How to Train Your Ex-Billionaire novel Chapter 13

Yvan strode out of the restaurant and got into his car.

With trembling hands, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking several deep drags before his mind began to clear.

What Zona said wasn't necessarily true. She always had a flair for the dramatic, a tendency to exaggerate. She was just jealous of Winifred, so she was deliberately slandering her.

He remembered back in high school when she’d spread that rumor about Winifred being ruthless and clingy just to win him over.

Yvan felt he needed to get to the bottom of this.

He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, but to his frustration, he couldn't find a single person connected to Winifred.

They were from two different worlds, their social circles never overlapping.

He recalled that Winifred didn't have many friends. The only person she seemed to talk to was her deskmate, an equally introverted girl with a face full of acne, as plain as they come.

Yvan couldn't remember the girl's name.

He opened the group chat and searched for a long time before finally zeroing in on a name.

Dana Lee. That had to be her.

He sent a friend request and waited.

It was only then that Yvan noticed Winifred wasn't in the group chat at all. Had she intended to cut ties with everyone?

There was no response from Dana. Maybe she hadn't seen the request yet. Though anxious, Yvan could do nothing but head home for now.

He was still living at the old Brown family estate. His own place was still being decorated and wouldn't be ready for another month or so.

When he got back to the estate, Monica and Hogan were playing with building blocks with their grandson, Murphy Holmes, a picture of domestic bliss.

Murphy was four and in preschool, the son of Yetta Brown and Wright Holmes.

The couple was always busy, and since they lived in the same gated community as the old estate, they often left their son with the grandparents.

Perhaps due to her age, Monica struggled to conceive. Just as she was about to give up in her early forties, she unexpectedly became pregnant and gave birth to Yvan.

As their late-in-life child, born into wealth, Yvan was inevitably spoiled by Monica.

His sister, Yetta, was twelve years his senior and doted on him as well, which led to Yvan growing up with an arrogant, domineering personality, a little tyrant.

He got into fights, skipped class, and secretly played video games.

He even picked up smoking in high school.

Yvan was no stranger to mischief. Every time he was caught, Hogan would give him a good hiding, but more often than not, Monica and his sister would tip him off, saving his skin.

It was safe to say that if it hadn't been for Hogan's firm hand, Yvan would have gone completely off the rails.

But despite his troublemaking, Yvan’s academics were never a concern.

Even when he barely paid attention in class, he could study a little and still come out at the top of his class.