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Chapter 199
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2025-12-22 13:11:50
Latest chapter
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 204
Ethan’s POVThe engine hummed beneath me, steady and reliable, as the city blurred past my windshield. The night was cool, the kind of crisp air that could clear a head if you let it. I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, my thoughts far from the road ahead. Camilla’s apartment receding behind me, the memory of the soft weight of her body against mine still lingered, warming my chest in a way that felt dangerous and entirely too human.I exhaled slowly, shaking my head. Tonight had been… good. Simple. Comfortable. And that was rare. In my life, in hers, moments like that weren’t supposed to happen. At least, not in the messy, tangled, way that they had tonight.I knew she wasn’t really into me, not like that. Not the way my gut told me she wanted Adrian. I’d seen it before, the way her mind wandered, the way her eyes seemed to follow someone else, even when she was sitting right in front of me. I’d tried to ignore it, tell myself that maybe it was nothing, maybe she could b
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 203
I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, letting out a long, shaky breath. The apartment was dark and quiet, the faint hum of the city outside barely reaching me through the windows. My heels clicked softly as I kicked them off and slipped into something more comfortable. I felt like a shell of myself, physically fine, but emotionally raw. Adrian’s face, his words, the sharp edge of his anger lingered in my chest like an ache I couldn’t shake.I changed into pajamas and crawled into bed, pulling the blankets close. My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I hesitated before picking it up, half-expecting it to be a work email or some message from someone I didn’t want to deal with. Instead, it was Ethan.Ethan: On my way. Shouldn’t be long.My chest tightened, but not in the same way it had with Adrian. Relief washed over me, warm and grounding, and I found myself smiling despite the heaviness still lingering in my chest. I typed back quickly.Me: Okay. I’ll be here.I set the phone
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 202
I realized I’d gone too far the second my fingers touched her. The heat of her skin, the way she stilled instead of pulling away, the soft intake of her breath, it all hit me at once, sharp and unforgiving. For one suspended moment, I forgot everything I was supposed to remember. The rules. The risks. The reasons I kept my distance. I forgot who I was. And that was dangerous.I forced myself to pull back, my hand dropping to my side like it had no right to be there in the first place. I straightened, clearing my throat, putting space between us like it was a physical necessity.“You should go home,” I said.The words came out colder than I intended. Too abrupt. Too final. Her eyes widened slightly, confusion flashing across her face before something else took its place. Real, unguarded hurt. It was there and gone in a heartbeat, but I saw it. God help me, I saw all of it.“Oh,” she said quietly. “Okay.”She gathered her things without another word, movements careful, restrained. Pro
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 201
The message came just before five. I was staring at my screen, pretending to read an email I’d already memorized, when my computer chimed softly.Adrian: Stay back tonight. We need to finish the quarterly projections.No greeting. No apology. No explanation. My fingers hovered over the keyboard. I should have said no.After the flowers. After the way he’d lost his temper. After being sent home like a child who’d misbehaved. I should have protected myself better.But something in me stupid, hopeful, tired typed back before I could talk myself out of it.Me: Okay.I spent the rest of the afternoon in a strange state of suspension, half-expecting him to retract the request, half-expecting another explosion. Neither came.By the time the office began to empty, the floor growing quieter as coats were grabbed and goodbyes exchanged, I was still at my desk, nerves buzzing under my skin.At exactly six-thirty, Adrian stepped out of his office.“Conference room,” he said, already turning away.
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 200
The morning felt deceptively normal. I woke up before my alarm, the faint echo of last night’s movie credits still lingering in my mind. My body was rested, but my chest felt heavy, like I’d slept with something unfinished pressed against my ribs. I showered, dressed carefully, choosing a neutral outfit nothing soft, nothing that might draw attention. Armor again. Just like yesterday.As I stepped out of my apartment, the image of Adrian on that street flickered through my mind uninvited. The scary-looking man. The familiarity between them. The way Adrian had looked so… at ease.I pushed the thought away. Work. Focus on work.By the time I reached the office, I had my professional face firmly in place. Polite smiles. Measured steps. Calm breathing. I greeted a few coworkers and went straight to my desk, opening my laptop and diving into emails.For the first hour, everything was quiet. No sharp looks. No summons to his office. I almost started to relax.Almost. Then the elevator ding
STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA Chapter 199
The ride home was quiet. Ethan drove, the hum of the engine steady, comforting in a way that felt undeserved. I thanked him again when he dropped me off, smiled when he told me to text him when I got inside. I did all the right things. Said all the right words and then I was alone.I hugged my coat tighter around myself and started the short walk toward my building, my heels clicking softly against the pavement. My mind was still tangled, Ethan’s kindness, my laughter that felt borrowed, the ache that refused to leave my chest.I was halfway across the street when I saw him. Adrian.He stood a little distance away, partially hidden by the shadows cast by a closed storefront. He had his phone tucked away, his attention focused entirely on the man standing in front of him and that man made my stomach drop.He was big. Broad-shouldered. Scar cutting down one side of his face, half-hidden beneath the dim streetlight. His presence felt wrong from where I stood, they didn’t look like str
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