All Chapters of The Billionaire’s Abandoned Wife Is Back: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

60 Chapters

Chapter 31: We Were Happy

Elena’s POVStunned, I stared at my face, in all those pictures, staring back at me.“What in the world?” I whispered under my breath. Entering the study, I went up to the wall. The pictures were of our time together, spanning our entire marriage. Me and Lucian at the beach, my cheeks sun-kissed, a towel wrapped around my waist. Me on Christmas morning, in my jammies, sitting beside a pile of presents. Birthdays, holidays, our wedding…it was all there on full display.I was just reaching out to touch one of the photos, when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. They paused in front of the study door.Shit.Panicking, I lunged for a corner of the room and knelt down behind an armchair, out of sight, just as Lucain slowly walked into the room.With my heart racing, I watched Lucian. He went to his desk and sunk down in his chair, the wheels scratching the floor. He sighed heavily and hung his head in his hands for a few moments. Then he looked up and reached for a framed photo.Even f

Chapter 32: The Necklace

Elena’s POVI was forced to face the backlash head on. Sitting down at my computer, I started reading the online comments.They were awful.They were really, really awful.Throughout the rest of the day, bad news just kept pouring in.Some of our partner companies requested to suspend their cooperation with us. Public opinion was shifting against me right before my eyes. People were pulling out of deals with us left, right, and center.And there was nothing I could do about it.Seething with regret, I was furious at Lucian. How could I have been so stupid. I’d walked right into his trap. Lucian didn’t care about me. He didn’t want to ‘get back together’. He’d only accepted my offer so that he could pull this social media stunt. It was all just a big trap meant to paralyze my company.Fiona appeared at my door.“More bad news?” I asked. It was almost four in the afternoon. I wasn’t sure I could take anymore bad news. The entire day had been one bad announcement after another. One vicio

Chapter 33: I Must Be a Fool

Lucian’s POVThe moment I walked into my office, I knew something wasn’t right.All of my employees had strange expressions on their faces. I was exhausted from the previous night, where I’d stood outside Elena’s room all night, wrestling with the fact that I couldn’t go in. The moment I sat down at my desk though, my secretary opened the door.“What is it, Junie?” I asked. “I have a busy day.”Elena would be sending over the contract soon.“Have you…um…looked at any social media this morning?” she asked.Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “No, Junie. I haven’t. I’ve been busy getting ready for work. Not everyone starts their day with a social media binge.”“Well, I think you probably should.”There was something about her tone that gave me pause. She was biting her lip, a concerned look on her face.So, I flipped open my phone and started scrolling.My stomach sank as I saw a viral video of Elena slapping Meredith. And then some sort of confessional where Meredith…“Elena never thre

Chapter 34: A Word With the Reporters

Elena’s POVThe next day, a slew of reporters were camped out outside the hotel. Leon, Fiona and I were going over our plan one final time.The reporters were desperate to interview me, since the scandal had caught such widespread media attention. In any other situation, I would have been nervous to face so many reporters.But in this case, I was excited.Thanks to the necklace and the tiny camera inside of it, I could clear my name. Once everyone saw the truth about what had actually happened that night, the media focus would shift to Lucian’s company. It would be him painted in this bad light, not me.“Ready?” Leon asked as we descended the elevator.“Absoluely,” I said with a smile.But the moment we stepped outside, I was surprised to see Vivienne, Lydia, and Meredith were already talking with the reporters.“It was awful,” Meredith said into the microphones pointed at her face. Cameras flashed. People stopped on the street to watch all the commotion. “She…she just attacked me. Ou

Chapter 35: The Viral Slap

Elena’s POVOnce again, all eyes fell on Meredith. People expressed their shock with wide eyes. No one expected that the viral, infamous ‘slap’, had a story like this behind it.The cameras all shifted and pointed directly at Meredith. She gasped, and then scurried around to the back of Vivienne, where she hid like a scared school girl.“Well done,” Leon whispered behind me.“You were so poised,” Fiona added. “I don’t know how you do it. I would have lost my shit under pressure like that.”Now that the truth was out, I expected Vivienne to finally back down.I shouldn’t have known better.Vivienne was completely non-plussed by the video I’d just shown. She stood with Lydia at her side and looked me dead in the eyes.“You seem to know a lot about a woman from our family.” She enunciated the ‘our’. Vivienne was completely calm and composed. So much so, that it made me uneasy. “Why does Meredith insulting her grandmother make you so angry?” Her words were slow and measured. “What do you

