The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Ethan’s POV

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The house was quiet when we got home.

Amber was exhausted from the discharge process, barely keeping his eyes open as I helped him up the stairs to his room. I got him settled into bed, made sure his pain medication was within reach, and stood there for a moment just watching him sleep.

He’d been through so much. The surgery, the emotional turmoil, the confusion about his mother. And through it all, he’d held onto this belief that Cynthia had visited him, that she’d told him she loved him.

Part of me wanted to believe it was real. Another part knew it was probably just the medication playing tricks on his mind.

I left his door slightly ajar and headed to my own room.

That’s when I saw the notification on my phone.

A message from Cynthia.

I guess Amber is home from the hospital. Can I make it up to him? I’d like to see him again.

I stared at the screen, something heavy settling in my chest.

She wanted to see him. After standing us up. After sending her boyfriend to check on our son instead of coming herself.

Now she wanted to make it up to him.

I exhaled slowly and set the phone down on the bathroom counter.

The mirror reflected a man I barely recognized. Tired eyes, tension lines around my mouth, the beginnings of gray at my temples that hadn’t been there three years ago.

When had I gotten so old?

I gripped the edge of the sink and stared at my reflection.

“You can’t keep ignoring her,” I muttered to myself. “You can’t keep being angry.”

But the anger was easier than the alternative. Easier than admitting that I’d lost her. That she’d moved on. That Kevin Laurent had somehow won the woman I’d taken for granted for eight years.

It was obvious now, wasn’t it? She wasn’t devoted to Amber the way she used to be. Her priorities had shifted. Her restaurant, her new life, her new… whatever Kevin was to her.

The thought made me sick.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

“God, Ethan. Giving up has never been your thing. Why are you already giving up now?”

The question echoed off the bathroom tiles.

I’d built Walker Industries from a small regional winery into a national powerhouse. I’d closed distribution deals everyone said were impossible. I’d fought for every vineyard, every bottle, tooth and nail.

But when it came to my marriage, I’d just… let it die.

“Be honest with yourself,” I said to my reflection. “What do

you want?”

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The answer came immediately, unbidden, unwelcome.

I want Cynthia back.‘

The admission felt like a punch to the gut.

“Do you think it’s possible to get her back?”

I thought about it.

We had a son together. We were still legally married. Despite everything, there was still a connection there.

You don’t spend eight years with someone and feel nothing.

“Yes,” I said slowly. “It’s possible. We have Amber. We have history. I just need to get close to her, try to win her back.”

But she was so withdrawn now. So different from the woman who used to wait up for me, who used to try so hard to make me happy, who used to look at me like I was her whole world.

I’d destroyed that. I knew I had. Years of neglect, of siding with and protecting Anna and making Cynthia feel invisible in her

own home.

“But she used to love me, right?”

Yeah. She did. Once upon a time, Cynthia Walker had loved me with everything she had.

Maybe I could win that love again. There is a possibility that it wasn’t too late.

“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling over. “This whole thing is so frustrating. Why is love so hard?”

Because you never appreciated it when you had it, a voice in my head answered. Because you treated her like she was nothing, and now you’re surprised she acts like you’re nothing too.

I picked up my phone and stared at her message again.

Can I make it up to him? I’d like to see him again.

My thumb hovered over the keyboard.

What was I supposed to say? Yes, come over, let’s pretend everything is fine? No, stay away, you’ve done enough damage?

I started typing.

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#71

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The answer came immediately, unbidden, unwelcome.

‘I want Cynthia back.‘

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