Just let them fall apart.”

Brooke glanced at Arabella, suddenly full of emotions. “Arabella, I never knew you’d be this fierce once you left the Kingston family.”

Arabella smiled faintly. “Fierce?”

“Yeah.” Brooke nodded. “Back when you were with the Kingston family, everyone thought you were soft, patient, and always willing to let things slide. Only now do I get it. It wasn’t that you were easy-going. You just never bothered to tear things apart with them.”

Arabella’s hands paused. After a beat, she said softly, “It wasn’t that I didn’t bother to do it. It was that I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Brooke fell quiet at once. Arabella smoothed down the folder holding her restoration logs, her voice calm and distant.

“I used to think marriage was something you just put up with, bit by bit. Maxwell has always had that stubborn streak. Arguing head-on never got anywhere, so I figured he would slowly understand.

“Now I get it. He wasn’t slow to understand. He just never took me seriously enough to think I’d actually leave.” She let out a soft laugh. “And because of that, I never meant a thing to him.”

Brooke’s eyes stung. She was about to speak when a knock came at the door. There were two light taps.

Brooke was a bit surprised. “Now who?”

Arabella looked up, her expression shifting a little. She’d had more than enough visitors today. She stood and walked to the door. “Who is it?”

There was a brief pause outside. Then Maxwell’s low voice came through. “It’s me.”

Brooke’s face fell at once. “What’s he doing here again?”

Arabella said nothing. She pulled the door open.

Maxwell stood outside, his black coat still carrying the chill of the night. In his arms, he held the rosewood jewelry casket, the very one taken from the Kingston family the night before.

Arabella’s eyes locked onto the casket at once.

Maxwell looked at her, his voice far lower and rougher than it had been earlier that day. “I brought it back.”

Arabella didn’t move.

Maxwell glanced down at the casket, his Adam’s apple bobbing hard before he spoke again. “Arabella. This time, I won’t lend it to anyone else.”

Brooke held her breath completely beside them.

Arabella stared at the casket for a long moment, then let out a faint laugh. “Maxwell. You bring this back now. Who exactly are you trying to make feel better?”