Divorce and Freedom No More Homemaker for Him novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26 Shouting in the Crowd

“Wait a second.”

Ayla turned toward the voice and saw Jed, his face dark with.

anger.

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At his command, the two security guards stopped immediately, letting her know they were acting on his orders.

She frowned deeply. “Tell them to let me go.”

Jed’s tone was sharp and mocking. “You followed him all the way here. Aren’t you afraid Mr. Winston will be furious if he sees you? Ayla, a little drama is fine, but keep pushing, and your tricks will only backfire.”

In that moment, Ayla understood everything. Her voice turned cold. “If I can get Troy’s schedule so easily and track his every move, maybe you should think hard about whether this is your failure, Jed.”

Troy’s calendar was supposed to stay private–that was the assistant’s and secretary’s job.

Jed already knew Ayla had stumbled across Troy celebrating Skyla’s birthday. He figured she was upset–her not coming home for a week was proof enough.

But hearing her snap back like this still caught him off guard.

Instead of sympathy, he only felt annoyance.

Why couldn’t she just stay quiet and play along like before? Life had been so much easier that

way.

He waved his hand, signaling the guards to keep pushing her out.

Ayla was still reeling from last night, and now Jed was lecturing her for no reason. Anger flared, turning her face ashen.

She wasn’t someone who liked to lose her manners in public, but she wasn’t about to swallow her pride this time either.

She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Help!”

The place was full of people from the tech world. At the sound of her cry, many turned their heads. After noticing her striking face, they stared in confusion.

“What’s going on?” someone muttered.

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Chapter 26 Shouting in the Crowd

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Jed hadn’t expected Ayla–who usually blended into the background—to cause such a scene. He froze in place, shocked.

When she prepared to shout again, he finally told the guards to release her.

Acting crazy actually worked.

Jed stormed toward her, his face stiff with rage. “Ayla, yelling like that is embarrassing enough for you. But if you drag Mr. Winston into this mess, do you even know what the consequences would be?”

Ayla found him ridiculous. “You’re the only one who knows about me and Troy. Why are you so nervous? Besides, we’re divorced.”

Jed cut her off coldly. “Keep those words for yourself.”

Ayla was speechless. She stood silent.

She used to give in to everything, which made her look weak and easy to push around. That attitude never allowed Jed, a nobody, to take her seriously.

But she still had work to do. Wasting time fighting with someone unreasonable wasn’t worth it.

She steadied her tone. “Right back at you, Jed. Don’t interfere with my business again.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Jed’s face darkened. “Ayla, do you really think acting out like this will make Mr. Winston look at you twice?”

Ayla stopped, pulled out her pass, and showed it to him. Her voice was icy. “Jed, why don’t you mind your own business?”

Before he could answer, she walked away.

Of course she had a pass to enter the summit. Without one, she wouldn’t have made it inside— and Jed knew that.

When he saw the Storm Group logo on it, he froze for a moment. Then he remembered—Ayla worked at Storm Group. Still, with her skills, she was probably just some low–level secretary to a department director.

Storm Group was founded five years ago. At first, it had been Winston Group’s biggest rival. But over time, Storm Group had pulled far ahead.

Recently, there were rumors that its CEO had returned to the country, but no one knew who was actually in charge.

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People guessed it had to be one of the big players from Zheron. After all, in just five years, Storm Group had hit a trillion–dollar market value–a kind of growth that required power most. people couldn’t even imagine.

Jed frowned at Ayla’s back. He knew how she felt about Troy.

Even if she were here for work, she might still be trying to get close to his boss.

After all, because of her scheming three years ago, Ayla had ended up married to Troy. She knew Troy didn’t care for her, so she should’ve kept her head down. But Ayla liked to dream. She always pushed the line.

And Jed hated women who didn’t know their place.

Very much so.

Ayla figured that if Jed was here, Troy must be too. She didn’t want to see him, but luckily the place was huge, so the chance of running into him was low.

She followed the signs toward the ballroom.

Up ahead was a robotics exhibit, crowded with people.

Ayla slipped toward the quieter side, avoiding the crowd.

That’s when she overheard a group talking. “I heard the Winston Group CEO was married, but nobody’s ever seen his wife. A lot of people thought he wasn’t married at all. Well, guess that rumor’s dead now.”

“Dead? Why, did Mr. Winston show up with his wife?”

“Sure did. I saw them myself. Handsome husband, beautiful wife–they look perfect together. I heard Mrs. Winston was his high school sweetheart. From prom to wedding aisle, they’ve been through a lot.”

“And she’s no trophy wife either. She holds a PhD in artificial intelligence. Just came back to the country.”

“No wonder Troy’s always alone at events, never with another woman. Turns out, his wife wasn’t

around.”

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