All Chapters of Married To My Ex's Ruthless Father: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

128 Chapters

Chapter Eighty-One

Damien’s PovMonday morning arrived with a strange mixture of routine and lingering unease. I walked into my office earlier than usual, determined to resolve the small discrepancy Isabella had noticed over the weekend before it became anything more than a brief distraction from an otherwise peaceful stretch of months.“I need the original accounting reports for the Hensley subsidiary,” I told my assistant, setting my coffee down on the desk. “Specifically the transfer logged under miscellaneous operational costs from two weeks ago.”“I’ll have finance pull that immediately,” she said, already making a note.I busied myself with other tasks while I waited, though my attention kept drifting back toward the request, unable to shake the small, nagging feeling that had settled in since Isabella first pointed out the discrepancy. An hour later, the finance director appeared in my office, his expression noticeably uncomfortable, the kind of look that immediately told me something wasn’t righ

Chapter Eighty-Two

Isabella’s PovThe following morning, I settled back into the study with my laptop, determined to better understand the company’s broader operations rather than dwelling further on yesterday’s unsettling discovery. I wasn’t trying to investigate anything specific, simply hoping familiarizing myself with additional subsidiaries might help me feel more confident navigating my expanding responsibilities within Blackwood Holdings.Grace played quietly nearby with a set of soft blocks while I worked, occasionally babbling to herself, content in her own small world as sunlight streamed gently through the study windows. I welcomed the calm. After everything that had happened over the past few days, I needed something as simple and steady as an ordinary morning.I pulled up quarterly reports from three smaller regional offices, cross-referencing invoice approvals against standard processing timelines. Most of what I reviewed appeared completely ordinary, numbers matching expected patterns wit

Chapter Eighty-Three

Isabella’s PovI stood in the kitchen that morning, watching Damien hunched over his laptop at the table, papers spread around him despite it being barely past seven. He hadn’t even touched his coffee yet, too absorbed in whatever spreadsheet currently held his attention.“Damien,” I said, walking over. “When was the last time we had an entire day, just the two of us, with no work and no interruptions?”He glanced up, clearly thinking through the question. “It’s been a while,” he admitted.“It’s been months,” I said. “Real months, Damien. Between Grace, the company, everything happening with the investigation, we haven’t had a single day that was just ours.”“I know,” he said, though his attention was already drifting back toward his screen. “Things have been complicated lately.”“I want today,” I said firmly. “One full day. No meetings, no calls, no laptops.”“Isabella, I have a call with the Hensley board in twenty minutes,” Damien said. “And after that—”I reached over and gently c

Chapter Eighty-Four

Damien’s PovI woke before sunrise, careful not to disturb Isabella as I slipped quietly out of bed. She was still deeply asleep, one arm draped across the pillow where I had been lying moments before, and I paused for a moment just watching her, thinking about how far we had come since the beginning of everything.I made my way downstairs, determined to surprise her with breakfast before she woke up. How difficult could it possibly be? I had watched her make pancakes dozens of times.Apparently, watching and doing were two entirely different skills.Within twenty minutes, the kitchen had become something resembling a disaster zone. Flour dusted nearly every surface, including a fine layer somehow coating my hair. The first batch of pancakes came out charred on one side and completely raw in the center, and the coffee, which I had confidently doubled in strength, tasted more like burnt tar than anything resembling a proper morning beverage.“This isn’t supposed to be this complicated,

Chapter Eighty-Five

Isabella’s PovI noticed the first note three days after accepting Damien’s proposal, tucked carefully between the pages of my favorite book on the nightstand. I almost missed it entirely, only spotting the folded paper when I opened the book to read before bed.“Thank you for choosing me,” it read, in Damien’s familiar handwriting.I stared at the small note for a long moment, warmth spreading slowly through my chest. It was such a simple gesture, nothing extravagant or dramatic, yet something about the quiet sincerity behind those four words moved me more than any elaborate declaration could have.The next morning, I found a second note slipped beneath my coffee cup, waiting for me when I walked into the kitchen.“You make every ordinary day extraordinary.”“Damien,” I said, glancing up at him as he sat across the table, pretending to focus entirely on his newspaper. “Did you leave this?”“Leave what?” he asked, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, betraying him complet

