All Chapters of STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA: Chapter 211 - Chapter 220

Camilla’s POVI don’t plan to go to Ethan’s. That’s the lie I tell myself as I pull out of the parking lot, as the city lights blur past my windshield, as my chest aches in a way that feels older than tonight. I tell myself I’m just driving, just burning off the restlessness Adrian left lodged under my skin.But when I reach the turn toward my apartment, I don’t take it. I keep going.Ethan’s place is only ten minutes out of the way. Ten minutes I justify with half-formed excuses, I’ll just say hi, I’ll apologize for snapping, I’ll finally be honest. Ten minutes that feel like a lifeline because at least with Ethan, I don’t have to wonder where I stand.He answers his phone on the third ring.“Cam?” His voice is warm, surprised. “Everything okay?”“Yeah,” I say too quickly. “I was just… near your place. Thought I’d stop by.”There’s a pause. A fraction of a second too long.“Uh….sure,” he says. “Yeah. Come up.”The hesitation registers, but I brush it aside. People hesitate. People ha

Camilla’s POVThe tension doesn’t break after that. It settles. Like dust after something explodes.For the rest of the week, the office becomes a chessboard. Every meeting, every email, every casual interaction feels deliberate, measured. Isabella no longer needles openly. She doesn’t have to. She’s shifted tactics, and that’s almost worse.She’s impeccable. Prepared before anyone else. Calm in meetings. Quick to praise Adrian’s decisions in ways that sound supportive but subtly frame her as aligned with him, as if they’re already a unit. She never contradicts me directly. Instead, she reframes.“That’s an interesting approach,” she’ll say, smiling. “Though Adrian and I discussed an alternative last night that might be more… efficient.”Last night. The phrase needles under my skin every time.Adrian notices. I know he does. His gaze flicks to me whenever she says it, like he’s gauging damage. Like he wants credit for not correcting her publicly.I don’t give him the satisfaction of r

Adrian’s POVThe house feels too quiet once my parents’ car disappears into the night. Their parting words hang in the air, heavier than the night itself. Every polished surface, every empty chair seems to whisper the life they’ve been pressuring me to lead a life that isn’t mine.I pour a drink I won’t finish, letting the burn remind me that I’m alive, still in control or at least, trying to be. But even the whiskey can’t silence the echo of Camilla’s words.Choose. Not me. Yourself.They’re not a threat, not exactly. But they’re a challenge. A line I’m terrified to cross and desperate to ignore at the same time.My phone buzzes. Isabella.I already know she’s coming before the first knock. She moves through my house as though it’s her own, heels clicking softly against the marble floor. She sets her purse on the counter without a word.“You look tense,” she says lightly, swirling her drink. “Rough evening with the family?”“Didn’t ask for you,” I say, not bothering to hide my irrita

Adrian’s POVThe morning air is crisp when I step into the office, but it does nothing to cool the storm building in my chest. Isabella is already there, as if the universe or my parents have conspired to make sure I can’t escape her presence. She’s leaning against the edge of my desk, pen in hand, posture relaxed but eyes sharp, tracking my every move like a predator.“Morning,” I say, trying to mask the tightness in my voice. My tone is neutral, professional, but even I can hear the edge in it.“Morning,” she replies, almost teasingly. “You look tense. Did your parents corner you again?”I grit my teeth and walk past her to my office chair. I don’t want to engage, not today. But she follows, her heels clicking deliberately on the floor.“Don’t follow me,” I say, stopping to face her, my hands on my hips.She smiles faintly. “You can’t tell me what to do.”I run a hand through my hair, frustrated. I should be the one setting boundaries here, yet every time she’s near, I feel off bala

Adrian’s POVThe idea came to me that afternoon as I stared out the office window, the city lights beginning to flicker on like a slow, deliberate countdown. The tension between Isabella and me had reached a point where ignoring it was impossible. She wasn’t just a distraction anymore she was a challenge, and challenges were dangerous. But dangerous could be… thrilling.I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples. I needed a plan. Something to shake the walls around us, to test the limits. And then it hit me: a date. A carefully calculated distraction something that would throw her off balance while giving me the perfect excuse to see how much control I really had over this situation.By six o’clock, I was in my car, rehearsing the lines I would never actually say. I wanted it casual, confident, irresistible. But part of me, the part I hated admitting, wanted it to be personal. I wanted to see her outside the office walls, see if she would drop the guard she always carried so expert