The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 202

Chapter 202

The thought left Autumn Lopez a little stunned.

Owen Bennett had been staying at the villa lately, hadn’t he?

They weren’t in the same room, but it was still pretty close.

After all, Owen had initially said she was just moving in for the pregnancy.

But after he moved in, he never left. He started coming and going every day, clearly treating the place like his permanent residence.

Why is that?

Is he worried about me, or is it something else?

Autumn ran through all the possibilities, deliberately ignoring the most likely one. She put her phone away

and left the room.

Pregnancy really does make you overthink things.

Now that the divorce was final, her next step was to focus on building her company. Who had time for all this romantic drama?

“Ma’am.”

A smile lit up the housekeeper’s face when she saw Autumn come downstairs.

Autumn nodded and asked them to prepare something easy to digest, then sat down to reply to messages from companies interested in partnering with her.

She had deliberately caused a scene at Mars Wright’s birthday party to make sure everyone in their circle knew she had cut ties with him and started her own company.

The momentum was exactly what she’d hoped for.

She had to get her company sorted out quickly, before the pregnancy got too difficult.

Otherwise, once she was further along, the Bennett family would never let her focus on work, even if she

wanted to.

Autumn knew she couldn’t be Mrs. Bennett forever, so she had to leverage the resources that came with the title, riding the wave of opportunity to secure her own footing for when she finally cut ties completely.

“How could that happen? Owen Bennett just showed up and protected that bitch?”

“Are you sure you heard that right?”

1/4

Chapter 202

At Henderson Manor, Ruby Bennett’s eyes were wide with unconcealed shock.

Beside her, Ava Henderson looked just as unhappy.

“It’s a hundred percent true!”

“The news was contained immediately, but one of my uncles was there today. He told us that not only did Mars Wright, the head of Cloudbreak Corporation, have his reputation destroyed, but it was also a masterclass in how Owen Bennett protects his wife. And we’re talking about Owen Bennett! The guy’s a legend–the ultimate bachelor, supposedly immune to women, no weaknesses, no soft spots. Just getting to see him in person is a huge deal. Who would’ve thought he’d be so damn dominant!”

“He’s super protective of his wife. A lot of people there were totally losing it over him.”

Ruby’s husband was flushed with excitement.

He was already in his forties, making Owen his junior by age.

But who didn’t know what a powerhouse Owen was in the business world?

He had a total hero–worship thing for powerful people, and he especially admired Owen.

Ruby was completely disgusted by her husband’s behavior.

She really didn’t get it. If he admired Owen so much, why hadn’t he treated her better?

They’d been married for years, their relationship full of ups and downs, but Ruby had thought that being a Bennett by blood would at least earn her some respect from the Henderson family. She never expected everyone, from her husband to her in–laws, to look down on her.

If her situation with the Hendersons wasn’t so difficult, why would she have ever come up with the scheme to set Ava Henderson up with Owen?

But Owen wouldn’t even give Ava the time of day.

She was over here so stressed she was getting cold sores, and look at him. He’s supposed to be Ava’s uncle, and he was actually happy that Owen was with someone else?

Didn’t he realize this meant his niece, Ava, had completely lost her chance?

“Uncle!”

Before Ruby could say anything, Ava burst out angrily, “What are you so happy about? Don’t you know I’m in love with Owen?”

She gave up the opportunity to pursue her graduate studies abroad for Owen–wasn’t it all so she could build

a life with him?

But no matter how many times she made a move, she got no response from Owen.

2/4

Chapter 202

Not only that, but even when her aunt stepped in, Owen wouldn’t budge an inch.

Ava couldn’t stand it anymore, which was why she’d gone out of her way to confront that girl, Autumn Lopez, and throw her weight around.

The plan was to intimidate her right from the start.

But it didn’t seem to affect her at all.

Besides, now that the woman had publicly announced her divorce, how could Owen want some divorced, secondhand goods?

Ava’s face contorted with jealousy.

“You’re in love with Owen?”

Ruby’s husband, Marcus Henderson, looked at his niece in surprise.

He admitted his niece was more accomplished than most.

But he didn’t think she was good enough to catch Owen’s eye.

“Since when? How come I didn’t know? And you–why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Ava thought he was going to say, “If you’d said so, I could have helped set you two up,” but his next words were: “If I’d known, I would have told you to give up a long time ago.”

Ava was speechless.

Ruby couldn’t take it anymore and smacked Marcus hard on the shoulder. “What the hell are you talking about!”

“Our Ava is perfect in every way. She’s more than good enough for Owen, okay?”

Ruby finished with a smile at Ava.

Ava was her only hope of securing her position, so of course she had to stay on her good side.

But Ava just shot her a nasty glare, clearly not appreciating the gesture.

Ruby froze, lowering her eyes to hide the resentment simmering within them.

She knew Ava was taking her anger out on her.

Because she’d failed to successfully play matchmaker for her and Owen, Ava was now unhappy with her, too.

Ruby’s heart filled with bitterness and hatred.

If it weren’t for protecting her own status, she would never stoop to something so pathetic!

I’m a Bennett relative, for God’s sake, she thought. In another era, I’d practically be royalty.

3/4

Chapter 202

She thought marrying into the Henderson family would be a life of luxury, but instead, she was being ground down like this. How was she supposed to bear it?

But she could only endure.

After all, at her age, she couldn’t afford the humiliation of a divorce. Besides, she had no skills. If she actually got divorced, she wouldn’t even be able to support herself.

Now, her only hope was that Ava would pull through. As long as Ava could marry Owen and renew the marital alliance between the Henderson and Bennett families, the Hendersons would surely see her in a new light, and her life would get a little easier.

“Uncle, are you really my uncle? How can you put down your own niece and side with an outsider!”

Ava ignored Ruby’s placating gesture. Having been spoiled rotten by her family her whole life, she didn’t have much respect for her uncle Marcus either.

She said whatever was on her mind, completely unafraid of how it might affect their relationship.

Marcus realized he had gone a bit too far. He gave Ava an apologetic smile. “You’re right, I spoke without thinking. Our Ava is a brilliant, foreign–educated talent. You’re truly exceptional.”

“But, Ava, you really don’t stand a chance with Owen. He and that Autumn woman already have a child together.”

Ava scoffed. “It’s just a baby. Who knows if that Autumn woman schemed to get it? You think a man like Owen Bennett would ever have trouble finding someone to have a baby for him?”