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CHAPTER 9
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-02-16 06:57:09
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My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 10
Alex POVThe late afternoon sun slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the downtown conference center, casting long shadows across the marble floor. I stood there, my hands trembling slightly as I gathered my materials—a betrayal of the composure I fought to maintain. The tablet screen flickered as I powered it down, reflecting my face for a moment: flushed cheeks, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes bright with barely contained fury. Michael Coleman's presence had turned what should have been a triumphant seminar into a battlefield of old wounds. The room still crackled with the electricity of our confrontation, though the young entrepreneurs who'd witnessed it had long since filed out, their whispers trailing behind them like smoke.My fingers brushed against the smooth leather of my Hermès bag—a gift to myself when Lane International landed its first Fortune 500 client. Everything I owned now, I'd earned. Every single thing.The click of my heels against the floor echoed
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-16My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 11
Alex POVThe neon-drenched streets of New York pulsed beneath a darkening sky as I stepped out of Lane International's headquarters. The city's familiar chaos wrapped around me like a well-worn blanket—a symphony of honking horns, chattering crowds, and the distant rumble of trams. I paused, letting the cool evening air wash over my face, carrying with it the mingled scents of street food and salt breeze from the harbor.My Louboutins clicked against the pavement, each step a quiet reminder of how far I'd come from the wide-eyed teenager who first arrived in this city. Richard, my driver of five years, stood beside the gleaming black Mercedes, his weathered face creasing into a familiar smile."Miss Lane," he greeted, his voice carrying the warmth of a father figure rather than an employee. His silver-streaked hair caught the glow of the street lights as he opened the door."Thank you, Richard." I slipped into the leather sanctuary of the backseat, finally allowing my shoulders to dro
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-16My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 12
Michael's POVThe slam of my car door echoed through the underground parking garage, the sound as hollow as the ache in my chest. My fingers found their way to the steering wheel, gripping until my knuckles blanched white against the black leather. The faint scent of her perfume still lingered in my nose—jasmine and something else, something uniquely Alexandra. Even after all these years, she hadn't changed that.Alexandra Lane.The name tasted bitter on my tongue, like expensive whiskey gone bad. I could still see her standing there in that corner office, backlit by the Manhattan skyline, power radiating from her in waves. The same woman who used to wait up for me with dinner growing cold on the table, who used to trace her fingers along my jaw and whisper that I was her everything—she'd just laughed in my face. Not a gentle laugh, not even a cruel one. Worse. It was dismissive, as if I was nothing more than an amusing footnote in her story.The memory played on loop in my mind, a to
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 13
Michael's POV The morning headlines felt like a physical blow, each word a reminder of another failed marriage. Michael Coleman Divorces Maria – A Short-Lived Love Story? splashed across my tablet screen, the third such headline I'd seen today. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose as I sat in the back of my Mercedes, the leather seat no longer providing the comfort it once did. The familiar scent of success – leather, cologne, and power – now carried an undercurrent of desperation I couldn't quite shake. The ink had barely dried on the divorce papers, my signature still fresh and decisive. Maria had cried when I told her it was over, but her tears hadn't moved me. They weren't the right tears. They weren't her tears. Maria was never meant to last – I had known it with crushing certainty the moment I slipped that overpriced ring onto her finger. The diamond had been bigger than Alexandra's, a detail that had seemed important at the time. Now it just felt pathetic. Maria
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 14
Alex POVThe Shanghai gala sparkled with the same artificial brilliance as every other high-profile event I'd attended over the years. Crystal chandeliers catching on diamond necklaces and gold cufflinks. The ballroom was filled with elites as they chit chatted about their latest accomplishments. Maybe a yacht or a historian building. But I was already internally groaning from the way my feet was starting to kill me – I'd broken my own rule about wearing stilettos to these gatherings, and now I was paying for it with every step. The constant smile was giving me a headache.A waiter passed by with fresh champagne, and I grabbed a glass more quickly than was strictly elegant. The alcohol wasn't helping my headache, but it was making the endless small talk more bearable. I'd already forgotten half the names of the people I'd met tonight, something that would horrify my PR team. Sally was so much better at this part – she actually enjoyed these events, remembered everyone's spouse's name
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 15
