The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Cynthia’s POV

The party officially began with the usual formality that came with gatherings like this — soft orchestral music fading into the background, a well-dressed emcee stepping up to the podium, and a sequence of managers, executives, and board members taking turns to deliver welcome speeches filled with polished words and rehearsed smiles.

I sat there, hands folded neatly on my lap, nodding at the right moments, smiling when everyone else smiled, clapping when everyone else clapped. On the outside, I probably looked composed, elegant, perfectly at ease in the seat reserved for the guest of honor.

On the inside, I was anything but.

I felt like a fish out of water, acutely aware of every glance thrown my way, every whispered comment that floated just slightly too close to my ears. The weight of the gossip earlier still clung to me, sticky and uncomfortable. Still married to Ethan Walker, yet sitting beside Nikolai Cross. The sentence repeated itself in my head like a cruel chant.

Beside me, Nikolai was thoroughly enjoying himself.

He leaned back in his chair with the ease of a man who owned not just the room but everyone in it, occasionally bending toward me to murmur sarcastic observations about the speakers.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered at one point, lips twitching. “He’s said ‘synergy’ five times already and hasn’t actually said anything.”

Despite myself, I let out a small laugh.

“That’s corporate speeches for you,” I replied quietly. “A lot of words, very little meaning.”

He grinned, clearly pleased. “You’re enjoying this more than you think.”

I wasn’t. But I didn’t correct him.

Nikolai kept gesturing subtly toward different guests as the program went on, giving me quick, humorous summaries of who was who—who was secretly bankrupt, who had married for money, who was sleeping with whose assistant. I didn’t know whether to be amused or unsettled by how much he knew.

Mostly, I just wanted the night to be over.

The speeches dragged on, one after the other, applause bleeding into applause until it all blended together. Eventually, my discomfort reached a point where I could no longer sit still.

“I need to use the restroom,” I leaned toward Nikolai and said politely.

He turned to me immediately, attentive. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I blinked, almost baffled by that question. “No.”

For a brief second, something unreadable flickered across his eyes, but he masked it quickly with a charming smile.

“Don’t disappear on me,” he said lightly. “I’ll be right here.”

I stood, smoothing my dress, and walked away before he could say anything else.

The hallway leading to the restrooms was quieter, mercifully so. The noise from the ballroom dulled into a distant hum, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I took my time in the restroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror longer than necessary.

Get a grip, Cynthia.

I adjusted my hair, reapplied a little lipstick, and straightened my shoulders. I reminded myself that I hadn’t done anything wrong. I had been invited. I had shown up. I was sitting politely at an event. That was all.

On my way back, just as I turned a corner near the entrance to the hall, a familiar voice stopped me.

“Oh dear… Mrs. Walker?”

I froze internally before turning with a polite smile already in place.

“Mrs. Brown,” I greeted. “Good evening.”

Mrs. Brown stood there in an elegant gown, her jewelry catching the light. She looked pleasantly surprised—and also unmistakably confused.

As I reached the entrance, something caught my attention from the corner of my eye.

Through the glass doors at the other side of the hall—near the secondary entrance—I saw a figure that made my steps falter.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Familiar posture.

And beside him, a little boy with dark hair, holding onto his hand.

My breath caught.

Ethan?

Amber?

It couldn’t be. They weren’t invited. Ethan wouldn’t….he couldn’t… be here.

I slowed instinctively, my heart pounding, tempted to turn my head fully, to confirm what my peripheral vision had just registered.

But fear held me back.

I couldn’t afford even one more second of scrutiny.

I turned away sharply and stepped fully into the hall, blending back into the crowd just as the emcee’s voice rose again.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced grandly, “please put your hands together as we welcome the chairman of Cross Energy…Mr. Nikolai Cross.”

Applause erupted.

As soon as I got in, Nikolai was already being welcomed onto the stage.