Ex Wife's Collapse After Divorce novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The first three rounds went fast.

Sophie poured heavy-three fingers each time, no chasers. She watched him over the rim of her glass with the focus of a hawk tracking a mouse.

Ethan matched her pour for pour. The cognac burned going down, but his breathing stayed even, his hands stayed steady.

By the fifth round, Sophie’s cheeks were flushed. Her words came a half-beat slower. She leaned back in her seat, blinking hard.

By the seventh round, she was swaying.

“You…” Sophie pointed at him with a wobbly finger. “You got better at this.”

“I had practice.” Ethan set his glass down. Still upright. Still clear-eyed. “So can we talk about the

contract now?”

Sophie groaned. She pressed her palm against her forehead, eyes half-closed.

“One more thing.”

“Sophie-”

“One. More. Thing.” She held up a single finger. “Sing with me. One song. Then I’ll sign whatever you

want.”

She grabbed the karaoke remote and punched in a song number. The screen flickered. A familiar melody filled the room – piano intro, soft and lilting.

Ethan’s blood went cold.

“A Thousand Years.”

The song he’d sung with Vivian at their wedding. On that stage, under those lights, in front of two hundred guests who’d watched him promise forever to a woman who’d already started counting down to his expiration date.

Sophie held out a microphone, eyes bright and innocent. “Just one duet. Then we talk business. Promise.

Every instinct screamed no.

But the contract. William’s trust. Twelve million dollars.

He took the microphone.

They sang.

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Sophie’s voice was surprisingly good – warm, playful, leaning into the romantic lyrics with exaggerated sweetness. Ethan’s voice was better. The room went quiet when he hit the bridge, the notes clean and resonant, and for a moment even the strangers stopped scrolling their phones.

But something was wrong.

Halfway through the second verse, the room tilted. The neon lyrics on the screen blurred, doubled, merged back together. Ethan blinked hard. His grip on the microphone loosened.

‘What the hell-‘

The song ended. Applause erupted. Ethan lowered the mic and the world lurched sideways.

This wasn’t alcohol. He knew what alcohol felt like. This was something else – something chemical, something that turned his muscles to wet sand and filled his skull with static.

‘She drugged me.’

The realization hit like a fist to the sternum. But it was already too late.

“Ethan.” Sophie’s voice was right beside his ear now. Close. Too close. “That was beautiful.”

Her arms looped around his neck.

He tried to pull back. His body wouldn’t cooperate.

Sophie shoved him down onto the sofa – one sharp push, and he collapsed against the leather like a puppet with cut strings. Before he could raise his hands, her mouth was on his.

Click. Click. Click.

Camera shutters. Phone flashes. The room exploded with whoops and whistles.

“Oh my GOD-”

“Get that on video! RECORD IT!”

“Sophie, you absolute savage-”

Ethan’s hands found her shoulders. He pushed. Nothing happened. His arms had no strength – the muscles fired but produced nothing, like revving an engine in neutral.

Sophie kissed him hard, aggressive, one hand fisted in his hair, the other braced against his chest. The cheering swelled around them. Someone was counting seconds.

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