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CHAPTER 28

last update Last Updated: 2025-05-02 20:28:03

The office was quiet when Ximena arrived, earlier than usual. She preferred it that way now—before the calls, before the headlines, before Rafael’s voice filled her morning with numbers and risks.

But this time, something was waiting for her.

On her desk sat a package. Wrapped in brown paper. No return address. No card. Just her name scribbled across the top in block letters.

She frowned and opened it slowly.

Inside was a book.

Not just any book.

Her old fashion design journal.

The one she used during her first year of marriage.

She froze.

She hadn’t seen it since the divorce. She thought it was lost, or maybe thrown away in one of those angry, silent moments after Miguel walked out for good.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened it.

The cover was worn, the pages soft from time and touch. Inside were sketches—some rough, some detailed. Designs for collections she never released. Ideas she once thought would change the world. Notes are written in the margins in her younger, more
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  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 43

    The next evening.Ximena slipped off her heels as the door to her suite clicked shut behind her. Paris glittered through the glass-panelled windows, but the lights in the suite were low, casting long shadows against marble and velvet.She was drained. The summit had been relentless—endless panels whispered rumours about her and Miguel, and questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Her thoughts ached louder than her heels.She stepped toward the bathroom to wash off the day—but stopped cold.A single red silk thread looped around the handle of the bathroom door.Thin. Delicate. Impossible.Her breath hitched.She knew that thread.No—she had *designed* with it. The exact texture, weight, and colour were unmistakable. It was part of her concept sketches for the **Crimson Core** collection—a line so private, she hadn’t even shared it with Antonio Fashion’s creative board yet. It existed in a secure, offline folder—only accessible on her encrypted tablet.Heart hammering, she crossed the room

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 42

    The quiet in the suite was too heavy to be peaceful. Ximena sat up slowly, the silken sheets slipping off her shoulders like a memory she didn’t want to keep. The room was still, untouched since last night—except for the red box on the console near the door. She hadn’t dreamt it. It was still real. She rose without thinking, her bare feet making no sound on the polished wood floor, and crossed the suite with sharp, deliberate movements. She opened the safe. The gloves were there, resting like folded shadows. But the note—gone.There had been a note. Not left by her. Left *for* her. Last night, she’d placed it inside the box for safekeeping. Just a sentence. Just a test. Now it was missing.Her throat tightened, not with fear, but with something colder. Intrusion. She shut the safe slowly and stood for a moment, staring at her reflection in the dark glass of the minibar. The idea of being watched—it wasn’t new. But being *touched*, being accessed, that was different. And whoever di

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 41

    The jet landed in Paris just as dawn broke, casting a pale mist over the runway. The early morning light reflected off the wet tarmac, softening the sleek lines of the aircraft. As the cabin doors opened, Ximena stepped out first, heels clicking on the stairway, followed closely by Miguel.They walked in silence, just inches apart, the space between them tense and charged. Cameras flashed from a distance. Parisian media had caught wind of their arrival. And though neither of them acknowledged it, the photos would be everywhere within the hour—two former spouses, now rivals, landing at the same summit.A black luxury car waited for Ximena. The driver bowed slightly, opening the door with precise timing. “Ms. Antonio. Welcome to Paris. Hotel Virelle is ready for your arrival.”Miguel’s transport pulled up right behind her. To her surprise, he was also headed to the same hotel.“We’re at the same hotel?” she asked, stepping into the car but keeping her tone neutral.Miguel raised an ey

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 40

    The sun was barely up when Ximena Antonio stepped into her office, her heels clicking against the marble floor. A stack of press clippings, emails, and design mockups were already spread out across her desk—but her eyes weren’t on any of them.Her assistant, Lia, entered quietly with a thick, cream-colored envelope in her hand.“This just arrived by courier,” she said. “It’s… expensive.”Ximena raised an eyebrow, reaching for the envelope. The paper was heavy, embossed with a golden crest. She flipped it open and pulled out the invitation inside.Her breath caught for just a second.It was an official invitation to the **Global Luxury Fashion & Tech Summit** in Paris—**Antonio Fashion had been nominated for the Global Innovation Award.**She skimmed the details quickly, her mind moving fast.Not just the award. The attendees. The timing.But what made her stop completely… was the handwritten note clipped to the top corner. *“I’ve been watching your work from a distance. It’s time we

