From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 94: Chapter 94

After moving into the villa with Serena, Paisley had a peaceful time for a while. Life was fairly comfortable, though Maria occasionally grumbled about things.
During this period, Paisley often received calls and messages from Dominick and the Vanderbilt family. She ignored them all.
Whenever she blocked one number, they'd use another to keep contacting her. Eventually, she stopped bothering with it altogether.
Changing her number wasn't realistic either, as the hassle would outweigh the annoyance of their calls.
At the moment, Paisley had just picked up a birthday gift for Millie, one of Serena's kindergarten friends, and was strolling leisurely with Maria and Serena.
Paisley found it quite challenging to choose a birthday gift for a little girl. After much deliberation, Serena ultimately decided on a pair of crystal shoes just like hers.
According to Serena, "No princess can resist a pair of crystal shoes." While getting crystal shoes wasn't too hard, finding a pair identical to Serena's was more difficult.
Although there was a store for that brand at Harrowfell Mall, Serena's shoes were a limited-edition global release, with only a few pairs available in the country.
Paisley had to call in favors and ask the brand's designer to ship a pair from overseas. Luckily, they arrived just in time, the day before Millie's birthday party.
Maria looked at the box holding the crystal shoes, confused. "It's just a pair of shoes. They're crystal, not diamonds. Why are they so expensive?"
Indeed, they were pricey. A single pair of these shoes cost as much as a year's salary for an average worker. Shoes like this didn't sell for their quality but for the brand.
Serena had fallen in love with these shoes at first sight and insisted on having them. Aunt Marissa had no concept of money, and Paisley was a doting mother, so she bought them.
The three of them arrived at the parking lot. Maria went to the trunk to put things away while Paisley opened the car door and placed Serena in her car seat. Just as she was about to buckle her in, her phone rang.
Flustered, she didn't check the caller ID and answered the call directly.
"Paisley." A familiar voice came through the receiver, and Paisley froze mid-motion, her hand pausing as she buckled the seatbelt.
She was about to hang up when the caller, seemingly predicting her move, quickly said, "Don't hang up, please."
Maria noticed Paisley's unusual expression as she approached, so she took over buckling Serena's seatbelt. "You go take the call."
Paisley held the phone and walked a few steps away. "What do you want?"
"Paisley, where have you gone? Why did you disappear again? You're still in Harrowfell, aren't you?" Dominick's voice was hoarse, clearly suppressing his emotions.
As if anticipating her response, he continued, "Don't say this has nothing to do with me. Your matters will always be my business."
Paisley took a deep breath and replied with forced patience, "Dominick, it's over. Everything between us ended four years ago."
"That doesn't count!" Dominick's voice got louder. "That time, you lied to me."
Paisley frowned, "How did I lie to you? Did I lie to you to get you to sign the divorce papers? Or did I lie to you to go to city hall and finalize the divorce? It was all voluntary on your part, wasn't it?"
She realized she couldn't maintain a civil conversation with Dominick for more than three sentences.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. Just as Paisley was about to lose patience and hang up, Dominick spoke again.
"I thought you were just throwing a tantrum. I thought you wouldn't actually leave me and Sonny." Paisley detected a hint of grievance in Dominick's voice.
She let out a cold laugh. "Dominick, are you feeling wronged? I don't understand—how are you a victim?"
A long-buried bitterness welled up in her chest. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her younger self from four years ago.
"You thought I was throwing a tantrum, so you signed the divorce papers to 'teach me a lesson'—is that it? As Dominick's wife, was I not allowed to have emotions?"
"No, Paisley, you know that's not what I meant!" Dominick tried to explain, but Paisley was done listening. She ended the call without another word. Then she blocked his number again.
Outside the president's office at the Vanderbilt Group, the young secretary shivered as she heard the sound of a phone smashing against the office door.
She turned to Julian with a pitiful look. "Mr. Hale, why don't you take these documents in for Mr. Vanderbilt to sign?"
'Why me, of all people? This job is becoming more unbearable by the day!' she thought.
Julian also looked miserable, but seeing the secretary on the verge of tears, he reluctantly took the documents from her.
He knocked and entered the office. The moment he stepped in, his foot landed on the remains of a phone, shattered into pieces by Dominick's rage.
Dominick sat behind his desk, head in his hands, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath.
"Mr. Vanderbilt, please sign." Julian placed the document in front of Dominick's desk, carefully observing Dominick's reaction.
Since the incident with Marissa, he had become aware of his biases against Paisley. After an honest conversation with Dominick, he returned to his side as his assistant.
"Mm." Dominick nodded without looking up, responding in a muffled tone. When he finally lifted his head, his expression had returned to normal, and he quickly signed the document.
Julian took the document and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. "Mr. Vanderbilt, I received a call earlier from the Sullivan family."
At the mention of the Sullivan family, a subtle change appeared on Dominick's otherwise neutral face. "What is it about?"
How could he have forgotten about the Sullivan family? They were Paisley's family, after all.
"Miss Brittany said they'd like to invite you for dinner. I told them you've been busy and declined for now."
Julian sneakily watched Dominick's reaction. He hadn't mentioned Brittany's call to Dominick before, as he had taken it upon himself to decline.
At the time, he had been pretty biased against Paisley, so naturally, he didn't have much affection for the Sullivan family either. Besides, Brittany's intentions had seemed questionable, and he didn't want Dominick getting too involved with people like her.
But now, seeing Dominick upset about not finding Paisley, maybe the Sullivan family could be the breakthrough to finding her.
"Should I reach out to the Sullivan family and let them know you've agreed to dinner?"
Dominick thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
When Brittany received Julian's call, she was trying on costumes at the set.
Even though filming had been paused, the set had already been built, and she didn't have much to do, so she often visited the set. As the leading lady of the production, she ordered people around, even the director, without a second thought.
"Mr. Hale, hello!" Brittany's voice was loud, practically ensuring that everyone around could hear her.