All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Abandoned Wife Is Back: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

60 Chapters

Chapter 21: Hit Him Where it Hurts

Elena’s POVLeon came towards us in long, angry strides. Before Lucian knew what was happening, Leon grabbed Lucian’s arm.“I said, let her go,” Leon demanded. His grip on Lucian’s arm caused Lucian to release my wrist. Seizing the opportunity, I darted to the side, away from Leon.Lucian wasn’t willing to let me go that easily though.“This is none of your business,” he snapped at Leon as he stepped in front of me, blocking my path.“Have you no decorum,” Leon said. “Your grandmother’s grave is right there. How do you think she would feel about this? Leave Elena alone.”Lucian glanced from me to the dark gravestone. Then he lowered his eyes, his humiliation clear on his face. Finally, he stepped aside.In a flash, Leon was by my side. He gently took my elbow and led me to his car. Once I was safely in his passenger seat, he went around to his side of the car.“Don’t even think about following us,” he said to Lucian. Their eyes met and the two men glared at each other. Then Leon got i

Chapter 22: Suspicions

Lucian’s POVI closed the front door of our home, and slung off my jacket. A deep exhaustion had taken hold of me and I intended on retreating to my private study and having a good, stiff drink. However, as I entered the hallway, I heard Ava’s soft cries.Entering the living room, I was dismayed to see Ava sitting on the floor, her legs crossed, crying into her hands. Her pig-tails were askew and her frilly pink dress had a tomato sauce stain across her chest. She looked up when she saw me, her eyes glistening with tears.Lydia was lounging on the sofa, a magazine in her hands. She seemed completely oblivious to Ava sobbing on the floor.“What’s going on?” I asked. Lydia noticed me, and closed the magazine. “Why is Ava crying?”“She wants to play a board game,” Lydia said dismissively. “But I told her she needs to learn to entertain herself.”“Entertain herself? She’s only three years old,” I replied with a bite in my tone.This scene wasn’t something out of the ordinary. Lydia was ve

Chapter 23: A Rough Encounter

Elena’s POV"The pasta here is incredible," Leon said, refilling my wine glass with a deep red merlot. "I know how much you love carbonara."Laughing softly, I relaxed into my chair and sipped my wine. It was an upscale but intimate restaurant, with candlelit tables and a small jazz band playing in the corner. It had been a long, tense week for me, so I was looking forward to enjoying a nice, long relaxing dinner with Leon. "You know me well," I teased, picking up the menu and scanning over the wide assortment of pastas.Leon flashed me a smile, his eyes sparkling in the soft lighting. His suit jacket was slung over the back of his chair, and his white collared shirt was rolled up at his forearms.Just then, the brazen laughter of several men caused me to turn my head. My eyes landed on Lucian at a small table not far from us. He was with a couple of his friends.My chest squeezed. Of all the places we could have gone for dinner, we just so happened to wind up at the same place as L

Chapter 24: A Banquet in Her Honor

Lucian’s POVMy eyes watched her back as she left with that asshole. Clenching my fists, I took a steadying breath. The whiskey was pulsing through my system, threatening to make me do something I’d regret. Every part of me wanted to run after her, to shove that jerk to the side, and to make her come with me.I couldn’t do that though.If I did, I’d just be playing into her stereotype of me: violent, loose cannon, impulsive.So I let her walk out and rejoined my friends at the table.“She does look a lot like your ex,” Steve mused, sipping his whiskey. Our food had arrived, but I’d lost my appetite.That’s because she was my ex. But I didn’t want to get into it with my friends. Not now. Not tonight.“Can I ask you guys something?” They both nodded. “There’s something that’s been on my mind,” I continued. “I’d like your take on it.”“Have at ‘er,” Brody exclaimed. “The floor is all yours.”“Right before the fire,” I started, my throat squeezing a bit. I cleared it. This was hard for me

Chapter 25: The Trap is Set

Elena’s POVMy car pulled up to Lucian’s family estate at dusk. Ivy vines crept along the brick exterior. The estate officially belonged to Lucian, passed down to him by his father. During our marriage though we hadn’t lived there. His mother’s detest for me had been palpable, and since she’d still been living at the estate, I wasn’t welcome.Lucian and I had bought our own home. Apparently though, Lucian had sold that house and moved back into the estate with Lydia during the years I’d been gone.Stepping out of the car, the cool night air brushed against my cheek. Pausing for a moment, I wondered if I was crazy. Lucian’s invitation to his banquet had taken me by surprise. An embossed envelope with a cream stock invitation inside.At first, I’d dismissed it. Why would I go to a banquet at Lucian’s? But upon closer inspection of the invitation, I saw that the purpose of the invitation was to discuss a joint venture with the island development. He was proposing a partnership of sorts w

