The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Cynthia’s POV

It was a brand new day.

I refused to let what happened yesterday disrupt my entire life. I’d cried myself to sleep last night – ugly, heaving sobs into my pillow that left me feeling hollow and drained. But that was last night.

Today, I had classes to teach. Students who depended on me. A life that didn’t revolve around Ethan Walker and his manipulations.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, pressing cold spoons against my puffy eyes, trying to reduce the swelling. The woman staring back at me looked tired. Worn. But underneath all that, there was steel.

I’d survived worse. I would survive this too.

I dressed carefully and headed to Missford University with my security detail – that I had already gotten tired of and feel like dismissing trailing behind.

The lecture went well. I lost myself in the rhythm of teaching, in the eager faces of students who actually wanted to learn, in the familiar comfort of discussing culinary techniques and flavor profiles. For a few hours, I could pretend everything was normal.

When the class ended and students began scurrying out, I started gathering my materials.

Then I looked up and saw Nikolai.

He stood in the doorway, watching me with that gentle smile of his. He looked good. Better than ever, actually, despite everything he’d been through. His suit was immaculate, his posture confident, his eyes warm.

Something in my chest lifted at the sight of him.

I didn’t know why I was so glad to see him. Maybe it was because he represented something uncomplicated in my increasingly complicated life. Maybe it was because he’d been nothing but kind to me from the moment we met.

He approached me, his smile widening, and when he reached me, he took my hands in his and lifted them to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles.

My heart fluttered.

I felt a bit uncomfortable with that. As much as I liked Nikolai, I didn’t want him giving me these gestures. They made my heart do things it shouldn’t be doing… not when I was still legally married, not when my life was such a mess, not when I hadn’t been shown romantic love in such a very long time.

Besides, Nikolai was young. There was no way he could see me as a woman. He probably viewed me as an elder sister or something. And because of how caring and understanding he was – which I’d noticed from the very first day I met him, watching how tenderly he treated his father at my restaurant – I knew that genuine kindness was simply his nature.

I must not read meaning into it.

“You look good,” I said, gently withdrawing my hands from his. “I’m happy to see you well.”

He sniffled slightly, a flash of grief crossing his features before he smoothed it away. “Yeah, it’s not good to look like what one

is going through.” His eyes swept over me appreciatively. “And you look amazing yourself.”

“How was it?” I asked, busying myself with packing up my materials. “The funeral?”

“It ended a few hours ago. I flew back shortly after.”

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I paused, looking up at him. “That means you just landed in Missford?”

“Yes.” His gaze was steady, sincere. “And you are the first person I wanted to see.”

There it was again, that flutter in my chest. That warmth spreading through me.

Jeez. He needed to stop being like this. It was uncomfortable and confusing.

“Were you able to see your son?” Nikolai continued, seemingly oblivious to my internal turmoil. “I bought him something Something you could use to apologize. It’s in my car. I bet he would love it.”

Again with the kind gestures. What was with this man?

Funny how I hadn’t even thought of getting Amber anything. But I suppose my brain was wired that way after years of conditioning. In the past, I’d noticed that Amber barely cherished the things I bought him. He always gave them away or let them gather dust. But the things Anna and Ethan gave him? Those he treasured.

So I’d stopped buying him things. And now, even when I should have thought of it, the instinct simply wasn’t there anymore.

“Thank you so much, Nikolai,” I said, genuinely touched. “You’re too kind.”

I exited the lecture hall, and Nikolai fell into step beside me.

“Would you want to grab lunch?” he asked.

Oh no.

I couldn’t be this close to him. I couldn’t afford to be. My emotions were too raw, too vulnerable. One kind word, one gentle gesture, and I might do something stupid like develop feelings for a man who was far too young and far too good for someone as

broken as me.

Think, Cynthia. Think.

Right – I had lunch plans! That was my excuse. I was meeting Nathaniel and Lily because we needed to discuss what to do about the restaurant sabotage from Ethan and Anna.

“Lunch?” a voice called out from behind us.

I turned to find Matilda approaching, a bright smile on her face. She pulled me into a quick hug.

“Are you both going to grab lunch?” She looked between Nikolai and me with obvious curiosity, then turned to him. “Hello,

Nikolai.”

She extended her hand, and they shook. But the handshake lingered, Matilda was holding on while Nikolai tried politely to

withdraw.

Well. Matilda was my lifesaver.

“Yeah, but I have plans,” I said quickly. “I’m meeting Nathaniel for lunch.” I turned to Nikolai, noting the flicker of disappointment in his eyes. I understood him though, he’d come here specifically to treat me to lunch, probably to comfort me after everything. But I couldn’t have lunch with him. No way was I getting my feelings messed up right now.

“Since you both know each other already,” I continued, gesturing between them, “perhaps you could have lunch without me.”

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