All Chapters of My Ex-Husband, You Will Never Hurt Me Again: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

“Tell me that didn’t just happen.”Bruce’s voice cracked across the office like a whip. He stood at the center of the room, tie loosened, sleeves rolled, fists clenched so tightly the veins in his forearms popped.His secretary.. Miles, a thin, twitchy man who always looked one step from disaster.. flinched under the weight of it.“I.. I’ve confirmed it, sir,” Miles stammered, clutching the tablet in his hands. “The Queens waterfront contract. We lost it.”Bruce stepped forward. “To who?”Miles swallowed. “Maxwell Capital.”Selena, seated by the bar cart with a glass of untouched scotch, turned her head sharply.“Maxwell?” she said slowly. “As in.. ”“Elena Maxwell.” Miles nodded. “She placed a counter-offer through a front firm out of Jersey but made the signing public this morning.”Bruce turned to the floor-to-ceiling window, the Manhattan skyline blurring in the glass. His jaw flexed.“It’s a power move,” Selena said behind him. “She’s not hiding. She wants us to know she’s here.”

First person POVLater that night..There was a soft knock.Then the door creaked open.I didn’t have to look up.. I already knew who it was. Only one person walked into my room like he had the right to.Ryan.“Hope you’re not hiding sharp objects in here,” he said, leaning against the doorframe with that half-smirk he wore when he didn’t want me to know he was checking in.I raised a brow from where I sat curled up on the couch, a blanket over my legs and a half-empty glass of wine on the coffee table. “Why? You planning to make me use one?”“Depends,” he said, walking in. “Are you still mad at me for being who I am?”I looked away, exhaled. “You make it hard to stay mad.”He dropped onto the armchair across from me. “Good. Because I’m tired of pretending I don’t want to be here.”I laughed under my breath, shook my head. “You’re impossible.”“I’ve been called worse.”There was a pause. A soft stretch of quiet.I thought that was it.. that he was just going to sit here for a few minu

Third Person POVSelena leaned over her laptop, fingers frozen mid-scroll, heart thudding like a war drum in her chest.She'd seen it before.. this video from the media’s coverage of Maxwell Capital’s Queens acquisition. The press conference, Elena Maxwell’s carefully chosen words, the deliberate tone.But now she was watching it with new eyes.Her gaze narrowed, head tilting slightly.The chin.The eyes.The way she shifted her weight onto her left hip when she stood still, just like Sophie used to do when she was trying to look unbothered.Selena slowly sat back, her pulse climbing. She dragged the timeline on the video, replaying the same ten seconds over and over. The voice had changed. The posture had sharpened. But the woman on that screen wasn’t new.She was reborn.“Oh my god,” Selena whispered.It was her.Sophie.Disguised as Elena Maxwell.For a full minute, Selena didn’t move. Her mind raced, jumping through every memory.. five years of secrets, friendship, betrayal, pri

A week later. First person POV“Nothing says intimacy like ten strangers adjusting your neckline,” I muttered, holding still while someone tugged the off-white satin around my chest for the fifth time.Across the room, Ryan was in deep conversation with James, speaking in low, sharp tones. A garment bag hung on the back of the door behind them.. his tux. Midnight black. Tailored to domination.Ryan glanced at me once, briefly, then back to James.Of course. Always business.I sat still while someone pinned a soft curl behind my ear. The stylist smiled politely, but I didn’t return it.Because once again, I felt like a pawn dressed up for someone else’s war.Only this time, I’d agreed to it.That was the worst part.I chose this.For Jonas.For revenge.I stared at my reflection, touched the simple diamond earring Isla helped me pick out earlier, and swallowed hard.This wasn’t just smoke.“What happens,” I said without looking up, “when the smoke becomes real?”Ryan’s voice came from

I stood still while a woman pinned curls into the back of my head.The room smelled like hairspray and coffee. Somewhere behind me, Isla was folding dresses back into garment bags. The makeup artist was packing up her brushes. The photographer’s assistant adjusted the lighting one last time.I hadn’t said much. No one had asked me to.In the mirror, I barely recognized myself. My hair was soft and neat, my face clean and smooth. The silk dress clung to me in a way I wasn’t used to. I looked like someone who had it all figured out. Someone in love. Someone safe.But my hands were shaking.“Almost ready,” the stylist said gently, reaching to fix a pin that had slipped.I nodded.Ryan hadn’t come into the room yet. He was probably talking to James or Cruz about the release plan. This whole thing.. the photoshoot, the leak, the press.. it was all part of the strategy. Another step in making the world believe we were really engaged. That I was Elena Maxwell. That everything was fine.It wa