Chased by my Ex Husband

Ethan

"The papers were delivered again, Boss." Josh informs as he places the papers on the desk in front of me.

I take my eyes off the important contract I am supposed to sign to glance at the divorce agreement she sent.

She has demanded I return her grandmother's inheritance that she gifted me and refused to get any alimony from my assets.

It is fucking clear. She wants me to return everything she thinks I took from her. I have no fucking problem with that. But if she wants everything of hers back, she should return my three wasted years.

All this fucking time, she pretended to be in love and took advantage of my heart, my power, and my status. She should return all of that before asking anything from me.

Anger threatens to burst out of my veins, but I can't deny the lurking panic behind my eyes. It feels like she is desperate to cut ties with me, and I can not let that happen.

Even if we remain sworn enemies, we must stay together. Even if we hate each other, we must not stop feeling. Even if she wants to be away, she can not break this relationship between us.

Now when the thought of not having her in my life is becoming real to me, and I am seeing her with other men, I think I am going fucking crazy.

Suddenly, my cell phone rings. I ignore it. I don't give a damn about it, about anything else as I glare at the papers for a long time.

Boss." Josh's voice sounds muffled in my ringing ears.

"Boss, it's Mrs. Calder. She wants to talk to you." He reveals, and my focus returns in a flash.

I snatch the cell phone from his hand and press it against my ear. " You sent the divorce papers again? What did I tell you, Grace Whitlock, there is no way I am letting you go until I am done with you and you have paid for your betrayal?!" My voice is loud, but my heartbeat is louder.

How can she not feel apologetic after what she did to me?

How can she not show even an ounce of shame and guilt?

"Ethan." Her gentle voice sounds from the speaker, but I can't help but feel the coldness behind it. "You have already forsaken our marriage. You call me 'Grace Whitlock'. Did you never notice it?"

A pang hits my heart. Breathing heavily, I forget to answer her as an explosion goes inside my head.

Day by day, she had gone down from sweetheart to Gracie, from Gracie to Grace, from Grace to Grace Whitlock...

Day by day, we grew apart. It started from discovering one lie to discovering her betrayal. She broke us apart, and yet...she doesn't feel any remorse.

"I called to give you a chance, Ethan." She whispers, detached and icy.

Veins pop in my neck as I hiss resentfully, "You"

"If you sign the papers and free me right now, I will not let the whole world see your beloved woman's ugly face for now." She interrupts, not caring about what I have to say.

"Leave Lily out of this. "I grit my jaw.

"How can I when she started everything? She left you, and I had to step in. She came back, and I had to step away. If that was not enough, she had to take away my child too." Her voice grows angry, but moist as if she is feeling equally resentful towards me and Lily as I do towards her.

"Grace"

"Decide Ethan. Will you sign the papers or not?" Her voice becomes bitter.

I eye the papers on the desk and purse my lips. " is this about another one of your videos?"

"The last time was just a demo. People quickly forgot about how my parents hit me, you kidnapped me, and your beloved stood there—"

"Go ahead. "I interrupt her angry words.

After a pause, she breathes heavily. "What?"

"Whatever you have up your sleeve, use it. Go ahead. I don't give a fuck about whatever you can do, Grace Whitlock. Because even if you raise hell on Earth, there is no fucking way I will sign these papers. "I utter, grabbing the papers and flinging them to the dustbin in the corner. "Ethan, do you believe I can not get a divorce if you don't sign the damn papers?" She seethes, seemingly caught off guard.

"Go on. Go to the court and drag me there. I will see how that goes. In this country, no fucking judge will separate you from me and risk everything they have." I whisper, leaning back slightly.

Her heavy breathing sounds in the speaker. It stirs up conflicting emotions in my heart.

If you tell me that you made mistakes, and will love me genuinely in the future might consider taking you back, Grace. "I offer, clenching the phone tightly. "It won't be the same between us, but I will not hurt you more. We can start over You can bear more children, and this time they won't be bastards."

"My child was not a bastard. "Her voice lowers. " you will learn it the hard way."

Before I can tell her that her lies won't work, she hangs up. I glare at the cellphone for a while before throwing it against the wall.

Josh yelps as his phone breaks into pieces, now lying on the floor lifelessly.

"She thinks that Roberto can keep her away from me?" I scoff.

It's clear. She is being this bold because he is siding with her for now.

"Find out the details about RB projects. Find out their weaknesses, and everything that can sabotage the company. " I order Josh, determined to show Grace that Tristin can not hide her if I wish to draw her out. "Boss, what do you plan on doing?" Josh asks, his face neutral.

"I will destroy everything that Roberto has. Once he is gone, Grace will have no choice but to apologize for what she did to me." I hiss.

Josh nods silently and turns away to leave. I take my eyes off him and direct my gaze toward the glass wall in my office.

A distant memory resurfaces where Grace sits atop my desk, gazing at the night view.

'What are you thinking, sweetheart?

'I am thinking...that wishes do come true. If you want something from the bottom of your heart sincerely, you don't go without it. Life is not cruel Ethan. For me, it's beautiful because I got the man I love.' Her eyes had shone brighter than I had ever seen before as she smiled at me that night.

'You say it now. What about the future? How long do you think someone can love a man? 'I had asked playfully, just to suppress the strange feeling in my chest that was pushing me to kiss her until she had melted into my arms. 'Things can change. But my love for you won't. I will love you forever, Ethan, no matter how long that is or how hard it becomes for me. I will love you forever. 'She had answered genuinely and I had felt something rare in my chest. It felt like I didn't want her to go back on her words in the future. I wanted to do everything to ensure that her forever became true.

But it turns out...

Those were lies. The affection in her eyes, the tender touch of her fingers, and her heart-touching words. Everything was a lie.

"Boss." Josh comes rushing back and pulls me out of the trance.

"What is it?" The anger has subsided, leaving me weary.

Hating Grace Whitlock is proving to be harder than loving her.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"You need to see this, Boss. " Josh's neutral face now shows signs of panic.

He slides a new phone towards me, a video playing on it. I pick it up and watch Lily's face shine in the dim room.

I roll my eyes. Grace is on it faster than I expected. She just doesn't understand that I can always get rid of such lame videos and-

Do you

feel sorry about my child?

The baby that you killed mercilessly

to get Ethan? Do you apologize for making Ethan believe it's not his child? Do you apologize for making Ethan call my innocent baby...a bastard-the result of infidelity? Grace's soft voice sounds from

"

behind the camera.

My muscles tighten, awaiting a reply from Lily. She didn't do such a thing. Grace is trying to trick me again.

My thoughts come to a halt when I see Lily smirk before she says.

"Yes, my innocent sister. I am sorry for killing your child because Ethan can't have children with you. How can you even dare to think about starting a family with him when you know he is mine? He told you he will leave you once I return, right? Why did you let yourself get pregnant then? The phone drops from my hand. The carefully built walls around me shatter, leaving me numb and frozen on my spot.

She was telling the truth.

All this while, she was pleading, screaming, and crying...

And it was all true.