Ex Wife's Collapse After Divorce novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Two evenings later, as work let out, Ethan sent a message to Aurora telling her he had a gathering today and would be returning late, before heading downstairs.

Sophie’s red BMW sat idling at the curb, engine purring like a cat that had been waiting too long for

dinner.

Ethan spotted her the second he stepped through the revolving doors. She was impossible to miss – black designer dress clinging to every curve, silver-gray hair swept over one shoulder, crimson lips pursed in an exaggerated pout.

“Darling, would it kill you to leave five minutes early? I’ve been roasting out here for half an hour.”

Ethan didn’t respond to the complaint. His eyes swept the sidewalk – two Stellaris employees lingered near the entrance, already glancing their way.

“Get in the car,” he said. “Now.”

Sophie’s pout deepened. “Not even a compliment? I spent two hours -”

“Sophie.” His voice was flat. “Last time you showed up here, three departments were gossiping about it

for a week. Drive.”

She huffed. “Fine,” she said. “Let’s go ruin someone else’s night.”

The sports car cut through traffic and headed straight for the city’s most expensive five-star hotel.

The private dining room at The Grandview was already half-full when Vivian arrived.

Damian held the door for her – hand hovering at the small of her back, smile perfectly calibrated. Warm enough to be charming. Restrained enough to be appropriate.

A round table for twelve. White linen. Crystal glassware. The class president, Ryan Torres, had booked the room and was currently making small talk with a cluster of former classmates near the bar cart.

Vivian chose a seat near the center. Damian settled in beside her.

Within minutes, the questions started.

“Where’s Ethan tonight?” A woman across the table – Megan, if Vivian remembered right – asked with a smile that was slightly too curious.

“He had something come up,” Vivian said. Smooth. Practiced. “Couldn’t make it.”

The table accepted this without pushback.

They had no reason not to. Most of them had met Ethan once, maybe twice, at past gatherings. He’d been forgettable then. He was forgettable now.

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What they did notice was Damian.

Everyone at this table knew the history. Damian Hale – Vivian’s college boyfriend, the one she’d never quite gotten over, the one who’d resurfaced in her life at the worst possible moment. Nobody was stupid enough to say it out loud, but the math was obvious: husband absent, ex-boyfriend present.

One by one, the classmates stopped mentioning Ethan’s name.

Vivian leaned toward Damian, laughing at something he said about a mutual acquaintance. His hand

rested casually on the back of her chair. She didn’t move away.

Vivian relaxed. For the first time in weeks, the knot between her shoulder blades loosened. Here, in this room, she wasn’t a CEO watching her company bleed out. She was just Vivian – popular, beautiful, sitting next to a man who looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.

Then the door opened.

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