Chapter 23

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• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 60

  ELISHA’S POVOver the next few weeks, every time I arrived at the lab, there was always a gift in my locker. Always with a card… always with a message to have a nice day… always signed. Anthony. The gifts were always expensive—a designer wallet, a pair of Cartier earrings, and a rare perfume—and always accompanied by snacks. Belgian chocolate-covered pretzels. French macaroons. Sometimes he’d send a packed lunch around noon. I couldn’t fathom what he was trying to do here… we had clearly left things on bad terms. He’d been walking around with a scar on his lip that hadn’t healed as fast as he’d hoped. People stared… but didn’t dare ask. That morning, I opened my locker to find the day’s haul: a luxurious essential oil set from India and a basket of freshly baked muffins from my favorite bakery. I breathed in the scent as I unpacked my work bag. “What is it this time?” I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see Davina, grinning ear to ear. I subtly packed the oils into my b

• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 59

  ELISHA’S POVI hated that I was breaking down like this in front of him. The one person I had spent months trying to prove I was over. The one person who had shattered me in every way, and still walked like he owned the world. And now, here I was—eyes red, voice cracking, tears streaming—and he just sat there watching.My vision blurred. I wiped at my face with trembling fingers, desperate to pull myself together. I tried not to sniffle. I tried to steady my breathing. Every thought screamed to pull away, to walk out the door, to do anything but sit here, exposed and unraveling.We sat in our own secluded tent. A private canopy with thick white curtains, soft lighting, and a small candle burning on the table. It was meant to be romantic. It felt suffocating. The hushed murmur of the other diners was muffled, the outside world just beyond the linen drapes. Even with the curtains, I still felt like I was on display. For him. Every inch of my grief, my humiliation, my breaking—he had

• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 58

  ELISHA’S POVI stared at my phone for a moment before I answered. My heart thudded.“Hello?”A wail greeted me. I might have thought it was an animal screaming if Natalie hadn’t burst out: “Eli, you have to help me!”My stomach pulled in knots. “What the hell happened?”“What? How did that happen?”“Anthony came here this morning,” she continued between sobs, “and told Dad not to make you marry Francesco. Dad said he gave his word to Ralph Marino. So if you won’t marry his son… I should!”Her voice cracked. I heard tension behind it. Despite everything, I felt a pang of pity. It seemed our father treated us both like pieces on a chessboard. There was both depression and relief in that fact. “I’m sorry, Nat,” I said carefully. “Francesco is… actually a good guy. Maybe meet him once?”She slammed her palm somewhere. “He’s a freak! He’s obsessed with cars! Why doesn’t he just marry one?”“Nat, that’s not nice—”She cut in sharp and fast. “And why is Anthony coming to fight your battles?

• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 57

  ELISHA’S POVAfter a simple breakfast and Anthony’s hangover cure—4 raw eggs—he dropped me off to my apartment. The conversation was minimal… but felt loaded. He pulled into the driveway. As I stepped out, he did too.“What are you doing?” I asked before I could stop myself. “What? I’m coming to see Bubblegum!” I stared at him. He hadn’t cared about that dog ever… and suddenly he wanted to come up and spend time with her? “Why?” I asked suspiciously. He shut the car door and walked around to shut mine too. “Because Bubblegum matters to you. And if she matters to you… she matters to me.”I blinked, unsure what to make of it. We walked up together, tension thrumming in every step. Inside the apartment, Bubblegum burst from the couch and raced straight to him, yapping in delight as she hopped around his feet! “Bubblegum, come away from him!” I commanded, but she wouldn’t listen. “Wow, so petty…” Anthony teased me as he bent down to pick up Bubblegum. “I don’t know what’s gotten

• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 56

  NATALIE’S POV“Why the hell didn’t you follow her to the door, like we planned?” I snapped, the second I shut the hotel room door behind us.Damian stood awkwardly near the bed, arms slightly raised like he didn’t know whether to defend himself or just take the hit.“You had one job,” I hissed. “Make it look like you’re together!”He frowned, looking more confused than guilty.“I did everything you asked,” he said. “I got her alone. I crushed the pill in her drink. I brought her up here… and you’re still unhappy.”“Because that was the lead-up to the actual job!” I said, voice rising. “I needed a video of her with you. Of her drunk, clinging to you—something I could work with. Something I could use.”He threw his hands up.“Nat, I wasn’t going to actually sleep with her!”My blood boiled.“Why the hell not!?”“I—” he looked away. “You know why.”“You ruined everything, you idiot!”He looked hurt.Genuinely hurt.And that pissed me off even more.He stepped toward me, trying to calm th

• Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce   Chapter 55

  ELISHA’S POVI was surprised he wanted to talk.But I stayed.Not because I owed him anything. But because I needed to hear what he had to say. I needed to know what this meant—if it meant anything at all.Anthony sat beside me, the sheet pulled carelessly across his waist. His shoulders were bare, his expression unreadable. He didn’t touch me, didn’t lean in. He just looked at me like we were back in some boardroom, about to start a serious negotiation.“I know you’re not having an easy time after our separation,” he began slowly. “More importantly… you’re being seen as vulnerable now. People like Damian think they can do whatever they want because you’re no longer under my protection.”I looked away.I hated that he was right.This world wasn’t kind to women on their own. Especially women who left powerful men. The second I stepped out of his shadow, I became fair game. They didn’t see me as a person anymore. I was an opening. An opportunity. A distraction. Something to own or ruin.