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 39

    The quiet beep of machines filled the private hospital room, but Miguel Ricardo wasn’t listening. He stared at the ceiling with sharp, focused eyes—as if he were trying to remember something important.Pain tugged at his side every time he moved. The bullet hadn’t hit any major organs, but the recovery was slow. Clean shot. Professional. No trace.Carlos entered the room holding a file, dressed in his usual blazer, but today, his posture was tense. He didn’t smile.Miguel didn’t look at him at first. “Let me guess. Nothing.”Carlos exhaled and sat on the chair beside the bed. “The investigation hit a wall. No security footage. No witnesses. No digital trail. It’s being labeled a professional hit—clean and fast.”Miguel’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t show much emotion. His voice was low. “That wasn’t random. Someone wanted me out of the way.”Carlos hesitated. “You think this is business-related? Or something personal?”Miguel’s eyes shifted toward the door. He didn’t answer the questio

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 38

    Miguel stepped out of the Ricardo Enterprises building just past midnight. The board meeting had dragged on for hours, and he was exhausted. The underground parking lot was almost empty, the echo of his footsteps the only sound.Carlos had offered to walk him to the car, but Miguel had waved him off with a tired smile. “I’m fine,” he’d said. “Go home. I just need air.”Now he regretted it.As he reached his car and unlocked it, he heard footsteps—quick, purposeful. He turned.Two masked men.“What the—”Before Miguel could reach for the handle, one man lunged at him, slamming him against the car. The second pulled a gun.Miguel fought back. Elbowed the man holding him. Tried to dodge—**Bang.**The gun fired.Pain tore through his abdomen. Miguel stumbled, gasped, and dropped to the ground.The attackers fled.He tried to speak, to call out—but the pain was unbearable. He lay on the cold concrete, eyes fluttering. Blood soaked his shirt.A security guard found him minutes later. “Sir!

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 37

    Ximena started her day with rare peace.She moved through Antonio Fashion’s marble halls with her shoulders back, heels sharp, and chin high. #WornAmbition was still trending, not just in Mexico but across South American fashion circles. Women were stitching the phrase into tote bags, quoting her line under profile pictures, resharing her panel video on every platform imaginable.It had been a long time since she’d felt like she was winning on her own terms.She was halfway through a design review—her mind focused on fabric samples, fall textures, and the layering strategy for an international rollout—when the door slammed open.Lisa, breathless, burst in with a tablet clutched to her chest.“Ximena,” she said, voice tight. “We have a problem.”Ximena looked up, frowning slightly. “What now?”Lisa walked over quickly and handed her the tablet. “A distributor just pulled our flagship collection. Effective immediately.”“What?” Ximena took the tablet, her pulse quickening. She scanned t

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 36

    The invitation arrived just after lunch, slipped into a thick cream envelope and hand-delivered to Antonio Fashion by a courier dressed in sleek gray.Ximena stared at it, untouched on her desk, while Rafael stood nearby with a worried frown on his face.“It’s last-minute,” he said, crossing his arms. “A public panel? With the press present? And Miguel scheduled to appear too? It feels like a setup.”She didn’t respond right away. Her eyes stayed on the thick paper, the gold-embossed logo of *Verve Luxe*, one of the city’s most exclusive media outlets. The panel was titled *Luxury Forward: Innovation, Identity, and the Future of Fashion*. She had declined when first approached weeks ago. At the time, her name had been in too many headlines.Now, it was back in them for all the wrong reasons.Rafael tried again. “You don’t have to prove anything. You’ve weathered worse. Skip it.”Ximena picked up the envelope, slipped her manicured finger under the seal, and opened it.“They’re putting

  • WANTING MY BILLIONAIRE EX-WIFE   CHAPTER 35

    The glass doors of Antonio Fashion slid open with a soft whoosh, but the chaos inside was anything but quiet.Ximena didn’t need to be told something was wrong. She could feel it in the air. Voices murmured too fast. Lisa looked pale. Rafael was hunched over a tablet, tapping frantically. Two assistants were whispering near the stairwell with worry on their faces.She stopped at the center of the hallway, head high.“What happened?” she asked sharply.Lisa rushed forward and handed her the tablet without a word.Ximena took it. Her eyes flicked across the screen.**“EXCLUSIVE: Miguel Ricardo’s Secret Past with Tania Roberto—Photos Reveal Hidden Intimacy”**She didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch.Lisa spoke cautiously. “The photos are… everywhere now. Gossip sites. Social media. Even some mainstream outlets are running with it.”Rafael joined in, voice low. “We’ve pulled the interns from their desks and locked down our comms. No one is to speak to press. We’re tracking the leak’s source.”Xim

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