Ex Wife's Collapse After Divorce novel Chapter 8

Chapter eight

Vivian’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.

Aurora Sinclair. The name slammed into her brain like a freight train.

This was the woman whose company had single-handedly turned Lockwood Industries’ Q3 numbers around. The woman whose preliminary partnership deal had Vivian’s entire board salivating for more. The woman Vivian had been drafting an expanded cooperation proposal for just yesterday.

And she’d just called her a whore.

Damian had gone rigid beside her. His smirk was gone, replaced by something pale and tight.

“Ms. Sinclair.” Vivian forced the words out. Her throat felt like sandpaper. “I – this is a misunderstanding.”

Aurora didn’t blink.

“I’m here to catch my husband cheating,” Vivian said quickly, the words tumbling over each other. “I had no idea you were the one – I mean, I didn’t know it was you in the car. I would never have-”

“Your husband.” Aurora’s gaze flicked to Ethan, then back to Vivian. Her tone could have frosted glass.

“I – yes.” Vivian gestured vaguely at Ethan. “He’s been sneaking around, and I thought-”

“He’s a cheater,” Damian cut in. His voice had recovered some of its smoothness, though his posture was still stiff. “Ms. Sinclair, whatever he’s told you, this man is Vivian’s husband. A stay-at-home nobody who-”

Ethan’s head turned. Just slightly. The look he gave Damian could have cut bone.

“A nobody,” Ethan repeated quietly.

Damian pressed on, emboldened by Vivian’s presence. “He’s been using Vivian’s name to climb. Whatever connection he’s claiming with you, Ms. Sinclair, I guarantee it’s built on lies. He doesn’t have the standing to be in the same room as-”

“He’s not worthy of me,” Vivian added, seizing the momentum. “And he’s certainly not worthy of someone like you. He probably told you he was some kind of executive, or ”

“Interesting.”

Aurora’s voice was soft. Almost pleasant.

Both Vivian and Damian stopped talking.

Aurora tilted her head, studying Vivian the way someone might study a stain on an expensive tablecloth.

“According to him,” Aurora said, “he just got divorced. So how exactly is he using your name?”

Vivian’s face flushed.

“And you are…?” Aurora continued, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

The words landed like a slap.

They had met. Once. Briefly. At a networking event where Vivian had been one of forty executives waiting in line for three minutes of Aurora’s time.

Aurora didn’t remember her.

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Vivian’s flush deepened to crimson. She opened her mouth, closed it. She couldn’t lash out at Aurora – not without torpedoing the most valuable business relationship Lockwood had. So she turned her fury where it was safe.

At Ethan.

“You.” Her voice shook. “You couldn’t wait, could you? The ink isn’t even dry and you’re already telling everyone we’re divorced. What am I to you? Something you just throw away and brag about?”

Ethan looked at her. His expression didn’t change.

“You and your boyfriend showed up at my location, called the woman beside me a whore, and tried to publicly humiliate me.” His voice was quiet. Controlled. “And you’re asking what you are to me?”

Vivian opened her mouth. Closed it.

“You thought I was cheating,” Ethan continued. “That’s what brought you here. Not concern. Not love. You saw a photo and your first instinct was to race across town and make a scene.”

He took one step closer.

“In three years of marriage, you never once came looking for me. Not when I was alone. Not when I was struggling. ‘His voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. “But the second you thought I might belong to someone else – suddenly you care?”

Vivian’s lips trembled. Her gaze darted sideways.

“I was just – I was worried about-”

“You were worried about your property.” Ethan’s eyes were flat. Dead calm. “That’s all I ever was to you, Vivian. Something you owned. Something that wasn’t allowed to leave.”

Vivian’s face was burning. She couldn’t speak.

Damian couldn’t stand it anymore.

Watching Ethan talk to Vivian like that – watching him stand there with Aurora Sinclair at his back like some kind of equal – it made his skin crawl.

Because Damian had spent months trying to get a meeting with Sinclair. Months. And he hadn’t even gotten past her assistant’s assistant.

“Alright, enough with the self-righteous act.” His voice had an edge now, the polished veneer cracking. “If you’re not cheating, then explain – what exactly is your relationship with Ms. Sinclair? What possible reason would someone like you have to be standing here?”

Ethan met his gaze. “Work.”

Damian went still. For a moment, he was really thinking about what he meant by ‘work’.

Then he laughed.

“Work. Nice phrasing.” He shook his head, grinning like he’d just heard the punchline of a bad joke. “Right. I get it now. You’re her Uber driver.”

“Almost instantly, a look of amusement flickered across Aurora’s face. Instead of rushing to refute him, she remained still, quietly studying Ethan’s reaction.

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Ethan didn’t blink. A thin smile crossed his face.

“Think whatever you want.” His voice was quiet. Almost conversational. “I looked into you, Damian. Your real résumé. Your actual track record, not the version you fed Vivian.”

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