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Home / Romance / After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back / Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

All Chapters of After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

120 Chapters

101

DURRELLI think about Harold Bennett's words in the ballroom. I think about Victor's face afterward. I think about the fraction of a second where something cracked behind Victor's eyes before he shut it down.I think about all of it and I say nothing, because we're standing in a federal building hallway and now is not the time. The time for it will definitely come. Soon enough.The corridor is quiet except for distant keyboard sounds and a phone ringing somewhere twice before going unanswered. Charles gets coffee from a machine near the stairwell for both of us.Four hours after Okafor went back in, the conference room door opens, and Victor walks out first.He looks exactly the same as when he walked in. That's either impressive or unsettling depending on how well you know him. His jacket is buttoned, and his expression is composed. He scans the corridor briefly, finds Charles and me, and walks toward us without rushing.Behind him, Agent Reeves emerges. Then Chen and Morris, both of

102

DURRELLSuddenly, the lines start connecting. Slowly and dangerously."No," I answer carefully."But you knew him.""Yes.""Did he ever express concerns about business dealings?""No."Theodore never came to me. Whatever he discovered, he handled himself. And now he's dead.The silence stretches again, then Reeves nods once and closes her notebook. She stands, which means the interview is over.I stand too."We may need to speak again," she says."I'm not difficult to reach."She opens the door. The corridor reappears. Victor is standing with Okafor and Charles near the elevator bank. Maxwell is beside them, asking something with his hands slightly raised, the posture of a man making a case nobody requested.I step out of the side room. Reeves follows.Maxwell sees her and immediately straightens. Then he sees me and something flickers behind his eyes. Calculation.Before Victor can answer whatever Maxwell was asking, Maxwell looks directly at me and says, "What did they want?""Quest

103

DURRELLI step slightly closer and lower my voice. "Meaning your father just spent four hours in an interview room being careful about every single word he said. Okafor spent that same time managing the legal exposure. And the first thing you did when you walked out was hand Reeves exactly the kind of reaction she was looking for." I hold his gaze. "She's not investigating a shipping dispute, Maxwell. She's investigating an organization. And you just made her job slightly more interesting."Something moves behind his eyes. Anger first, then something colder. "I made one comment.""You asked about the whistleblower before asking if your father was alright."Maxwell goes silent. Charles looks between us, and Victor says nothing, still watching the middle distance.Maxwell straightens. "I'll call you tomorrow," he says to Victor. Then he walks toward his own car without looking at me again.I watch him go. The way he moves, the set of his shoulders, and the slightly-too-controlled pace

104

SELENEThe club doesn't have a sign outside. That's how I know it's expensive.Kael, which is what the stranger finally tells me his name is when we're in the car, leads me through a side entrance that opens into something that feels less like a nightclub and more like someone's very wealthy fever dream. "You come here often?" I ask."Often enough that they don't ask questions." He takes two glasses of something gold from a passing tray and hands me one. "Which I suspect is what you need tonight."I take the glass and drink without asking what's in it. It's warm going down and tastes expensive. I take another sip and let the club swallow me whole.We find a corner booth. The leather is soft enough to feel like a bad idea. Kael sits across from me with his jacket off now, his sleeves rolled to the forearm, and that same entertained expression he's worn since the ballroom. Like the evening is a film he purchased tickets for, and he's enjoying the pacing.The first drink becomes a second

105

SELENE“You two are deeply strange.”"We hear that a lot," Zael says pleasantly, slipping into the empty spot on my other side as we reach the dance floor.The music swells, and the crowd around us moves to the beat. Kael's hand finds my waist from one side, while Zael slides in close on the other, his chest brushing my shoulder as we move together.For one moment, I genuinely don't know what I'm doing or why I'm here or what any of this means. Then the bass drops and I stop caring.Kael’s grip tightens, his thumb tracing slow circles on my hip as he leans in, his breath hot against my ear. “You feel that?” he murmurs, his voice a rough whisper that makes my skin prickle.I nod, unable to form words, my own hands sliding up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my palms. Zael’s mouth hovers near my ear, his tongue flicking out to trace the shell before he whispers something absurd about the DJ’s life choices that make Kael choke on his laugh, a short, surp

