Ex Wife's Collapse After Divorce novel Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The break room outside the cafeteria was empty.

Ethan shut the door behind him, pulled up Sophie’s number, and hit call.

“Well, well.” Sophie’s voice dripped with amusement. “That was fast.”

“Cut the act.” His tone was ice. “Those photos. You’re using them to force me to meet you.”

A pause. Then a laugh.

“Force you? Ethan, darling, I was simply sharing some precious memories. Memories I happen to cherish.”

His jaw tightened. “You drugged me. You took those photos. And now you’re sending them to my phone in the middle of a workday. What exactly would you call that?”

“Nostalgic?”

“Sophie.”

“Oh, relax.” Her tone shifted – still playful. “If I wanted to see you, I have plenty of civilized ways to make it happen. For instance, I could call your company right now, say there are unresolved details in the Whitfield account, and request that Ethan Carter handle them personally. Face to face. In my office.”

Ethan’s grip on the phone tightened.

She wasn’t bluffing. The Whitfield deal had just closed. Any request from the client’s side for a follow-up meeting would be impossible to refuse without raising red flags.

“You’ve crossed a line,” he said, his voice dropping low. “First the drugs. Then the photos. Now this. I’m telling you clearly – if you keep pushing, I will push back. And you won’t enjoy it.”

Silence.

In this moment of silence, Ethan genuinely wondered what he would do if Sophie continued to flirt with and provoke him without any boundaries.

But then Sophie’s voice came through again, softer this time. The teasing lilt was gone.

“You’re angry.” Her tone was even a little cautious, as if she were afraid of losing him.

He didn’t dignify that with a response.

“Fine. I’ll stop playing.” She exhaled. “But tonight, Ethan, you’re having dinner with me.”

“No.”

“Before you refuse – I’m not some loose woman chasing you for fun, Ethan. I have a legitimate reason.” She paused, and when she continued, her tone carried a weight it hadn’t before. “I want to talk to you

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about Vivian.”

Ethan’s hand stilled on the doorframe.

“What about Vivian?”

“Come to dinner, and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me now.”

“That’s not how this works.” The playfulness crept back, just a sliver. “You show up, I talk. Simple transaction. And I promise you – you won’t be disappointed. But if you’d rather not know…” She let the sentence hang. “Your loss.”

Ethan closed his eyes.

He didn’t want Vivian occupying any more space in his head. He’d made that decision. He was done with

her.

But Vivian hadn’t gotten that memo.

I’ll make sure you can’t work in this city. I’ll destroy you. I’ll make you regret ever crossing me.

Her words from their last encounter echoed through his skull like a headache that wouldn’t quit. She’d threatened to bankrupt him. Threatened to use every resource at Lockwood Industries to crush him. And knowing Vivian’s pride, those weren’t empty words.

Even if Vivian meant nothing to him, it was still a provocation. He wasn’t the kind of man to take his ex- wife’s provocation lying down.

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