The Don Tore Up Our Divorce (Gemma and Cassian) novel Chapter 329

Chapter 329-1

Gemma’s POV

The soft glow of my computer screen illuminates the quiet of Urban Lane.

I’m lounging in my chair, scrolling through images of exquisite, deep green stones. “Rich folks seem to have a penchant for emerald jewelry…”

I muse aloud, the observation floating in the comfortable space between Molly and Jace.

My thoughts drift, unbidden, to the cold, perfect emerald set Cassian once gifted me. It was beautiful, had it not been a transaction, like everything else in that marriage.

Then, my mind goes to the heavy heirloom ring Mikhail had lent me just yesterday, a prop in his personal drama. I can still feel its weight on my finger. Are these stones truly so precious, or is it just the aura of wealth and history that clings to them?

Molly, raised in more modest circumstances where precious gems were abstract concepts, can only offer a helpless shrug.

Jace, ever the thoughtful one, places a warm glass of milk beside my keyboard before offering an explanation. “Perhaps it’s the rarity,” he says, his voice calm and considering. “The color is enduring, unique. It’s not just a stone, it’s a symbol of permanence in a transient world. That makes it coveted.”

1/4

15:36

I take a sip of the milk, the simple kindness of the gesture not

< Chapter 329-1

Lucky Draw

1. me. My mind, however, is already clicking into a different gear. “If we did this business.” I ask, turning the screen slightly toward him, “would it be profitable?”

A faint, amused smile touches his lips. “The emerald trade? It’s indeed a lucrative market.” He pauses, his expression turning pragmatic. “But without being in the primary production zone, without owning mines, and without established distribution channels, how could we possibly profit from it? We’d be small fish in a very deep, very old ocean.”

The reality check dims my initial spark of enthusiasm, but only for a moment. A new connection fires in my brain.

“I noticed the largest source of emeralds is in Eursia, isn’t it?” My eyes lock with his, sparkling with a newfound, concrete idea. Now that I’m divorced, my focus has sharpened to a laser point: securing a stable, prosperous future for my unborn child.

This isn’t a frivolous fantasy… it’s a blueprint.

Do you want to ask Rick for help? Jace ventures.

He had met Rick during the Eursia trip and had sensed the easy, mutual admiration between Rick and me, even through Zina’s retelling. But I can see the doubt in his eyes.

Does a member of a royal family, however friendly, truly have the means or the inclination to dabble in a gemstone venture with a fledgling entrepreneur?

It doesn’t hurt to ask, I say with a shrug that belies my aétermination. “The essence of friendship is mutual support,

15:36

< Chapter 329-1

Lucky Draw

I’ll inquire about the specifies of the emerald market there. We can deliberate further once I have the facts!” Since the divorce, I’ve channeled nearly eighty percent of my energy into work. In my mind, no project is beyond the realm of possibility if you’re clever and bold enough. I’m young. I can afford to take calculated risks.

I see Molly watching us, a surreal expression on her face. Just a month ago, she was a college student fretting over securing a job paying a mere three thousand dollars a month after graduation. Now, she’s sitting in a design studio, listening to her boss casually discuss entering the international emerald trade.

The dramatic turn her life has taken is written all over her face.

******

The next day, I make my routine check–in at Dream International. The corporate air feels different now, a space I inhabit as a consultant, a ghost with a security pass. Harold spots me the moment I step off the elevator. “Ms. Marino,” he says, his tone as neutral as ever, “Mr. Voloshin requests your presence upstairs.”

I follow him to the top floor, pushing open the heavy door to Mikhail’s office without ceremony. “What’s up?” I ask, getting straight to the point.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify