All Chapters of CHASING HIS EX-WIFE: My ex-husband wants me-too late: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"Miss Jayda bought the racing company where she trained for her comeback," Vincent explained, pulling out his tablet to show Antonio the news articles. "Paid eight million dollars, used the settlement money from your divorce, the purchase was finalized yesterday."Antonio stared at the headline, his chest tightening with emotions he couldn't afford to feel. Jayda had bought a racing company, had taken the money he'd given her—guilt money he'd hoped she'd use for security and comfort—and invested it in something that mattered to her.Of course she had.That was exactly the kind of thing Jayda would do, practical and passionate in equal measure, refusing to let divorce or heartbreak or anything else stop her from building a life she wanted."The company was struggling financially," Vincent continued. "Several buyers made offers, all significantly below market value, she paid fair price and saved it from bankruptcy.""Good for her," Antonio said, meaning it despite the way his heart ache

Antonio sat across from Lisa at Aurelio's, the afternoon light filtering through the tall windows casting patterns across their table, the atmosphere calm and refined in the way this restaurant always managed despite the chaos of the city beyond its walls.Lisa was talking about something—a charity gala she wanted him to attend, or maybe a new initiative at the company, her voice steady and professional even in their supposed personal time together. He nodded at appropriate intervals, made sounds of acknowledgment when her tone suggested a response was expected, played his role in the carefully constructed fiction they'd been maintaining for months.But his attention wasn't fully there.Something felt off, a subtle unease he couldn't quite identify, a distraction pulling at the edges of his focus that had nothing to do with Lisa's words or the wine he was barely drinking."Antonio?" Lisa's voice sharpened slightly. "Are you listening?""Of course," he said automatically, refocusing on

Jayda woke to her alarm at six AM, the sun barely breaking through Dess's curtains, her body protesting movement before she'd even fully opened her eyes.She ignored the ache settling deep in her bones, the exhaustion that sleep hadn't touched, the way her chest felt tight with each breath. She had work to do, a company to run, no time to acknowledge the breakdown that had happened in her car yesterday or the tears she'd cried alone in the dark hours of the night.By six thirty she was showered and dressed, sitting at the dining table with her laptop open, coffee cooling beside her while she scrolled through emails that had accumulated overnight.Dess emerged from her bedroom around seven, stopped short when she saw Jayda already working."Did you sleep at all?" Dess asked, concern evident in her tone."Enough," Jayda lied, not looking up from her screen. "I have a lot to get through today."She'd responded to three investment follow-ups, reviewed financial projections Lucas had sent

Five days after the disaster at Aurelio's, Jayda sat at Dess's dining table sorting through morning emails with the kind of focused intensity that had become her default state since seeing Antonio with Lisa.She'd buried the restaurant incident somewhere deep where emotions went to die, locked it behind walls she'd rebuilt stronger than before, refused to acknowledge the way it had shattered something inside her that hadn't quite healed. Instead she'd channeled everything into work—emails and budgets and sponsor proposals that demanded her full attention and left no room for feelings she couldn't afford.The apartment was quiet around her, Dess still asleep despite the early hour, sunlight just beginning to filter through the windows. Jayda had been awake since five, her body's refusal to sleep more than a few hours at a time becoming routine she no longer questioned.She was colder now, she could feel it in the way she responded to people, in the efficiency with which she handled bus

The meeting was scheduled for Friday afternoon at two PM, three days away that Jayda spent preparing for negotiations she knew would be more complicated than a simple investment discussion.She researched everything she could find about Enzo Vitale's business practices, his investment history, his approach to companies he acquired stakes in. What she found painted a picture of someone ruthlessly efficient, someone who bought struggling businesses at bargain prices then restructured them for maximum profit regardless of what that meant for original ownership or company culture.Dess sat across from her reviewing the same information, her expression growing darker with each article they uncovered."He's acquired seven companies in the last five years," Dess said, reading from her laptop. "All of them were struggling financially when he made his offers, four of them no longer have their original founders in leadership positions, two were completely gutted and rebuilt as entirely differen