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Setting boundaries
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Hello, dear readers. I've edited this chapter because I didn't want to continue to add too much back story. Thanks for reading.
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The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Emotional
It had been ages since Derek visited the family of Tim, his late personal assistant who had died in the car accident that had almost claimed Derek’s life too. Spending time with Harper and Barry made him realize just how long it had been since he last saw Tim's children and the thought of this made him feel extremely guilty. He had been sending them their monthly allowance without fail, but then, money wasn't all that mattered. Showing up to show that he cared also mattered. Thus, he put a call through to Tim's widow and asked her if she would be at home with the children the following evening, which was a Sunday evening. She was delighted to hear from him, as were her children and she assured him that they would be home. So Derek spent Sunday afternoon doing a bunch of shopping with Harper for company, under the very watchful eyes of his new bodyguards. Barry didn't come along with them because he wasn't feeling too well and even if he was feeling well, the stress of shopp
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge The visit
“Uncle Derek! Uncle Derek!” Tim’s children exclaimed happily when Derek arrived at their house, flinging themselves into his arms and hugging him tightly.The children were twelve, ten, and nine years old. The youngest was just one year old when their father died in the accident.Derek hugged each of them back as tightly as they hugged him and asked them how they were doing. By this time, Tim’s widow, Vanessa, had come into the living room. Apparently, she had heard all the ruckus and came to see what was going on.She was a young woman, who was a little younger than Ava was and in the years after Tim’s death, she had become a shadow of herself and had become so lean that Derek was worried for her health.He was glad to see that she was doing fine now and was looking robust with health. She came over to him and hugged him tightly the way the children had done, and he let her.She had once told him that he was the closest thing she had to keeping the memory of her late husband alive, a
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Bad news
“I’m afraid you have to prepare yourself for the inevitable this time around, Derek. I'm even surprised that the young lad has managed to fight this illness for this long, but unfortunately, we’re nearing the end. It’s best you and his mother prepare yourselves.” The doctor told Derek, his gaze sympathetic.Apparently, Barry’s condition had taken a turn for the worse after Derek left to go home the previous night. In fact, according to the doctor, if Derek had brought him in an hour or so later than when he did, he may not have made it.“No, no, that isn't possible. That was what you said nearly ten months ago, but he’s still here. You could be wrong this time around as well.” Derek said, shaking his head several times as though that was going to negate what the doctor just said.He knew he was being unreasonable, but he just couldn’t help himself.“I know, but sometimes people get lucky. I’m certain this time around though, and I don’t want you to be caught unawares.” The doctor told
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Unnerving
“Mummy, Uncle Steve is here to see you! Look what he got for me.” Harper exclaimed, barging into her mother’s room as Ava was dressing up to attend an event.As usual, he had brought Harper a gift which was in a box that was tied with a pink bow and now, the little girl put the box on her mother’s bed and waited eagerly for Ava to give her approval for the gift to be opened.“Harper go to your room and continue with your homework. I don’t want to have to tell you twice.” Ava told her daughter sternly.“But Mom, I have to see what Uncle Steve brought for me first.”“You’ll see it after you have obeyed me and done your homework, but if you continue to argue with me, I’ll ask Steve not to bring you gifts anymore.”“Okay, okay, Mom. I’m going to do them.” Harper said and quickly disappeared through the door without further argument.Ava had to smile. Her daughter loved gifts, as did any young child, and the thought of not getting them had to be a nightmare to her, so she was willing to do
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Celebrity
"Um, was it something I did? Is she mad at me or something? I mean, she was happy to see me when I arrived.” Steve asked after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.“No, of course not. She’s just mad that I didn’t allow her to open the gift you got for her yet. I told her that she’ll only be allowed to open it after she does her homework.” Ava lied. She knew her daughter very well, and she knew that Harper was mad because she had seen Ava kissing Steve.Derek had managed to charm Harper so fast that in the little time that she had known him, she already wanted him to be with Ava so that they could all be one big, happy family and the little girl knew that Steve was in the way of that happening.“Oh, alright. That makes sense. The gift is just a princess dress with a matching bag and shoes.” Steve said, sounding relieved.“Thank you for getting them for her, but you don’t need to do that everytime you come visiting, Steve. You’re spoiling her too much.”“I do the same for my sister’s
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Unsettling
