The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Cynthia's POV

The three of us were still sitting on the bed — Julian wiping his eyes, Kevin with his arm around his shoulder, and me feeling emotionally wrung out — when the door opened again.

Nathaniel stood in the doorway, his expression tense, alert.

Then he saw us.

All three of us.

Sitting together.

Clearly in the middle of something.

He stopped mid-step, his brows furrowing as he took in the scene. His eyes moved from Julian's red-rimmed eyes to Kevin's protective posture to my own undoubtedly blotchy face, and I could see him trying to piece it all together.

"What's going on?" he asked slowly, suspicion creeping into his voice.

None of us spoke immediately.

What could we say?

Oh, we were just discussing Julian's sexuality and the fact that he's been hiding a boyfriend from the family for years.

Yeah, that wasn't a conversation we were ready to have with Nathaniel yet.

Kevin recovered first, his expression smoothing into something casual.

"Nothing," he said easily. "Just sibling bonding."

Nathaniel's eyes narrowed. "At midnight?"

"Emotional night," I added quickly. "Amber went missing, remember?"

Nathaniel studied us for another long moment, clearly not buying it but also clearly deciding not to push. He had always been perceptive like that — knowing exactly when to press and when to let things breathe.

"Having secret sibling meetings without me, huh?" he said finally, crossing his arms. "That's not fair."

Julian let out a slightly shaky laugh. "We'll catch you up later."

"You better," Nathaniel muttered.

Then his expression shifted, the lightness dropping away instantly, replaced by something far more serious. The change was so sudden, so complete, that my stomach clenched before he'd even said a word.

"But right now," he continued, his voice lowering, "there's a problem."

My stomach dropped.

"What kind of problem?" Kevin asked, immediately alert.

Nathaniel hesitated, his gaze flicking to me.

And I knew.

Whatever he was about to say, it involved me.

"Anna Walker has been released," Nathaniel said.

The words hit me like a physical blow.

"What?" I whispered.

"She was released about two hours ago," Nathaniel continued. "Lack of substantial evidence for the sabotage at Maison Cynclair. And Walker Industries dropped the charges."

I stared at him, my mind struggling to process what he'd just said. The room felt like it had tilted slightly, the edges of everything going sharp and strange.

Anna was out?

Free?

Walking around like she hadn't tried to destroy my restaurant, my reputation, my entire life?

"Why would Ethan allow that?" Julian asked, voicing the question I couldn't.

Nathaniel's expression was carefully neutral, but I could see the answer in his eyes before he even spoke. He didn't want to say it. None of them did. But the silence itself was answer enough.

"I don't know," he said. "But if I had to guess…"

He didn't finish the sentence.

He didn't have to.

The conclusion was obvious.

Painfully, devastatingly obvious.

Ethan still loved Anna.

He'd dropped the charges because he couldn't stand the thought of her locked in a cell.

He'd allowed Hayden back into his home because Anna was there.

He'd chosen her.

After everything.

After all his claims of wanting me back, of loving me, of fighting for our marriage.

He'd chosen her.

The realization settled over me like ice water, cold and suffocating. All those words he'd said, all that desperation, all those promises — and in the end, when it actually mattered, when it had cost him something real, he'd still gone back to her.

"Cici…" Kevin started gently.

I stood abruptly, my chest heaving, my hands shaking so badly I had to clench them into fists.

"He let her out," I said, my voice trembling. "He dropped the charges. He brought her back into his house. Putting Amber at risk."