Alex POVI arched a brow, trying to ignore the way my heart was racing. Years of subtle therapy after Michael, and apparently all it took was one dangerous man in a well-cut suit to send my pulse skittering like a teenager's. Dr. Chen would have a field day with this. "And why is that?"He took a step closer, the space between us shrinking just enough to feel deliberate. His cologne – something expensive and subtle – teased my senses, but underneath it I caught the faint smell of cigarette smoke. A secret vice, perhaps? His perfectly manicured image cracked just slightly."Because power attracts power, Miss Lane."The way he said my name – smooth, deliberate, almost like a caress – felt like a test. A challenge. I fought the urge to smooth my hair or check my lipstick again.I didn't flinch, though I wanted to. "That sounds dangerously close to flattery, Mr. Vale."He chuckled, a low sound that held genuine amusement rather than the practiced mirth I'd heard all evening. His laugh lin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-18My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 16
Michael POVAlexandra was testing me.I could see it in the way she carried herself—head high, eyes cold, every word clipped with precision. She wanted to make me work for it, to make me suffer for the past.And that was fine. It was even cute watching the little girl of those years acting all and high mighty.But she didn’t even understand that I can endure anything if it meant getting her back.She wasn’t just an old regret. She was the regret. If I saw the future, I would have never let her go. I would still be with whoever I wanted to be with while making sure I kept her wings clipped and under my control.Letting her go was that one decision that had unraveled everything else. Maria had been a mistake. Or not. Perhaps a distraction. I did like her, she was sexier and more lively than Alex. But she is currently a mistake , that’s the only thing I can claim her to be for Alex to see me again.And now that I had corrected that mistake, I wasn’t going to let pride or time keep me fr
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-20My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 17
Michael's POVI first heard James Vale's name in passing—just a whisper among the elite. A harmless murmur that might have meant nothing on its own.But when that whisper included Alexandra's name in the same breath, it made my blood run cold.A week ago, at the Crown Summit Business Conference, I had watched her walk away from me with more venom than I'd ever seen from her before. I'd convinced myself she was still playing hard to get, still punishing me for the past. That we were just doing our familiar dance.Now, I realized she wasn't just rejecting me—she was moving on.And I wasn't about to let that happen.It didn't take long to get information on James Vale. Men like him left trails, no matter how much money they threw at erasing them. Money talks, but secrets whisper louder if you know who to pay.I sat in my office on a Tuesday afternoon, blinds half-drawn, bourbon untouched, scrolling through the reports my private investigator had compiled. Each swipe of my finger revealed
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-24
Bab terbaru
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 39
St. Regis Hotel – Grand Ballroom – 9:02 PM Next Evening The St. Regis ballroom glittered with old money and new power, crystal chandeliers casting prismatic light over New York's elite gathered to celebrate the union of Vanessa Coleman and Harrison Montrose IV. Three hundred guests in black tie and couture gowns, air heavy with perfume and privilege. Security was tight—guest list checked twice, IDs verified, metal detectors discreetly disguised as art installations.None of which had prevented me from securing an invitation under the name Alexandra Coleman—my legal name, as Michael had recently been so eager to remind everyone. The invitation that had arrived three weeks ago, addressed to me at my old penthouse (long since sold), forwarded through a series of old addresses until it reached me yesterday. A power move from Vanessa herself, Michael's beloved niece who had never forgiven me for leaving her uncle, for tarnishing the Coleman name with my "betrayal."The chandeliers trembl
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 38
Alex's Penthouse – 11:18 PM The Connecticut safe house had been a diversion. After confirming we weren't followed, James had driven Griffin and me back to Manhattan, to my penthouse in a building with security that rivaled most government installations. Six hours of emergency meetings had followed—with my legal team, with Sally and the executive committee, with my brother Elliott via secure video link from Singapore.The hot shower pounded against my shoulders, washing away some of the day's tension as steam clouded the marble bathroom. I leaned my forehead against the cool tile, allowing myself exactly sixty seconds of weakness—of fear, of rage, of the bone-deep exhaustion that came from knowing this battle with Michael would never truly end.Sixty seconds. Then I straightened, shut off the water, and wrapped myself in a robe. Griffin had fallen asleep hours ago, exhausted from what he believed had been an exciting adventure, not understanding the genuine danger that had precipitat
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 37
West Borough Elementary – 2:47 PM The autumn afternoon light filtered through the changing leaves as I sat in my Tesla, parked across from West Borough Elementary's redbrick façade. The school's clocktower chimed the quarter-hour, sending pigeons scattering against the cloudless sky. I'd arrived early—a habit formed from years of preparing for the worst—but today, something felt different. A prickling at the back of my neck. The same warning system that had alerted me to Michael's betrayals years before.I glanced at my watch—thirteen minutes until the final bell. The car's climate control hummed as I scrolled through the day's emails, keeping one eye on the school entrance. A flurry of congratulatory messages about Lane International's Airbus deal. Three board members requesting "private conversations" following yesterday's confrontation. A carefully worded inquiry from The Wall Street Journal about rumors of a Coleman Corp lawsuit.My phone rang, the school's number flashing on th
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 36
