The Ex-Wife's Billion Dollar Comeback - Chapter 8: Chapter 8

~ Soraya ~
The room was quiet, except for the sound of keys tapping on the keyboard. Soraya sat cross-legged in her chair, her eyes moving between charts, an economic calendar, and her custom-coded dashboard, which was flashing green.
To others, it might’ve looked like chaos.
To her, it was music—numbers and patterns forming a rhythm only she could hear.
She took a sip of cold green tea without looking away. It was 3:57 AM. Tokyo had just closed, and London was about to open. Her spreadsheet updated in real time, showing her profits tick up like a heartbeat.
Soraya was trading online. She had placed a total of $1,000,000, and in just three days, she had earned $129,427.33.
She could not help but smile. “Perfect.”
Her phone buzzed. A notification popped up: [Your Net Worth Has Been Updated.]
She didn’t check it.
She already knew.
The numbers always told her first.
A knock on the door alerted her. Soraya turned to find her Uncle Philip.
“I saw the light coming from your door. I knew you were awake.” Then, her uncle’s gaze landed on the computer screen.
Philip was a man in his late fifties. He had brown hair with lines of gray. He was tall and medium-built. This man was Soraya’s father figure and had raised her since she was seven.
He had helped her set up the monitors for her trade. Soraya was good with numbers. She wasn’t just a computer engineer, but through her uncle, she had learned the ropes in trading, both in forex and stocks.
It was as if she were born for this. In fact, she had once worked part-time for her uncle. Philip Azar owned an investment firm. Trading stocks was one of the main ways his company grew its clients’ money.
“Earned big?” Philip asked.
Soraya nodded, confirming. “I wanted to test myself and make sure I wasn’t rusted.”
A laugh escaped her uncle’s lips. He remarked, “Soraya, numbers are your specialty. You have a fixation on patterns and data. I had never doubted your skills.”
Hearing that made Soraya feel guilty.
Four years ago, when she decided to commit to her marriage fully, she also stopped working for her uncle. She still helped with trading from time to time, but her primary focus was on raising Sage and working at the Montclair Group.
Her uncle Philip Azar’s business began to struggle, especially after Calum withdrew all their investments. Calum ensured that the other wealthy families in Cedar Heights were aware that he no longer supported the Azars’ firm.
Calum’s parents tried to help, but he was already the CEO. When it came to managing the family’s money, Calum’s decision was final.
As a result of Calum’s actions, Philip had to move to Belridge, including his company. He was no longer getting big clients in Cedar Heights.
“Well, since I have proven to myself that I can still do it, Uncle, I’ll go back to working part-time for you,” Soraya suggested.
“Good,” Philip said with a smile. “You start on Monday. Just like before, you don’t need to physically be at the office. Your primary goal is to handle the trading.”
“Okay, Uncle,” Soraya responded.
“You better sleep, Soraya. Try not to overwork yourself,” Philip said. “And, by the way, your maid? Belinda? She called me yesterday while I was in the office. She said Sage has been looking for you.”
Soraya’s earlier calm expression changed. Hearing her daughter’s name, she shut her emotions down once again.
“I know you are hurt, but Sage is your daughter. Try to be there for her,” Philip said.
“I—” Soraya gulped. Then, her mind began to raise concerns.
‘What if I see Rose again?’
‘What if Sage hurts me again?’
‘What if I see Calum and Rose together?’
But her uncle was right. She gave birth to Sage, and it was her responsibility to be her mother. Soraya took a deep breath and said, “Okay. I’ll check on her tomorrow.”
At ten in the morning, Soraya woke up from her sleep. When she fluttered her eyes open, the first thing she saw was the nylon bracelet Sage had made for her when she was still four years old.
Soraya remembered making the bracelet with Sage during a school activity. They had crafted matching ones for each other. Sage always wore hers, and so did Soraya. It was their special mother-daughter bond.
Back then, Soraya and Sage even made a promise to each other.
“Baby, this bracelet is a symbol of my love for you. Keep it always with you,” Soraya had said.
“And this is for you, Mommy!” Sage said. “I will always love you.”
At the recollection of that event, Soraya felt her chest tightened. She had sworn never to feel hurt again, but when it came to Sage, it was difficult.
And so Soraya hurriedly checked her phone. For the first time since Sage’s birthday, she opened the chat app and read all of her daughter’s messages.
On the night of her birthday, Sage sent an apology: [Mommy, I’m sorry. I knew you wouldn’t want Aunt Rose to celebrate my birthday, so we didn’t invite you. Please don’t be mad.]
The next day, she sent: [Mommy, are you coming home?]
On another day, she said: [Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Rose are at a party. I’m bored. Can you come home?]
[Mommy, are you still mad?]
[Mommy, I miss your food.]
Early this morning, Sage had sent her a message: [Mommy, I really want to go to the Cedar Heights Wellness Club after school with you, Mommy. Please, Mommy. I miss you. Could you please come and pick me up?]
‘Cedar Heights Wellness Club?’ The wellness club was the city’s most exclusive sports club. She and Calum were both members. It had a swimming pool, suite accommodations, a café, and several outdoor activities. Many families went there just to run around its huge lawn, go on a picnic, or simply roam the vast gardens.
She and Sage sometimes went there, just to pass the time.
Reflecting on this, Soraya assumed her daughter had missed the times when they would visit the place. Guilt washed over her. She knew she was wrong for avoiding Sage. After all, her daughter was still young and did not understand the situation between her, Calum, and Rose.
Very quickly, she replied: [I’ll pick you up at school. See you later.]
Just to be sure there wouldn’t be any surprises, she also texted Calum:
[Sage asked me to pick her up. I’ll take her home after spending some time with her.]
It took a while, but eventually, Calum replied: [Okay.]
“Mommy! You came!” Sage called. The glee in her daughter’s eyes was evident upon seeing Soraya.
The mother and daughter easily embraced each other outside the school gates. Soraya said, “Of course I came. I did say I’d pick you up.”
When Sage pulled away, she said, “Let’s go to the club? And eat some pastries?”
Soraya nodded. She grabbed her daughter’s hand, but just as she did, she noticed something.
The nylon bracelet that used to be around Sage’s wrist was no longer there. Instead, Sage was wearing a new charm bracelet made of white gold.
Soraya frowned. Something did not feel right.
It was already in the car, right after Soraya drove out from the school, that she asked, “Sage, where is your bracelet?”
Soraya watched her daughter from the rearview mirror. At first, Sage looked confused, but shortly, Sage’s gaze landed on her wrist.
“I—” Sage looked down, hiding the new bracelet. “Mommy, it got dirtied during my birthday. So, I—I threw it away. It was really dirty, and it was really already old.”
Soraya kept her eyes on the road, masking her disappointment. “You’re right. Our bracelets were old, and nylon doesn’t last forever. It’s just a bracelet.”
But even as she said it, something inside her didn’t sit right.
The Sage she knew would take care of that bracelet like it was the most precious possession in the world.
The Sage she knew would never throw it away.
At least, not without telling Soraya first.
But why would she so easily throw away their mother-daughter bond?
Soraya didn’t have the answer at the moment.
But soon, she would.