In the three days leading up to the competition that Tim’s children had invited Derek to attend, the children called him every evening to remind him of his promise.Short of hurting their feelings, there was no way Derek could refuse to go after promising that he would, so he had no option. Luckily enough, Barry felt much better than he had in days, so Derek decided that it was okay to attend the competition.He wouldn’t stay long, he reckoned. He would just stay long enough for the children to see that he had showed uo as promised, and then he was going to come back home.With this decision made, he had his driver drive him to their house, where he found Vanessa, the youngest child, and Tim’s parents waiting patiently for him to arrive and pick them up as arranged.“I didn’t know that you guys are still around.” He said to Tim’s parents who told him that they had decided to stay back to watch their grandson’s game before going back to their base.“Oh, okay. That’s nice.” Derek said,
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Realization
Short of removing his arm from Vanessa’s, thus embarrassing her, there was nothing that Derek could do right then about the arm she had entwined with his without hurting her feelings, or even worse, drawing attention.One thing was for certain though, and that was the fact that he had to set the record straight and let Vanessa know that he wasn’t available. His heart belonged to someone else, and it always would.The little voice in his head wasted no time in reminding him that he was only deluding himself. The person he was in love with was in a relationship with another person, yet he was putting his life on hold and pining after her.Nonetheless, delusion or no delusion, the fact remained that he wasn’t ready to get into a relationship with anyone just yet, especially not with his late assistant’s wife whom he saw as nothing but a friend.They all found somewhere to sit, but Derek was distracted throughout the game. Now that Tim’s father had opened his eyes, he could not miss the o
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Cringe
Ava wasn’t exactly concentrating on the game and was glad when it came to an end because it meant that she could go home and stop forcing herself to try not to look in Derek’s direction again.She still hadn’t figured out who the woman with him was and she did not want to look over any more than was necessary because that would be just embarrassing.She knew that she had met the woman before though. The question was where on earth had she met her? So Derek was in a relationship?Well, that was good for him. A man as handsome, successful, and virile as he was couldn't be expected to remain single forever. She was happy for him ... She truly was."Yeah, keep deluding yourself." Her inner voice said.Ava ignored the voice and managed to convince herself that she was happy for Derek. He was a good man, and he deserved to find love and peace.It was clear as day to anyone who looked at them that that woman was helplessly and hopelessly in love with him.In fact, Ava saw a reflection of he
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The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Complicated
“It was by sheer luck, if not, they never would have found you on time, and what would have happened then does not bear thinking about. Apparently, they managed to arrest the guy that Amanda initially hired to do all this sometime yesterday.Once the asshole realized that there was no chance in hell that he would get out of this and that he was well and truly done for, he began to sing like a canary. He led the police right to the house, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm so thankful we got there on time.” Damien said.“Yeah, me too. It’s still hard to believe that Amanda could be filled with so much hate in her heart and that she was willing to go to such lengths to harm Derek, me, and even our child who has done nothing to her.”“I was surprised as well. I always knew that she was a mean person, but I never imagined that she was downright evil. I'm glad you followed through on your instinct.”“Me too. So is Amanda still …” Ava asked, unable to finish the question.“Unfortuna
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Tantrum
Mother and daughter hugged each other for what felt like decades, and when they finally pulled apart, Ava's arm was hurting where she had been shot."I'm so sorry, baby. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise. Not when I'm alive." Ava said, ruffling Harper's hair, and wincing when she saw where the area on her head that had been shaved because of an injury there."The bad woman hit me with a gun. She shot Uncle Steve with the gun. Uncle Steve wanted to run away with me and Gracie, Mom." Harper explained, noting that Ava's eyes were on the wound.Ava gulped and averted her gaze immediately, unable to imagine the horror that Harper and Gracie had been through. Little children like them should never have to see someone murdered in cold blood.Seeing such a thing messed with even grownups like her, not to talk of children.The girls were going to need loads of therapy. Once again, Ava damned Amanda and Denise to hell and back in her mind. Suddenly, she realized the implications o
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Reunion
Ava had grabbed Denise because she wanted to use her as a human shield, and her plan worked pretty well, as it was all that saved her from what would have been certain death.The bullets that Amanda had just fired hit Denise point blank and in rapid succession. She died quickly, although the other two women didn’t know it yet.Ava felt Denise’s body jerk with the force of the shots at the same time that she saw Amanda crumple to the ground as though in slow motion.That was confusing, and Ava stared at her in surprise, unable to fathom what had just happened.She glanced down at Denise, whom she still held, and who was clearly very dead, and let go of her body immediately, feeling extremely sickened.She needed to focus on not getting killed, which was what Amanda was bent on doing to her.Amanda was trying to get back up, but before she could manage to do that, someone tackled her, and hit the gun out of her hand,Within moments, policemen swarmed the room, and Ava collapsed in relie
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Crazy
