Divorced by the Billionaire Who still owns me のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

Elara’s Pov Blue did not rebuild it immediately. That surprised me. After everything that had happened, after the tension of watching the structure collapse piece by piece, I expected urgency from her. I expected movement. A need to correct what had broken before the feeling settled too deeply into the room. But she did not rush. She placed the first block down carefully in the center of the floor, then stopped there. Not frozen. Thinking. I watched her quietly from the couch while Adrian remained near the edge of the room, still keeping the same careful distance he always did now. Neither of us interrupted her. That mattered. Because before, one of us would have stepped in already. Blue looked between the scattered pieces slowly, her attention sharper than before. Not emotional. Observant. Like she was trying to understand something instead of controlling it. Finally, she picked up another block and placed it beside the first one. Not on top. Beside it. Adrian noticed

Elara’s Pov The house felt different after he left. Not quieter. More aware. That was the problem lately. Every conversation seemed to leave something behind now, lingering in the corners long after the words themselves ended. Blue stayed on the floor beside the structure for a while after the front door closed. She did not touch it immediately. She just looked at it, her head tilted slightly like she was studying something beyond the blocks themselves. I remained near the kitchen counter, watching her carefully. “You are thinking too hard again,” I said gently. She glanced at me briefly. “I know.” That made me smile faintly despite myself. Blue looked back at the structure. “It feels stronger now,” she repeated quietly. “Yes.” “But not because it is bigger.” I folded my arms loosely. “No.” She rested her chin against her knee. “I think stronger and bigger are different.” The words should not have had the same effect on me that they did. But they did. Because once

Adrian’s Pov Something was wrong. I felt it before I understood it. The feeling stayed with me through the entire morning meeting, settling beneath my skin like pressure building behind glass. Numbers moved across the presentation screen in front of me. Investors spoke. Executives argued over projections and acquisition timelines. I heard none of it properly. Because my mind kept drifting somewhere else. Back to Elara’s house. Back to the look in her eyes lately. Back to the strange pause before she closed the door on me yesterday. “You’re not listening.” Victor’s voice cut through my thoughts sharply. I looked up slowly from the untouched documents in front of me. The conference room had gone quiet. Every executive at the table was looking at me now. Victor leaned back slightly in his chair, watching me carefully. “The expansion,” he repeated. “You approved the revised numbers last week.” “Yes.” But even to my own ears, the response sounded distant. Victor noticed

Adrian’s Pov The question destroyed me. Not because of the words themselves. Because of how softly she asked them. No fear….. Just confusion. Blue stood halfway down the staircase in oversized socks, one hand wrapped around the railing while her eyes stayed fixed on me with uncomfortable honesty. “Why are you crying?” I hadn’t even realized I was. My throat tightened instantly. For a moment, I could not answer. I had spent most of my adult life controlling every visible emotion before it reached the surface. In boardrooms, negotiations, interviews, scandals…control was survival. But sitting inside Elara’s living room while my daughter looked at me with quiet concern…. Control suddenly felt useless. I looked away first. That alone said too much. “Elara,” I said quietly, my voice rougher than usual. But Blue interrupted before Elara could speak. “Did something bad happen?” The innocence behind the question hurt more than judgment would have. I forced myself to breath

Adrian’s Pov The board knows. The words stayed suspended between us long after I said them. Elara’s face lost color immediately, though she tried not to show it. Her posture stiffened near the window, every protective instinct rising to the surface at once. “How?” The question came sharp, controlled, and dangerous I looked back down at my phone. Three missed calls now. Victor. One board member. And my mother. Of course. A cold anger settled heavily in my chest. “I don’t know yet,” I said, though part of me already did. Information inside my world spread fast when weakness was involved, faster when scandal touched the Blackwood name. And a hidden child? An ex-wife erased publicly, only for the truth to surface years later? The media would tear through that story like a bloodhound through water. Elara took a step toward me. “You said no one knew.” “No one was supposed to.” Her eyes hardened instantly. “That’s not the same thing.” No. It wasn’t. I rubbed a hand o