The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Cynthia’s POV

Nikolai was… kind.

That was the word that kept looping in my head as his car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the Laurent mansion. Not kind in a suffocating, overbearing way. Not kind with questions and expectations attached. Just quiet, respectful kindness.

He didn’t ask me where I’d been.

He didn’t ask why I was crying.

He didn’t ask why I looked like a woman who had just torn her own heart out with bare hands.

He simply drove.

The city blurred past the windows while I stared straight ahead, my thoughts a tangled mess of regret, longing, shame, and an ache that wouldn’t settle in my chest. Nikolai kept both hands on the wheel, the silence between us comfortable, intentional. Like he understood that anything he said right now might push me over the edge.

When we pulled up, he parked neatly, turned off the engine, and finally looked at me.

“Make sure you’re safe,” he said gently. “I’ll call you later.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Thank you, Nikolai. For… everything.”

He gave me a small smile, the kind that didn’t demand anything in return. “Have a great day, Cynthia.”

I stepped out of the car, the cool morning air brushing against my skin, and only then did I realize how exhausted I was. The bone-deep kind that comes from emotional whiplash.

I was halfway to the front door when it swung open abruptly.

Kevin.

He stood there with an irritated expression, hair slightly disheveled, eyes sharp and assessing as they flicked from me to the car pulling away behind me.

“Don’t tell me you spent the night with that kid,” he said flatly.

I let out a wry, humorless laugh. “No. I didn’t.”

That was all I managed to say before he closed the distance between us in three long strides and practically tackled me, wrapping his arms around me in a crushing hug.

“Where the hell have you been?” he demanded, his voice tight with relief and anger all at once. “We’ve been trying to call you all night!”

“I’m fine,” I said weakly, my arms slowly coming up to hug him back. “I’m… I’m okay.”

“Fine?” Victoria’s voice cut in sharply from behind him. “You were at a shooting! There was a shooting, Cynthia, and you disappeared!”

She stepped forward, her face pale, eyes rimmed with red. “We’ve been worried sick!”

If only they knew.

If only they knew that the gunshot hadn’t just been near me—that it had been meant for me.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. I couldn’t tell them. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t live with myself if they started panicking every time I stepped outside, if their fear became my daily burden.

Julian appeared from the living room, his usually relaxed demeanor replaced with a tight, worried frown. “We heard about the incident at Mr. Brown’s event. When we couldn’t reach you, when your security detail couldn’t find you—”

“My security detail,” I repeated softly, guilt flooding through me all at once. “Oh God… are they okay? I just left them there in the chaos.”

“They’re fine,” Nathaniel said calmly, emerging from his study with Helen beside him. “What wasn’t fine was you disappearing without telling anyone where you were going. We had people searching for you all night.”

I looked around at them—every single one of them gathered in the foyer like they’d been frozen there since yesterday. Kevin. Victoria. Julian. Nathaniel. Helen.

My family.

Worried, angry but relieved.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone. Things just… happened so fast. And I didn’t have my phone.”

Victoria crossed her arms, her motherly worry quickly morphing into interrogation mode. “Where were you?”

I hesitated.

“Where did you spend the night?” she pressed. “And don’t tell me you were at a hotel because we checked every hotel in the city.”

The silence stretched.

My hesitation was apparently all the answer they needed.

“You were with Ethan,” Kevin said flatly.

He turned the screen toward me.

My chest tightened instantly.

Headlines. Social media posts. Gossip blogs.

Ethan. Anna. Walker Industries.

My stomach churned.

“More reasons why I need help making life choices,” I muttered bitterly.

Victoria sighed heavily. “This is exactly why I don’t understand why you’re dragging your feet with the divorce.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Ethan probably lost the papers. We should have them served again—this time by a lawyer. At his office. That way he’ll be forced to take it seriously.”

The words landed heavier than I expected.

My heart skipped painfully as the reality of it all settled in. This wasn’t theoretical anymore. This wasn’t just emotional back-and-forth.

This was real.

I knew divorcing Ethan was the right thing to do. I knew it logically, rationally, objectively. With Anna still in the picture. With a child involved. With his reputation in flames.

It was the sensible choice.

The inevitable choice.

And yet my heart betrayed me at the thought of it.

Especially now.

Especially after last night.

After the way his hands had felt. The way he’d looked at me like I was the only thing anchoring him to the world. The way my body still remembered him so vividly it made my chest ache.

I couldn’t get over it.

No matter how hard I tried.