Alex POV Lane International Boardroom – High Noon The air conditioning couldn't combat the sweat beading on Richard Maxwell's brow as he slid the document toward me across the polished expanse of our conference table. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Manhattan shimmered in the midday heat, a concrete and glass mirage that seemed to undulate in the September humidity. I could see our company logo reflected in the windows of the building opposite—strong, clean lines forming an 'L' that represented everything I'd built from the ashes of my previous life. "Alex... the board feels this merger makes strategic sense." Maxwell's voice carried the strained neutrality of a hostage reading a prepared statement. Though he'd been with Lane International since its inception—had been one of the few who believed in me when every door in the business world mysteriously slammed shut—his eyes couldn't quite meet mine now. Behind him, the remaining board members sat in various postures of disc
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 35
Michael's knuckles were white around the whiskey glass as the projector displayed Alex's Hong Kong tax records. The ice had long since melted, diluting the eighteen-year Macallan into something weak and tepid, much like his legal team's excuses. The boardroom felt like a war room, the pre-dawn darkness pressing against the windows, the city lights below reflecting off the glass like distant artillery fire."There," he rasped, stabbing a finger at the screen where a series of transactions glowed in accusatory blue. "That transfer from Lane Holdings LLC. Trace it."His lead attorney, Bernard Walsh—who'd been with Coleman Corp for twenty-two years and had buried enough bodies to populate a small cemetery—swallowed hard. The man's immaculately pressed shirt was beginning to show stress wrinkles around the collar, and sweat beaded at his temples despite the frigid air conditioning. "Sir, if we get caught digging into foreign tax structures without reasonable cause—""I pay you to not get c
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 34
Maria's fork clattered against her plate loud enough to make their youngest daughter flinch. Claire, twelve years old and already hypersensitive to the atmospheric pressure changes that preceded her parents' storms, hunched her shoulders and fixed her gaze on the uneaten salmon on her plate. The dining room's chandelier cast sharp shadows across the table, highlighting the lines of tension etched into everyone's faces. "You've been staring at that phone for twenty minutes," Maria hissed, her voice low but edged with the sharpness of a blade that had been sharpened too many times. Michael didn't look up from the Lane International stock ticker, the blue glow illuminating the angles of his face. The stock had risen another eight percent since opening bell. "Business," he replied, his voice flat and automatic, a recording he'd played so many times it had lost all meaning. "Bullshit." Maria slammed her wine glass down, ruby liquid sloshing onto the white tablecloth like blood seeping t
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 33
Alex POVLane International Headquarters – 7:03 AMThe espresso machine hissed and spat like an angry beast as I poured a triple shot into my mug. The bitter aroma sliced through the morning haze in my office, sharper than any alarm clock. Manhattan glittered through the wall of glass behind me, all chrome and promise and lies. I sipped slowly, letting the bitterness burn the edges off my fatigue.Sally leaned against the edge of my desk, one stiletto heel hooked behind her calf, tablet in hand. She was scrolling, but her eyes weren’t glazed over with distraction—they were gleaming with anticipation."Titan Industries just landed at JFK," she said without looking up. Her voice was smooth, edged with satisfaction. "Their CEO’s texting me like a nervous prom date. Wants to meet before their 10 AM with Coleman Corp."I glanced at the digital clock on the far wall—7:03 AM. Perfect. I set the cup down, wiped the condensation off the rim with my thumb, and opened the drawer to my right. Ins
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 32
Coleman Corporation – Next MorningMichael's fist hit the mahogany desk hard enough to rattle the monitors displaying the morning's market reports. Red numbers flashed across the screens, Coleman stock down three points already."What do you mean Titan Industries pulled out?" His voice was dangerously soft, at odds with the vein throbbing at his temple.Rachel shrank back, clutching her tablet like a shield. Even after fifteen years as his right hand, she still flinched when his temper flared. "They signed with Lane International an hour ago. Their CEO cited 'ethical concerns.'""Ethical?" Michael's laugh was venomous, scraping across the room. "Alexandra's little press stunt has them running scared of bad publicity."He stalked to the window, adjusting his cufflinks with precise, controlled movements that betrayed his fury. The Coleman Tower afforded a perfect view of Lane International's sleek headquarters across the financial district. A decade newer, a shade taller. Alex had made
My Billionaire Ex-husband Won't Call It Quit CHAPTER 31
Alex POV Lane International Headquarters – Midnight The office was silent except for the hum of servers in the tech room. The skyline glittered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, a stark contrast to the darkness I felt gathering around me. I scrolled through the flagged emails on my laptop, the blue glow casting shadows across my face as I hunted for the leak that had been draining company secrets for weeks. "Got you," I whispered, satisfaction curling through my veins. A series of encrypted messages between a Lane employee—Daniel from Accounting—and an unnamed external party. Attachments: financial projections, client lists, merger strategies. All marked "For EC's Eyes Only." EC. Elias Coleman. Michael's shell company, the one he thought I didn't know about. The one he'd used to purchase that vacation property in the Caymans where he'd taken his mistresses. The one that now, apparently, he was using to orchestrate corporate espionage. My fingers tightened around the mouse u
