Ex-Wife Moving Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now novel Chapter 24

Chapter 2

My brother replied instantly.

[That piece of shit hurt you?]

[Where are you? I’m sending someone to pick you up right now.]

[I’m overseas for a conference, I’ll be back in three days. Young, big, hot–take your pick!]

I didn’t get a chance to respond.

Ryan pulled into a hospital parking lot.

“Your arm’s bleeding. Let’s get it taken care of.”

Now that his anger had passed, he seemed to slip back into the role of the considerate boyfriend.

My resolve wavered. I put my phone away.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have slapped you. I lost control.”

He didn’t hold it against me. He walked me to the ER to get disinfected and bandaged.

He even remembered to tell the doctor, “My girlfriend is afraid of pain. Please be gentle.”

Under the envious gazes of the nurses and doctor, I finished getting patched up and walked out.

He was on the phone.

“Yeah, we’re at the hospital now. You’re right–you’re way more thoughtful than I am. I’m really sorry about tonight. I’ll have her apologize to you in person tomorrow.”

That’s why his attitude suddenly changed. He’d gotten a text from Savannah.

The dream girl’s power was unreal.

I felt like some creepy stalker, desperate to know everything about her.

My brother sent over Savannah’s file almost immediately.

A favoritist mom, a useless dad, a leech of a brother… yet she alone remained the pure angel.

She was exceptional. Got into the top high school.

Ex–Wife Moving > Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now

Chapter 2

Ryan was her classmate for three years, then stayed in the country for college just to be near her.

He pursued her relentlessly. She rejected him because of his family background.

He spiraled, moved out of the Kaufman estate, and started his own company from scratch.

Then, five years ago, we ran into each other at one of my father’s business dinners.

I’d dressed on a whim that night–but somehow, I’d accidentally matched Savannah’s old style perfectly.

Ryan said it was love at first sight.

Turns out, I was just the stand in.

No wonder he kept buying me the same type of dresses, even after I told him I didn’t like them. He insisted anyway.

It wasn’t because I looked good in them.

It was because I looked like her.

A dull, relentless ache spread through my chest.

I glanced over at the bed. Ryan was fast asleep, his back to me.

About three months ago, he’d stopped holding me at night.

Looking back now, that was right around the time Savannah came back.

Five years together, and this was the first time I’d ever picked up his phone.

The passcode was a string of numbers. He’d never changed it. I didn’t understand it before. Now I did.

It was Savannah’s birthday.

His notes app was packed–full of Savannah’s likes, dislikes, allergies, preferences. Not a single entry about me.

In a hidden album, there were photos of a younger Savannah. Every angle. Beautiful and soft and glowing.

In all our time together, I’d asked him to take pictures of me. He always refused, saying he wasn’t good at photography.

Turns out, his lens was reserved for the woman he loved.

So what the hell were

my

five years?!

My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped the phone

Ex–Wife Moving > Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations. You’re Single Now

22.10

Chapter 2

I quietly went downstairs to pack.

By the time dawn broke, I’d finally collapsed on the couch and fallen asleep.

I woke up to Ryan rushing around. He was getting ready, grooming himself meticulously from head to toe.

He passed by my two massive suitcases several times. Didn’t ask a single question.

“It’s Saturday. Where are you going?”

I stood in front of him.

His gaze swept over my red, swollen eyes–clearly from crying all night–and he looked back down to adjust his tie.

“Last–minute meeting with a partner.”

“Which partner? I didn’t know about any meeting.”

Back when Ryan was just starting out, I felt bad watching him struggle alone. My entire family threw our weight behind him.

My brother, worried about me, gave me half the company shares so Ryan and I would have equal power.

“You never cared about this stuff before.”

Ryan’s tone went cold.

“Are you saying you don’t trust me now?”

This was Ryan’s trigger point. I knew it.

In the past, the moment he brought this up, I’d back down.

Not today.

“Today’s Savannah’s birthday, isn’t it?”

Ryan’s face flickered with surprise. Then quickly shifted to accusation.

“You’re investigating me now?”

He turned back to fix his hair in the mirror.

“Yeah, it’s Savannah’s birthday. A bunch of old friends are going. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d get upset.”

His casual, dismissive tone made my blood boil.

22.3%

147ifo Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now

Chapter 2

“If you knew I’d be upset, why not just skip it?!”

“So now you’re trying to control who I’m friends with?”

There it was again.

Every time we fought, I’d try to express how I felt, and he’d twist it into me being controlling or unreasonable–until I got too exhausted to fight back.

“Do you act like this with Savannah too?”

I used to tell myself his difficult upbringing shaped his personality. That if I chose to love him, I had to accept him as

he was.

Now I wasn’t so sure.

“Did you ever even love me?”

Ryan hesitated, about to answer–when his phone buzzed.

He immediately grabbed it.

I stood there, eyes burning, watching his expression soften. His tone turned gentle.

“Yeah, all the old crew’s going. After the way you acted in front of everyone last night, they already think poorly of you. If I don’t show up today, it’ll just make things worse. Get some rest. Don’t overthink it.”

He turned to leave. I grabbed his sleeve.

“What if I don’t want you to go?”

“Be a good girl, Avia. Don’t be like this.”

He patted my hand, pulled away, and walked out without looking back.

I sank to the floor and sobbed.

By the time I’d cried myself into exhaustion, I got a friend request.

From Savannah.

[Avia, last night was my fault. You don’t need to apologize to ne–and definitely not with such an expensive gift.]

The attached photo showed a pink diamond necklace. Worth tens of millions.

A month ago, Ryan went overseas on a business trip. I asked him to bid on it at an auction for me–I wanted to give it to my sister–in–law as a gift.

Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now

223

Chapter 2

He told me someone else outbid him.

He never lied to me. I believed him completely.

Turns out, he just wanted to save it for his dream girl.

[Ryan won’t take it back. Can I return it to you privately?]

She could’ve used express delivery. Overnight shipping. Anything.

But no. She wanted to meet in person.

[Fine.]

Okay, meeting the mistress head–on. I’ve never backed down from anything in my life.

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Finale Now