106

SELENEThe room is bright when I open my eyes. I press my face immediately into the pillow and make a sound that has no business coming from an adult human.My head feels like a construction site. My mouth tastes like the last three hours of a very long night. Every inch of me is deeply committed to never moving again."There's water on the nightstand."I open one eye, Zael sits in the armchair across the room with a book open in his lap, legs crossed at the ankle. He looks completely unaffected by last night, which is genuinely offensive."You were watching me sleep," I say. My voice sounds like gravel."I was reading.""You were also watching me sleep.""You make interesting sounds."I sit up slowly. The room is a penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows, late morning light, a view of Lakebridge that I'd appreciate significantly more if my head weren't staging a revolt. I reach for the water and drink half of it before setting the glass down."Where's your brother?""Work." Zael turn

107

SELENEI walk back into the main room. Kael is on his phone near the window. Zael is washing dishes. They both look up when I enter."I have to go," I say.Kael lowers his phone. "What's wrong?""Something came up." I pause. "Victor Cox was detained last night. Questioned by federal agents."Kael's expression doesn't change. Neither does Zael's. Which tells me they already knew."You knew," I say."We heard," Kael says carefully. "I need to find him," I say. "See if he's alright."Kael reaches for my phone. I hand it to him. He types his number into it, saves the contact, and hands it back."In case you want to find us again," he says.I look at him. Then at Zael, who has turned from the sink and is watching me with that same measured attention."Thank you," I say. "For last night. For this morning. For not...""For not what?""For not making me feel worse than I already do."Kael nods once. Zael says nothing, but something in his expression softens slightly.I leave the penthouse in

108

SELENE"That he only loves when it's beneficial to him." Victor sets his glass down. "I knew you wouldn't last. Not because of anything lacking in you. But because Maxwell doesn't know how to sustain something that doesn't serve his interests."I stare at him. Ariana said the same thing. Not the same words, but the same shape. The same truth."You're echoing her," I say quietly."Who?""Ariana." I laugh, but there's nothing funny in it. "She told me once that men like Maxwell don't choose. They take what's convenient and call it love."Victor says nothing. Which is its own answer."How is it," I ask, "that everyone except me saw who he really was?"Victor studies me for a long moment. "Love blinds people to faults. That's not a weakness. It's simply what love does.""And now that I'm out of love?""You're standing in my penthouse wearing someone else's clothes, asking after a man who was never your father-in-law."I flinch at that, and he notices."Fair," I say. "I really don’t know w

109

DURRELLI tell myself I'm only in Blackbridge because I have meetings. That lie lasts approximately six minutes.The moment my driver turns toward the old Cox Energy regional offices instead of downtown, I stop pretending. I'm here because of Helena. My mother.Or more specifically, because of the growing pile of things nobody wants to tell me about her.The building looks smaller than I remember. Thirty years ago, it was one of the largest commercial properties in Blackbridge. Now it sits wedged between newer towers and modern glass developments. Old money surrounded by new money.The receptionist downstairs doesn't recognize me. That's refreshing. Everyone in Lakebridge knows who I am. Here I'm just another man asking questions."Personnel archives?" she repeats.I nod. "I'm researching some historical staffing records." Technically true.After a few calls and several signatures, I'm directed toward a records department buried deep in the basement.The woman waiting there is at lea

110

SELENEThe house is quiet when I let myself in.I set my bag down near the entrance and hear my mother's voice coming from the sitting room. "I understand what the invitation means, Juliana." A pause. "What I'm telling you is that I'm not in a position to simply appear because a letter arrived."I stay in the hallway, not deliberately, but something in her tone makes me rooted to the spot."Don't twist my words." Another pause, shorter. "She doesn't do things like this without a reason, and you know it as well as I do."'She.' Someone specific. Someone, my mother is carefully not naming, even in a private call, which tells me the name itself carries weight."I have managed my own affairs for thirty years without interference." Her voice drops slightly. "The invitation has been noted. That's all I'm prepared to say."The call ends, then I walk in.She’s standing near the window with her back slightly turned and her phone still in her hand. She turns when she hears me. Her face a mixt

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