Goodbye, Ex-Husband, Next Please의 모든 챕터: 챕터 181 - 챕터 190

AVA’S POV The officer led me down a long, narrow hallway. The air was cold — too cold — and every little sound felt ten times louder. The scuff of our shoes, the low hum of the lights overhead, it all bounced off the walls and echoed back at me. I crossed my arms over my chest without even thinking, trying to make myself smaller, to disappear into the cold, sterile surroundings. Halfway down, a smell hit me — faint, sharp, sweet. A familiar perfume scent. It wrapped around me, sticky and heavy, clinging to my lungs and making my chest feel tighter. I sucked in a breath, trying to shake it off, but it stuck with me, hanging in the air like a bad memory. Focus, Ava. Just breathe. Just walk. We stopped at a plain gray door. The officer pulled it open and nodded for me to go inside. The room was tiny and bare, with one table, two chairs, and a camera stuck high in the corner. No windows. No color. It smelled like old paper and too much cleaning spray. I stepped inside slowly, half-

JASON’S POV I stood straighter, my eyes narrowing. “Yeah. That’s me.” He nodded once. “I’m Officer Mike.” Before I could even process that, Mark cut in beside me. “Your full name, officer?” The man didn’t blink. “Michael Barone.” That name hit something in the back of my head like a light switch. "Barone." I knew that name. I knew it. “Barone?” I repeated, frowning. “Wait… Nah, that can’t be right. Not him.” Mark raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn’t explain. It couldn’t be the same Barone I’d heard of. Could it? Barone was a powerful family in America — or should I say, the world. Baron Barone, the head of the Barone family, wasn’t the kind of man you saw in magazines or Forbes lists. He didn’t need the spotlight, and he damn sure didn’t chase it. But the people who mattered — presidents, governors, senators, CEOs, even certain folks in the Pentagon — they knew his name. Nobody really knew how much he was worth. Some said he started in mining. Others whispered about pr

AVA'S POVI sat in the cold, sterile room for what felt like an eternity. My legs were starting to cramp from sitting still for so long, and the silence seemed to echo against the walls. The quiet was unbearable except for the faint hum of the overhead lights, which only made the air feel heavier.Twenty minutes passed. Maybe longer.I wasn’t nervous anymore, but the weight of the situation pressed down on me. I wasn’t here because I’d done something wrong. I wasn’t the criminal. But somehow, I felt trapped — like this was all spinning out of my control.The door finally opened, and Officer Mike stepped in. He gave a quick nod, almost apologetic, but he didn’t say anything right away. Instead, he pulled up the chair and sat down.“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said, his voice smooth but carrying the kind of calm that only came with practice.I didn’t care about the apology. I didn’t care about his calm tone or polite manners. “It’s fine,” I muttered, trying to sound casual as I

AVA'S POV Mason’s question hit me like cold water. I stood there, frozen halfway on the staircase, staring into his sleepy eyes. My throat felt tight like something was stuck there. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell him the truth. That his mother was sitting in a police station right now, facing consequences for all the chaos she’d caused. And Jason? He was probably still at the station trying to clean up the mess Laura made — and on top of that, he still had the Milan International Fashion Show problem and the contract issues with Storm’s Management to deal with too. I took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile. “They’re just… really busy, Mason,” I said softly, crouching to his eye level. “They’ll come to pick you up later, okay?” He frowned. “Can I call them now?” I quickly shook my head. “Not right now. It’s a bit late. Why don’t you go back upstairs, hmm? Get some rest. I promise I’ll call them for you later.” He looked at me for a second, like he didn’t q

JASON’S POV The morning after everything exploded was a disaster. I woke up to the blaring sound of notifications and headlines. “Laura Martinez Arrested for Defamation,” “Campbell Group Tied to Scandal,” “CEO Jason Campbell Linked to Controversial Figure.” The words hit me like a slap in the face. The chaos was everywhere – on social media, in the news, across every single online platform. Laura’s name was everywhere, and unfortunately, my name was tied to it. No one seemed to care that I wasn’t the one behind the rumors; they only saw me as the man who had defended her, the one who was still somehow connected to her and engaged to her, even though she had ruined everything. First the Milan fashion show crises and now this. I felt my stomach turn. Investors were pulling out left and right. Clients were dropping off, and the stock price was plummeting faster than I could track. I’d never seen anything like this in my years as CEO. It wasn’t just the company at risk anymore – it