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Home / Romance / The Wife He Forgot: Ashes to Empire / Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Wife He Forgot: Ashes to Empire: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

184 Kabanata

The Emergence (Year Three)

POV: ISLA (Flashback)The twins were two and a half when I made my first public appearance as Dr. Isla Vale.Talking, running everywhere, getting into everything.Rowan was curious and intense. Always asking questions. Always wanting to understand how things worked.Nova was quieter. Observant. She'd watch something for hours, figuring it out, before trying it herself.They were perfect.And they looked so much like him.Rowan had Jaxon's sharp jawline. His serious expression. The way he focused on problems with single-minded determination.Nova had his eyes. Those ice-blue eyes that could be so cold. But on her, they were warm. Kind. Full of love.It was a tech conference in San Francisco. Major players. Industry leaders. Press everywhere.I'd been invited to speak on a panel about innovative system architecture. The organizers had been shocked when I accepted, Dr. Vale never did public appearances.But it was time. Time to step out of the shadows. Time to be seen.I stood backstage

The Preparation

POV: ISLA (Flashback)One week until the meeting.Seven days to prepare for the moment I'd been working toward for three years.Seven days to make sure I was ready to walk back into Jaxon Romano's life and not fall apart.I sat in my home office surrounded by files and articles and research, preparing like I was going to war.Because I was.I knew everything about Apex's current failures..The security systems would have vulnerabilities. Without me there to patch them, they'd be full of holes by now.I knew every problem Apex was facing before I even walked in the door.Because I'd built the company. And I knew exactly how it would fall apart without me.I pulled up their latest financial reports. Revenue down twenty-eight percent. Stock price falling. Major clients leaving.Perfect.They were desperate. Which meant Jaxon was desperate.Which meant he'd give me anything I asked for.I researched Jaxon's personal life too.His marriage to Vivian. There were tabloid articles suggesting

The Night Before

POV: ISLASunday night. The night before everything changed.I lay in my hotel bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.Tomorrow, my carefully constructed plan would either work perfectly or fall apart completely.I rolled over. Checked the clock. 2:17 AM.I'd been lying here for four hours.Memories assaulted me in the darkness.Our wedding night. Me in that dress I'd bought with my own savings, hoping to feel beautiful. Hoping he'd look at me with something other than cold obligation.Him barely touching me. Using my body like a transaction. Then telling me not to expect romance.I could still hear his voice. "This is a marriage of convenience. Don't expect romance."I'd thought I could change his mind. Thought if I just tried hard enough, loved him enough, he'd eventually love me back.I'd been so stupid.More memories. Darker ones.The miscarriage. Lying in that hospital bed alone, bleeding out our baby while Jaxon ignored my calls.His face when he finally arrived. Blank. Emp

The Morning

POV: JAXONMonday morning. 6 AM.I woke up to my alarm and the weight of everything that was falling apart.Apex was hemorrhaging money. The board meeting later this week would be brutal. My father called daily to remind me I was failing. And my marriage to Vivian was a nightmare that got worse every day.I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to remember why I got up anymore.Money? I had plenty. Success? It was slipping away. Family? Ashley was a stranger who barely knew me, and Vivian was just another obligation I resented.There was nothing. Just emptiness and the slow collapse of everything I'd built.Today was my Hail Mary. Dr. Isla Vale. The consultant who supposedly saved dying companies.She better be as good as everyone said. Because I was out of options.I got ready mechanically.Shower. Shave. Expensive suit, charcoal gray, tailored perfectly. The armor of a successful CEO even when success was slipping away.I walked out of my bedroom and nearly ran into Vivian in the hall

The First Week

POV: ISLA (Present Day)My first week at Apex Technologies was a carefully orchestrated performance.Every move calculated. Every word measured. Every interaction designed to establish exactly who Dr. Isla Vale was.Brilliant. Cold. Untouchable.And nothing, absolutely nothing like Isla Romano.My office was directly across from Jaxon's.I could see his door from my desk. Could watch him come and go. Could observe without being observed.It was perfect. And torturous.Every time I saw him, my heart did this stupid flutter-stop thing that I hated. Every time I heard his voice in the hallway, my spine went rigid.But I never let it show. Dr. Vale was ice. She didn't react. Didn't feel.She just worked.The problems at Apex were exactly what I'd expected.The user authentication protocol I'd built needed quarterly updates. It had been three years without proper maintenance. The system was full of vulnerabilities.The database architecture had memory leaks everywhere. I'd designed redunda

