All Chapters of My Ruthless Billionaire Ex Wants Me Back: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Adrian The second Avery walked into the hospital room, the atmosphere changed so completely it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out at once. One moment the room had been quiet, tense but manageable, filled only with the soft hum of machines and Liam’s uneven breathing. The next, everything sharpened. Every emotion. Every glance. Every unresolved feeling hanging between Scarlett and me. Avery noticed it immediately. She had always been observant, especially when it came to me. That was part of the problem. Avery noticed too much, understood too much, and tonight there was nowhere left for either of us to hide from the truth. Her heels clicked softly against the hospital floor as she stepped further inside, elegant and perfectly composed despite the storm sitting behind her eyes. Then her gaze moved slowly across the room. First Scarlett sitting beside Liam’s hospital bed, her hand wrapped tightly around our son’s smaller one like she was terrified to let go. The

Adrian The word stayed with me long after she said it. She called me Daddy. Not Adrian. Not "that man." Not some distant title spoken out of politeness or obligation. Daddy. It was such a small word but it was simple and ordinary. Something millions of men heard every single day without their entire world shifting beneath them. But when Lily said it, it felt like something cracked open inside my chest. I had closed billion-dollar deals without my pulse changing once. I had stood in rooms full of ruthless men and never flinched under pressure. I had spent years building a reputation around composure, logic, control. And yet one sleepy word from my daughter nearly brought me to my knees emotionally. My daughter. Even now, the thought still felt unreal. Not because I doubted it. Because I didn’t. I saw myself in both of them every time they smiled, every time they frowned, every time Liam challenged something stubbornly or Lily watched the room too carefully before spea

Avery I wasn't stupid. I knew Adrian still loved Scarlett the moment I saw the way he looked at her inside that hospital room. I knew men didn’t stare at women like that unless emotions were involved. Real emotions especially dangerous ones. Adrian was worse because he didn’t love easily. He was controlled in everything, even cold when he wanted to be. I had spent years learning him piece by piece, and one thing became painfully clear over time Adrian Mattson never gave people all of himself. Not fully. Not completely. Not even to me. But the way he looked at Scarlett? God. That man looked at her like she still lived somewhere beneath his skin. Like losing her once had carved something out of him that never properly healed, and suddenly I understood something humiliating. I had spent years loving a man who emotionally belonged to someone else. The realization sat inside my chest like poison. I stood alone in my penthouse living room while replaying every moment

Adrian Lily’s question hit me harder than any business collapse, hostile takeover, or public scandal ever had. "Are you fighting because of us?" Her tiny voice trembled so softly it almost broke apart at the end, and somehow that made it worse. Fear looked wrong on my daughter’s face. Children were supposed to cry over scraped knees and broken toys, not stand frozen in hallways worrying that they were the reason adults were falling apart. Scarlett dropped to her knees in front of her immediately, pulling Lily closer with both hands like she needed to physically shield her from the tension filling the house. "No, sweetheart," she whispered quickly, brushing trembling fingers through Lily’s hair. "Never because of you. None of this is your fault." But Lily still looked uncertain. Because children always knew when adults were lying. Maybe not the details. Maybe not the history. But they felt emotions instinctively. They noticed shaking voices, swollen eyes, heavy silenc

Scarlett "No." the word left my mouth instantly, because moving into Adrian’s estate sounded like the worst possible idea imaginable. It would be too easy to fall back into feelings I had spent five years trying to bury alive. Living under the same roof as Adrian again would destroy every emotional wall I fought desperately to rebuild after the divorce. The terrifying part is that I am not sure I was strong enough to survive that destruction a second time. I looked at Lily and Liam again. Lily was still curled tightly into the corner of the couch clutching her teddy bear against her chest like it was protecting her from the world while Liam kept glancing nervously toward the windows every few seconds as though reporters might suddenly burst through the glass again. Fear sat all over their tiny faces. Not confusion anymore. My resistance weakened painfully. Adrian noticed immediately. Of course he did. Nothing escaped him when it came to me. "Scarlett." His voice softened