Lahat ng Kabanata ng Seducing my Ex-husband back: Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 110

A LIABILITY~RICHARD'S POV~The gavel banged, and with it, my patience shattered.Ten million dollars. Plus disciplinary damages. Plus a referral to the District Attorney for perjury.I sat frozen in the gallery, watching the color drain from Monica's face. She looked like a statue, frozen in disbelief, as if she couldn't understand that her tears and manipulation hadn't worked this time.I clenched my jaw so hard I felt a tooth crack.My plan had been perfect. While Alexander was "missing" (or dead, if the rumors about the explosion were true), I was going to leak the news of his absence to the press. I was going to crash Hayes International's stock. I was going to swoop in and "save" Claire from the wreckage, proving that the bastard couldn't protect her. But now? Now, thanks to my wife's stupidity, the headlines wouldn't be about Alexander. They would be about us. About Monica Blackwood, the perjurer. The assaulter.I stood up abruptly, not waiting for the bailiff to dismiss us.

THE PHONE STOPS RINGING~RICHARD'S POV~I sat in my car for a good ten minutes, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.The building in front of me didn't feel like mine anymore. My company. My kingdom. My whole damn world was slipping right through my fingers, and I was just watching it happen.It used to feel alive…people running around, phones ringing, money being made. Now? It looked like a graveyard. Through the glass doors, I could see employees walking with their heads down. They looked like they were marching to a funeral."Alright," I muttered to myself, checking my reflection in the rearview mirror. I looked like hell. "Pull it together. You're a Blackwood."I got out and walked in. The lobby went silent instantly. It was that thick, awkward silence where everyone pretends to be working but you know they're texting each other about you."Good morning, Mr. Blackwood," a junior analyst squeaked as he hurried past me."Morning," I grunted, not breaking strid

CARD DECLINED~RICHARD'S POV~I felt like a million bucks. No, scratch that. I felt like a billion. I stood in front of the mirror in my private bathroom, fixing my tie. I splashed some water on my face and grinned at my reflection."You've still got it, Richard," I said to the mirror, winking. "She came here. She sat in the chair. She was jealous of Monica. It's text-book playing hard to get."I walked back out to my desk, a spring in my step. Sure, the company was burning, investors were fleeing, and my wife was a criminal. But Claire? Claire had come to see me.I picked up the phone. I needed to seal the deal."Janet!" I barked into the intercom."Y-Yes, sir?" She sounded terrified."Get me the best florist in the city. Not the cheap one we use for secretaries. The expensive one. The one that imports peonies from... I don't know, Narnia.""Sir? You want flowers?""Yes, Janet! Keep up! I want five hundred red roses sent to the Hayes Foundation office. And put a note on it." I leaned

THE OTHER BROTHER~CLAIRE'S POV~The air between us didn't just feel heavy; it felt like it was about to catch fire."Third time's the charm?" I repeated his words slowly.My voice was steady, which was a miracle. Inside, my heart was beating against my ribs like a trapped bird. I didn't step back, though. The old Claire...the one who used to shrink away from competition, the one who tried to make everyone happy...would have flushed red. She would have laughed nervously and looked for the nearest exit.But I wasn't that woman anymore. I was wearing emerald silk that cost more than my first car. I was the acting CEO of a billion-dollar empire. I was a woman who had just destroyed her ex-husband's life before lunch.So, I held his gaze. I looked right into those blue eyes that were so similar to Richard's, yet completely different."That's a very bold thing to say," I said, my voice cool and calm. "Especially to your brother's fiancée."David didn't flinch. He didn't look embarrassed or

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY~CLAIRE'S POV~I didn't look back at Alexander when I left the conference room. I couldn't. If I had turned around and seen the pain etched into his features….pain from his wounds, pain from my rejection….I might have crumbled. And I couldn't afford to crumble. Not today.I sat at the head of the table in my temporary office at Hayes International, staring at the quarterly projections David (the CFO) had handed me. The numbers blurred. All I could see was Alexander's face when I told him to go home. All I could feel was the ghost warmth of his hand covering mine."Focus, Claire," I whispered to the empty room.I forced myself to type out a response to the Tokyo team. I reviewed the Vanguard contract. I buried myself in the work, using the cold reasoning of business to drown out the chaotic noise of my personal life.My phone buzzed on the desk.I reached for it, expecting a check-in from Ilynos or maybe a text from Alexander telling me he was resting (which wou