Chapter 26: The Gig is Up

Elena’s POVBoth the maid and Meredith stood in front of me, smirking. Meredith traced her finger along her collarbone and bit down on her lip.“Good thing the dress is a knock-off,” she said. “I’d hate to see a real Chanel ruined.”Gritting my teeth and dabbing at my dress, I decided not to correct her. What was the point? I didn’t know whether or not Lucian’s mother, Vivenne, was in on this. But it was possible. This family had a way of testing people.I honestly doubted that Vivenne was behind this. It was too petty for a woman like her. She had other, more intelligent ways of ruining people. This had ‘Meredith’ written all over it.Even so, I wasn’t going to play along. I ignored Meredith. Lucian approached, his brows furrowed.“Oh my gosh,” he said, grabbing his own napkin. “Here, let me help…”“No thank you,” I said. But he started dabbing at my chest with the napkin. I swatted at his hand, firmly pushing it away. “I said, no. Thank. You.”He looked dumbfounded, with the crink

Chapter 27: Family Obligations

Elena’s POV“What did you say?” Vivenne asked, whipping her head towards Lucian. Her face had gone a ghastly pale color as she glared at Lucian.“You heard me,” Lucian said, his voice low, his eyes fixed on me. “This is Elena. My ex-wife.”“But that’s not possible,” Lydia said, stepping forward. “Elena died in a fire.”“Turns out she didn’t,” Lucian replied, his tone stone cold. “She left the city and started a new life. And now she’s back to wreak havoc on our lives.”I couldn’t help but smile. Their shock was written all over their faces. They couldn’t believe that person they’d all once believed was worthless, was the same, powerful, rich woman standing in front of them. They were stunned by my transformation. It was very satisfying.“Is this true?” Lydia gasped.Lydia. My former best friend who had cheated with Lucian behind my back. I could still see her eyes that night in the hospital as she lit the match. Her cold eyes had haunted me in my sleep for years.Her shock at my retur

Chapter 28: Manners, Manners

Elena’s POV“What’s so funny?” Meredith haughtily demanded, her hands on her hips.With my sleeve, I dabbed at the corners of my eyes. It was a full belly laugh, and it took me a moment to get the laughter under control.“Why are you laughing? Do you know how rude that is?” she squawked at me. “You should mind your manners,” Meredith scolded me. “Such arrogance! This is not how our family behaves.”“I beg to differ,” I said, still stifling a few lingering giggles. “This is exactly how Grandma Lizette behaved.”“What do you mean?” Meredith snapped.“I mean,” I said, “when something was funny, Grandma Lizette laughed exactly like this. I should know. I spent a lot of time with her.”“Well,” Meredith said, furrowing her brows. “Then she must have had no aristocratic manners either. Your laughter is garrish, and quite frankly, offensive. Grandmother Lizette was nothing more than a boastful old bat. She was far too indulgent with you. She basically…”Before Meredith could finish, I steppe

Chapter 29: On One Condition

Elena’s POV“Wait,” Lucian said.He grabbed my wrist.Rolling my eyes, I paused.I assumed Lucian was going to let me have it for insulting his family and slapping his cousin.“What now?” I asked, my tone annoyed. I expected him to be angry, to lash out at me, to scold me.But to my surprise though, he looked at me with earnest eyes.“Did you really mean what you said?” he asked, his voice low.“About the profit concessions? Of course I did,” I snapped at him. His fingers were digging into my skin. Meredith stood behind him, her hands on her hips. Vivenne sat, her back rigid. The scent of barbeque meat filtered through the air.I shucked his grip from my wrist.“No,” he said. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about…” His voice trailed off. He sighed heavily and raked his hand through his air. A torn expression crossed his face. “I’m talking about us, Elena. About you…hating me.”His words hung in the air. I blinked at him, surprised.This is what he wanted to talk about? Us? No

Chapter 30: Lucian’s Private Study

Elena’s POVIt took me a moment to process Lucian’s ‘condition’.He wanted me to spend the night? Here? At his estate?That was absurd. I expected him to counter-offer something financial. Not dictate that I spend the night at his house.“Are you serious?” I sneered. “You want me to spend the night here? That’s your only condition?”“Just one night. Yes. You stay here tonight. That’s my only condition.”Raising my eyebrows, I looked at him suspiciously. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that deep down, this was some sort of ploy to try to force me back into a relationship with him. Why else would he make such a silly demand?Naturally, my first instinct was to flat out refuse him. The whole thing was preposterous.But then I thought about Leon. And the company. We stood to gain a lot from this partnership with Lucian. The deal was really in the best interest of our company. As a businesswoman, I had to put the interests of the company first.It was just one night. I could stand to suffer just

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