Chapter Eighty-Six

Damien’s PovI’ve closed deals worth hundreds of millions without my pulse changing, but standing outside our daughter’s nursery with a bouquet of instructions running through my head, I feel like a man about to do something far riskier than any acquisition.Isabella is downstairs, thinking this is an ordinary Tuesday night. She doesn’t know that for the past three days I’ve had the rooftop cleared, that Marcus has fielded a dozen of my calls about candle placement, or that Gabriel personally vetted every florist who came near the building. She doesn’t know I’ve spent more energy on tonight than I once spent negotiating our entire merger with Hartwell Industries.Some things deserve more care than a boardroom ever did.I check on our daughter one last time, smoothing the blanket over her small shoulders, and something in my chest tightens the way it always does when I look at her. Then I go find her mother.“Where are we going?” Isabella asks as I take her hand and lead her toward the

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Isabella walked into Blackwood Holdings with a cup of coffee in her hand and a smile on her face. She greeted the receptionist, waved at a few coworkers, and made her way to her office. Everything felt normal. Then she opened her office door and stopped.A huge bouquet of white roses sat on her desk.She blinked. “What is this?”Her assistant, Lucy, peeked in behind her. “It was delivered about ten minutes ago. No card from a company. No florist tag. Just this.”Isabella walked closer. She saw a small envelope tucked between the stems. Her hands felt cold as she picked it up.She opened it and read the note inside.“I’m sorry for realizing your worth too late.”She didn’t need a signature. She knew exactly who wrote it.“Ethan,” she whispered.Lucy eyes widened. “Ethan? As in….”“Yes.” Isabella set the note down like it burned her fingers. “Please, get rid of these. Now. Before Damien sees them.”Lucy nodded quickly and reached for the vase. But it was too late.Two women from the m

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Damien sat through the afternoon board meeting, half his attention on the numbers projected on the screen, the other half somewhere else entirely. Ever since the incident with the flowers, he found himself thinking about Isabella more than usual, not out of worry or doubt. Just out of a quiet need to know she was okay.The meeting stretched longer than expected. But underneath it all, he kept glancing at his watch, counting down the minutes until he could see her again.Meanwhile, across the city, Isabella finished her own work for the day. She gathered her things, said goodbye to Grace, and stepped out of Blackwood Holdings into the cool evening air.She didn’t expect to see him there.Ethan stood near the entrance, hands in his pockets, looking nothing like the confident man she once knew. His shoulders were hunched slightly, his expression unsure.“Isabella,” he said, stepping forward carefully. “Can we talk? Just five minutes.”She stopped walking, her guard rising instantly. “Et

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Isabella’s phone rang just after breakfast. She almost didn’t answer, since the number wasn’t saved in her contacts. But something made her pick it up anyway.“Isabella,” the voice said. “It’s Vanessa.”Isabella froze for a moment, surprised by the calm, steady tone on the other end. “Vanessa,” she said carefully. “This is unexpected.”“I know,” Vanessa said. “I was hoping we could meet. Just the two of us. There are things I’d like to say to you, in person.”Isabella hesitated, unsure what to think. “What kind of things?”“I’d rather explain over lunch,” Vanessa said. “Please, Isabella. I think it’s time we put the past behind us.”After hanging up, Isabella told Sophia about the call.“Absolutely not,” Sophia said immediately. “Isabella, this is Vanessa we’re talking about. She’s never done anything without a reason that benefits her.”“I know how she is,” Isabella said. “But maybe this is different. Maybe she really does want to apologize.”“Or maybe she’s planning something,” Soph

Chapter Ninety

Damien's POV The tabloids refused to let the story die. Every week seemed to bring another article speculating about Isabella and Ethan, grainy photographs pulled from years-old events, headlines suggesting some lingering connection that simply didn’t exist. It didn’t matter how many times we ignored them, how many times we refused to dignify the speculation with a response. The stories kept circulating.“Another one,” Gabriel said, sliding his tablet across my desk one morning. “This time claiming Ethan attended the same charity gala Isabella did last month, implying they arranged to be there together.”“They didn’t,” I said flatly, scanning the article. “Isabella mentioned he was there. She said maybe three words to him the entire evening.”“I know that,” Gabriel said. “But the board’s starting to feel the pressure. A few members mentioned this morning that maybe Isabella should step back from public events for a while, at least until the speculation dies down.”Anger flared immed

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