THE ATTRACTION HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND

POV: JAXON (Present Day)I couldn't stop thinking about Dr. Vale.It was ridiculous. Unprofessional. Completely inappropriate.She was a consultant. An employee, technically. And I was her client. Married. With a child.But none of that stopped my mind from circling back to her constantly.The way she walked into a room like she owned it. The cold authority in her voice. The way she looked at me like I was nothing, absolutely nothing and somehow that made me want her approval even more.I wanted her to look at me differently. To smile at me the way she smiled at other employees. To treat me with even a fraction of the warmth she showed everyone else.But she didn't. She was ice cold and extremely professional.And it was driving me insane.My marriage to Vivian was dead.We'd been sleeping in separate rooms for months. Barely spoke except to argue about money or Ashley's schedule. The love, if it had ever been love was long gone.Now we were just two people trapped in a marriage neith

The Cracks

POV: ISLATwo weeks into my time at Apex, and my revenge was surgical.Every fix I implemented made me more indispensable. Every solution I provided showed exactly how much they needed me.But I wasn't just fixing things.I was building a case. Gathering evidence. Preparing to expose the truth about who really built this empire.The board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday morning.I'd been at Apex for exactly fifteen days. Long enough to do a complete audit. Long enough to understand every failure. Long enough to prepare my presentation.I walked into the boardroom at 9 AM sharp. Jaxon was already there, along with six board members. All men. All older. All looking at me with varying degrees of skepticism and interest."Gentlemen," I said, opening my laptop. "Let's talk about why Apex is failing."I pulled up my first slide. A complex diagram of the system architecture."This," I said, "is the foundation of Apex Technologies. It's elegant. Efficient. Genius-level work. Whoever built t

Vivian’s Visit

POV: ISLAMonth three at Apex.I was settling into a routine. Morning meetings with department heads. Afternoons deep in code. Evenings reviewing progress and planning the next phase.Every day, I took another piece of what Jaxon had built on my foundation and reminded everyone who the real architect was.The board had started asking questions. Demanding answers. Jaxon's reputation was cracking more every day.It was exactly what I wanted.Then Vivian showed up.I was at my desk, reviewing security protocols, when I heard her voice in the hallway."I'm here to see my husband. I don't need an appointment."My spine went rigid.That voice. I'd heard it in my nightmares for three years. Sweet and poisonous. The voice that had said "You were always the weak one" while wearing my husband's shirt.I stayed very still, listening."Mrs. Romano, Mr. Romano is in a meeting," Jennifer's voice. Apologetic but firm."Then I'll wait. In his office.""I can't let you""I'm his wife. I can go whereve

Vivian's Paranoia

POV: JAXONThat night, I came home to chaos.Vivian was in the living room, a bottle of wine already half-empty on the coffee table. Another opened beside it.It was already 9 PM."You're home early," she said, her words slightly slurred."Are you drunk?""Not yet. But working on it."I loosened my tie and sat down across from her. "What's going on, Vivian?""Nothing… Everything… Does it matter?""You showed up at my office today. Made a scene. Jennifer said you were screaming.""I wasn't screaming. I was expressing concern.""About what?"She took a long drink of wine. "Your consultant. Dr. Vale.""What about her?""Stay away from her."I frowned. "Why?""Because I'm telling you to. Fire her.""Fire her? Vivian, she's the only reason Apex is stabilizing. The board loves her. She's brilliant.""I don't care how brilliant she is!" Vivian's voice rose. "She's dangerous. I have a bad feeling about her.""A bad feeling? That's not a reason to fire someone.""It's reason enough for me."I

The Confrontation

POV: JAXONI barely sleep that night.Just lay in the hotel bed staring at the ceiling, my mind racing.I got to the office at 6 AM.Earlier than anyone else. Earlier than her.I needed to catch her alone. Needed to confront her before I lost my nerve.I sat in my office and watched the elevator. Watched employees trickle in. Watched the sky lighten.At 7:45, she arrived.Dr. Vale, no Isla, walked through the lobby in a navy suit and heels. Hair perfect. Face composed. Looking nothing like the broken girl I'd divorced.I waited until she got to her office. Watched her turn on her computer and settle in.Then I crossed the hall.She didn't hear me enter. Was too focused on her screen."I know who you are," I said.She looked up slowly. Her face showed nothing. No surprise. No fear. Just cold assessment."Do you?"The calm in her voice was terrifying."You're Isla. My ex-wife."A pause. Then she smiled coldly and victorious"Took you long enough, Jaxon."Hearing her say my name, my firs

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