Chapter 36: Setting the Record Straight

Elena’s POVLucian stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder. Behind me, I heard Leon inhale a sharp breath. The cameramen held their cameras poised, a stunned look on their faces.He was the last person I expected to see here. My blood boiled at his proximity. I was in this mess because of him. Had he come to make an even bigger mess? What was he going to do now? Slander me some more?“Get away from me,” I hissed.“Just wait,” he said calmly. “I’m going to make this better. You’ll see.” He turned to the cameras. “There’s been a very big misunderstanding,” he told them. “Elena has been the victim of a vicious smear campaign and I would like to clarify a few things.”Shocked, I blinked.Pardon?“What are you doing?” Vivienne gasped. “Lucian, have you lost your mind?”“No, Mother, I haven’t,” Lucian said, lifting his chin. “I warned you both not to meddle in this. You’ve done too much damage. I can’t just stand by and let Elena take the fall for all of this.” He turned towards the camera

Chapter 37: The Aftermath

Elena’s POVFor a moment, the crowd fell silent. I watched as Lydia’s eyes grew wide and wild.My mouth fell open. Had I just heard him right? Had he just told Lydia that he wanted a divorce?I hadn’t seen that coming.“You don’t mean that,” Lydia said, furrowing her brows. Her smile faltered as her eyes flicked back and forth from the cameramen to Lucian. “I do,” Lucian snapped at her. “You’ve revealed your true colors and I can’t have someone like you associated with my company. I’m embarrassed, Lydia. You’ve embarrassed me. I want a divorce.”Lydia’s cheeks burned crimson. The reporters now had Lucian on film stating that he wanted to divorce her. She struggled to keep her cool and coy demeanor, but her eyes glistened with tears she tried to bite back.Vivienne finally made her way to the front. She glared at Lucian as she went straight for Lydia. She shielded Lydia from the crowd, turning her back to them.“Come with me,” Vivienne whispered in Lydia’s ears. Then Vivienne shot Lu

Chapter 38: About the Child

Elena’s POVMy first instinct was to close the door.Bristling with anger, I narrowed my eyes at Lucian.Lucian had caused me so much pain. He’d completely torn my life apart. I’d felt like I had nothing left to live for after the fire. I’d actually wished that Leon hadn’t saved me, that the flames had swallowed me and released me from my heartache.Sure, Lucian came to the press conference and cleared my name. But that didn’t make up for the fact that he’d forced me to have an abortion while my best friend was pregnant with his child. It felt like too little, too late.“What do you want?” I snapped at him.“I want to talk,” Lucian sighed.Part of me wanted to slam the door in his face. Because that’s what he deserved.There was something about the look on his face though. Something earnest, something conflicted. His dark hair was tousled and his shirt was untucked in the front. He had dark circles under his eyes.So, despite the complicated feelings swirling around inside of me, and

Chapter 39: The Truth Comes Out

Elena’s POVLucian’s words landed hard. I felt like I’d been hit in the stomach.“What did you just say?” I asked. My entire body was trembling now. “What do you mean, the child isn’t yours?”“Ava,” Lucian replied. “Her name is Ava. And I’m not her father. Not biologically.”“That’s impossible,” I replied. My mouth was dry and my tongue felt thick. “I heard the doctor that day. In the hospital. He was…talking about the baby.”“Yes,” Lucian said. “I went with Lydia to her appointment. She begged me to take her. It was an accidental pregnancy. She…she was in a tough spot. I felt bad for her. She asked me not to tell you. She said she was embarrassed and she wasn’t ready to tell you yet. I believed her. I was only trying to help.”My mind spun.I could still see them, sitting there in that doctor’s office. Elena was wearing a red sweater, beaming from ear to ear. Lucian sat beside her, expressionless.“I don’t understand,” I said, standing up. On shaky legs I went to the kitchen. Turning

Chapter 40: I Didn’t Start the Fire

Elena’s POVI squeezed my eyes shut. The mere mention of the fire that day was triggering my PTSD. Leaning on a coping mechanism I’d learned from therapy, I took a deep breath and counted to five.The searing flames licked my mind. They flashed in front of my closed eyes. I could almost smell the smoke. The panic resurfaced, fresh and raw. My heart raced. I felt dizzy.Clutching the counter, I felt myself lilt.“Just count,” I told myself. “It’s not real. It’s just a memory. This is all in your head.”“Elena, what’s wrong?” Lucian asked. Opening my eyes, I saw him rush around the counter. He placed his hand on my arm, looking genuinely concerned.“It’s PTSD,” I snapped at him. “I’m traumatized from that day.” I held up my hand to silence him while I counted in my head.Eventually, the memory subsided.“Here, come sit down,” Lucian said, cradling my elbow in his hand. I pulled my arm away.“Don’t touch me,” I told him, my tone flat.I didn’t understand. Why was he here? Why did he have

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