Denise and Ava stared warily at each other after Amanda left the room, and a few seconds later, Ava decided to try to reason with the other woman, even though she wasn’t sure that Denise was going to listen to her. “Denise, please, let us go. I promise not to press charges against you. You must know from all indications that there’s no way the both of you are going to get out of this unscathed. It doesn’t matter what Amanda says now. I can see in your eyes that you know it.” Ava tried to get to Denise. It was all she could do not to rush straight at Denise and grab Harper, who was whimpering in fear and trying not to move so that the knife would not nick her, away from the woman. She could see the fear and indecision in Denise’s face. Apparently, she was wise to realize what Amanda clearly failed to realize, which was that Ava was right and there was no way she and Amanda going to get out of this without being apprehended by the police. “Shut up!” Denise muttered. “Think abou
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge A tense atmosphere
Ava didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She rushed straight at Amanda, faintly aware that her arm was hurting weirdly, but her adrenaline was too great for her to think anything of the pain right then. She had taken self-defense classes several times in the past, and although it had been a long time since she took them, those classes came in handy at that moment. Her life, as well as those of Harper and the other little girl, Gracie, depended on her. She couldn't let them down. She began to try to wrestle the gun away from Amanda, who struggled fiercely with her. As they struggled with the gun, it kept discharging, but by some miracle, neither of them was hit. Finally, the gun was out of bullets, and Amanda let go of it while yelling for Denise to come at the same time. Ava wasn’t done with her, though. She thought of poor Harper and her friend who were somewhere in that house, scared to death and definitely not in the best shape. She thought about Derek, who had been throug
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge Gunshot
Adrenaline pumped through Ava’s entire body, and utter rage filled her entire being. She was right! She had been right all along. These evil women were the ones who had abducted her daughter and another innocent child. She would have called for help, but there was no service on her phone, and she could only hope that Damien and the police would be somehow able to find her and soon too, before something bad happened to her or the girls. Had it been she had thought things through earlier, she would have gotten a car tracker before coming on this solo adventure. Unfortunately, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined what the night would bring, and so she had failed to take this necessary precaution. One moment, she was standing outside the house in fear, and the next moment, she found herself beside the door. Without caring what was waiting on the other side of the door, she threw herself against it as hard as she could. She thought fleetingly of the poor soul that was growing in
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge A scream in the night
Ava didn’t go back home after driving away from Denise’s place. Instead, she parked her car the next block away from Denise’s house in a spot where her car would not easily be detected.Then she waited for what felt like an eternity for Denise to leave her house because she had every intention of following the woman to wherever it was that she was going.Her phone was blowing up with calls from Damien, who had left her several messages, asking her not to do anything drastic that could cause Denise to have the power to get her arrested or something.She ignored the messages and continued to wait. After a while, she saw a car, which she recognized as one of Amanda’s cars, come from the opposite direction and drive towards Denise’s house.Ava’s heart immediately began to beat really fast. Amanda was picking Denise up? Where the hell were both of them headed by that time of the night? Several minutes later, the car appeared again and drove off into the night.Ava let a few minutes pass, a
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge A surprise visit
Ava sat in her idling car outside Denise’s house, her nerves failing her now that she was here.What was she thinking, sneaking out of her house like a thief in the night and coming here to the house of her sworn enemy?She just couldn't continue to sit at home, wringing her hands and crying while waiting for something positive to happen.She wasn’t sure what to do now that she was here, but she had to do something.Taking a deep breath, she took her phone and texted Damien to tell him where she was, just in case somehow, her hunch was right.If it was, then it would be incredibly dangerous and foolhardy to just walk into Denise’s waiting arms without telling anyone where she was.Even though it was only a little past eight in the evening, the streets were deserted, and there was no one around.Ava was about to open her car door and get out of the car when the lights in Denise’s house went off. Apparently, she was preparing to go to sleep.Ava sat still for a few minutes, wondering wh
The CEO Ex-Wife's Revenge A bad feeling
It had been several days since Amanda and Denise paid their so-called courtesy call to Ava at her house … a move that Denise thought was incredibly stupid and dangerous.After all, the three women weren't friends and all of their acquaintances knew that, so it was surely going to look weird and suspicious that Denise and Amanda decided to visit Ava.Unfortunately, once Amanda put her mind to something, especially in recent times, it was practically impossible to change her mind, and so Denise had no choice but to go along with whatever she wanted, even if she thought it was foolhardy.“I’ve got a bad feeling, Amanda,” Denise said.“About what?” Amanda, who was in a terribly foul mood asked.It was now common knowledge that Derek had not only survived the gunshots but had also gone on to regain consciousness. Ever since this news broke out, Amanda had been unconsolable and had even taken out her frustration on Derek’s daughter, whom she still held captive.“I don’t know … I’ve got a ba
