The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Cynthia’s POV

Ethan and Bryan screamed too.

So did Amber.

For half a second, the hallway of the Walker mansion erupted into pure chaos. The sound tore out of all of us at once, raw and instinctive, bouncing off the walls and echoing down the corridor like something out of a badly timed horror movie. Four voices collided in sharp terror, overlapping and panicked, as if we had all just stumbled face to face with something unnatural.

My heart leapt violently into my throat. My grip tightened around Amber’s hand, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. I felt his small fingers clench around mine just as tightly, his fear pouring straight into me.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, the screaming stopped.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

We stared at each other.

Ethan and Bryan stood inside the study, frozen in place, their eyes wide, shoulders rigid, expressions caught somewhere between shock and embarrassment.

They looked like two men who had been caught red handed doing something they absolutely were not supposed to be doing. Papers were scattered across the desk behind them, folders open, boxes pulled halfway from shelves.

I stood in the doorway, my chest rising and falling too fast, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my ears. Amber pressed against my leg, peeking out cautiously, his eyes darting between the three adults like he was trying to decide whether to laugh or cry.

No one spoke.

Then realization hit all of us at the exact same time.

“Oh,” Ethan muttered, his shoulders dropping slightly as his brain caught up to reality.

“Oh,” Bryan echoed, dragging a hand down his face.

“Oh,” I breathed, finally understanding that nothing was actually wrong.

Amber blinked up at them. “Daddy?”

The word cut through the tension like a blade.

Nobody was dying or breaking in.

Nobody was about to murder anyone.

We had just scared each other half to death.

The absurdity of it all slammed into me so suddenly that I could not stop myself.

I burst out laughing.

At first it was just a small sound that escaped my chest, a breathy giggle that surprised even me. Then it grew, spilling out in waves, until I had to bend slightly at the waist, my free hand pressing against my stomach as laughter shook through me.

“Oh my God,” I said between breaths, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. “You two screamed like a pair of teenage girls in a haunted house.”

Ethan’s face flushed a deep, unmistakable red. “That is not funny.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The silence stretched, heavy and thick, filled with thoughts I could practically see moving behind their eyes. I expected questions.

Instead, they just stared at me.

Their gazes moved slowly, almost unconsciously, from my face to my hair, which I had styled carefully earlier that evening. Then lower, to the way my dress hugged my waist and skimmed over my hips. To the faint glow on my skin from makeup I had put on without much thought, assuming my evening would be uneventful.

The intensity of their attention made my stomach twist.

“Why are you both looking at me like that?” I asked, suddenly acutely aware of myself.

Ethan swallowed. I saw his throat move. “You look… beautiful.”

Bryan nodded, his voice quiet. “Yeah. Where are you going?”

I let out a light laugh, partly amused, partly defensive. “An event.”

Ethan’s brows drew together immediately. “An event? Dressed like that? You are a married woman, Cynthia.”

I stared at him for a long moment, disbelief and irritation mixing in equal measure. Then I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, please.”

Without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving both men standing there, staring after me in stunned silence. I didn’t wear anything revealing, what is his big deal?