The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Ethan’s POV

The iron gates of the Walker mansion came into view like a battlefield checkpoint, and somehow, there were already vultures circling.

Reporters.

Cameras.

Microphones.

Flashing lights cutting through the late-morning haze as if they could burn straight through the tinted windows of my car and into my skull.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, jaw set, pulse pounding behind my eyes.

“Mr. Walker! Ethan! Is it true you abandoned Anna and her child?”

“Did you have an affair while married to Cynthia Walker?”

“Are the allegations about emotional abuse true?”

“Is Walker Industries facing internal collapse?”

The questions came rapid-fire, overlapping, sharp and accusatory, each one designed to provoke a reaction. Hands slapped against my car as I slowed near the gates, security struggling to keep them back.

I didn’t answer a single one, none of them deserved to hear the truth filtered through clickbait and outrage.

I stared straight ahead as the gates finally slid open, easing the car forward inch by agonizing inch while the guards held the line. A microphone brushed my window. Someone shouted Anna’s name like it was gospel.

Then the gates slammed shut behind me.

Silence.

I exhaled for what felt like the first time all morning, my shoulders sagging as adrenaline drained from my system.

I parked, cut the engine, and just sat there for a moment.

Anna had done exactly what she’d always threatened to do in subtle, poisonous ways.

She hadn’t just come for me.

She’d come for my reputation. My company. My marriage — what was left of it.

And she’d done it with a smile and a carefully crafted victim narrative.

I rubbed my face with both hands, exhaustion crashing over me.

The moment Cynthia left that beach house, reality had come roaring back.

I stepped out of the car and entered the mansion.

I shrugged off my jacket as I walked in, loosening my tie, already bracing myself for whatever awaited inside.

That’s when I heard voices.

Devian was seated on the leather armchair near the fireplace, legs spread casually, one arm draped over the back like he owned the place. He looked relaxed—too relaxed for someone sitting in my living room unannounced.

Bryan stood near the window, staring out at the garden with his hands in his pockets.

And he looked like he would rather be anywhere else on earth.

The air between them was… off.

I stopped just inside the living room.

Devian was the first to break the silence, eyes lifting lazily to meet mine.

“Well,” he drawled, lips curling into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “If it isn’t the star of today’s internet circus.”

Bryan didn’t turn around.

I didn’t say anything.

“You didn’t have to,” Devian shot back. “The internet did.”

Bryan shifted again, shoulders tense, like he was holding himself back from saying something he wasn’t ready to unleash.

Devian turned on him. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “So let me get this straight. Anna drops a public accusation grenade, reporters are camped outside, shareholders are panicking, and somehow there’s also internal drama between the two of you?”

Neither of us denied it.

Devian barked out a laugh. “Fantastic. Truly. A masterpiece of timing.”

I crossed the room and poured myself a glass of water, my movements mechanical.

I wish I could be so petty to let Bryan know I had spent the night with Cynthia and we had gone rounds through the night and he needs to back off before he gets hurt.

Devian watched me over the rim of his glass. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Ethan. Forget the company now, Let’s talk about Anna. About the kid. About why a woman who loves you so dearly would go this far to burn your world down.”

I met his gaze. “I would just need to talk to Anna.”

Devian studied me for a long moment. “That’s if she would take your call. She has been ignoring mine. I don’t know what has gotten into her, and apparently”—he gestured between Bryan and me—“neither do I know what the hell happened here.”

Bryan finally spoke, voice tight. “Devian, stay out of this.”

Devian’s head snapped toward him. “Excuse me?”

“This is between Ethan and me.”

Devian shook his head slowly. “I swear, I step away for five minutes and everything goes to shit.”

He looked at both of us now, eyes sharp, demanding.

“I feel left in the dark,” he said. “And I don’t like it. What the fuck is happening? Did you two get into a fight? Or is this something much worse?”

The room went dead silent.