The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Cynthia's POV

My mother wasn't done.

She turned back from the door, her expression shifting into something more animated, almost excited. Whatever careful composure she'd worn moments ago had melted away, replaced by something that looked disturbingly like enthusiasm.

"I've been overhearing conversations around the house," she said, moving back toward the bed. "About where you've been, who you've been seeing. The Cross Energy end-of-year party, for instance."

My stomach dropped.

"Mom…"

"And I have to say," Victoria continued, sitting back down beside me, "Nikolai Cross is quite the catch. Young, successful, recently inaugurated as chairman of one of the most powerful energy companies in the world."

I stared at her, unable to form words.

Was this really happening?

Was my mother seriously…

"You need to move on, Cynthia," Victoria said firmly. "You need to stop wasting your best years on a man who doesn't deserve you. And you need to think practically."

"Practically?" I repeated, my voice hollow.

"Yes," she said. "You're still young enough to have another child. But not for much longer. Menopause is…"

"Mom!" I cut her off, heat flooding my face. "I can't believe you just said that."

Victoria waved a dismissive hand. "It's biology, darling. And it's something you need to consider. These young men… Bryan, Nikolai — they're very willing to be with you. I've done my research."

"Your research?" I echoed, incredulous. The word landed somewhere between absurd and alarming.

"Yes," Victoria said matter-of-factly. "And from what I can see, both of them would make excellent matches."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she kept talking. She always did when she'd made up her mind about something.

"If you married Nikolai," she continued, her eyes lighting up with a gleam I recognized all too well — the gleam of a woman who had already decided the outcome and was simply waiting for everyone else to catch up, "it would create a massive, world-changing business alliance. Cross Energy and the Laurent empire? We'd be unstoppable. The markets would shift overnight."

I felt like I'd fallen into some alternate reality.

"But if you prefer Bryan," Victoria added, almost as an afterthought, "that would still be quite good. The Renaissance Group is substantial. Not quite as powerful as Cross Energy, but still a strong match."

"A strong match?" I repeated, my voice rising. "Mom, what is this? Are you seriously trying to matchmake me based on business mergers?"

Victoria blinked, looking genuinely confused by my reaction. As though the problem was my inability to see reason rather than her complete dismantling of my personal life over breakfast.

"The divorce papers," Victoria repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We'll have them drawn up and delivered. No need for messy confrontations. Just a simple, legal severance."

"You can't just—" I started, but the words tangled in my throat. Because part of me — the part that had spent last night staring at the ceiling, replaying every choice Ethan had made — wasn't entirely sure she was wrong. And that terrified me more than anything else.

Victoria leaned down and kissed my cheek gently.

"Get some rest, darling," she said warmly. "And then get dressed for lunch. Something elegant, but not too formal."

"Mom, I don't…"

"You'll feel better once you've eaten," she said, already moving toward the door. "Trust me."

And then she was gone.

Just like that.

Leaving me sitting there on the bed, staring after her, my mind completely blank. The door clicked shut behind her with the quiet finality of a full stop at the end of a sentence I hadn't finished reading.

What the hell just happened?

I pressed my hands against my face, trying to process the conversation I'd just had.