All Chapters of Ex-Husband(Your Step-Brother Is Hotter): Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

~THE QUESTION THAT BROKE ME~ AMAYA It was finally the day I would make my first appearance on the internet. For weeks, I had stayed hidden from the world, focused on healing and finding myself again. Now, it was time to stop hiding. Sitting at the vanity, I logged into my main Instagram account for the first time since leaving Brown. The moment it loaded, notifications flooded my screen. Messages from Brown. Messages from Maddie. Missed calls. Voice notes. Questions about where I was and why I had disappeared. I ignored all of them. Instead, I went straight to my profile and stared at the pictures that filled it. Looking at them now felt strange. They showed a marriage that never truly existed. Smiles that had been forced. Luxury events attended after arguments. The perfect life everyone believed in. One by one, I deleted them. Wedding photos, anniversary posts, and couple pictures. Every trace of Brown disappeared from my page until all that remained was me. A

~BEFORE THE STORM~ AMAYA The notifications kept coming one after another until the constant beeping became unbearable. With a sigh, I picked up the phone again. More messages from Brown. I opened the chat and scrolled past the dozens of unanswered texts until I reached the most recent ones. Brown: Where have you been, Amaya? I've been looking everywhere for you. I hope my daughter is fine. I need to see you ASAP. I stared at the message. My daughter. Not our daughter. The wording shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. For a brief moment, my fingers hovered over the keyboard. A dozen responses rushed through my mind. You didn't care when we disappeared. You didn't care when I begged for your attention. You didn't care when Ariel cried herself to sleep waiting for you. But I deleted the words before typing a single letter. There was no point. Brown thrived on reactions, on control, and on knowing he still had access to me. I wasn't about to give him that satisfa

~HEATED~ AMAYA Before I could prepare myself for what came next, Ariel gasped. “Daddy!” Her tiny voice cut through the heavy silence. She started pulling against my hand, trying to break free, and that one word drew everyone’s attention. The men in suits, the secretary, Ethan, and Brown all looked our way. My grip tightened for a second on instinct, my heart pounding in my chest as I looked at Ethan. He met my eyes and gave me a small nod, a silent reassurance telling me to let her go. And I did. Ariel ran straight toward Brown, her little shoes tapping against the polished ground. Brown moved halfway to meet her, crouching just enough to catch her before lifting her into his arms. He held her tightly, cradling her against his chest as if he had missed her, but his eyes never left mine. He was watching, searching, and measuring me, trying to understand how I had come back like this, standing here, untouched by him. I refused to give him anything. No

~CONFRONTATION~ AMAYA The boardroom slowly emptied after the meeting, the sound of chairs scraping and low conversations fading as everyone filed out. I stayed in my seat, organizing the files in front of me, even though my mind was nowhere near them. Brown stood at the other end of the table, watching and waiting. The exact moment the last person stepped out of the room, he finally moved, walking directly toward me with a dark, menacing expression. “I need to speak to my wife,” he said to Ethan without sparing him a glance. “You’ll excuse us.” Ethan didn’t move, Instead, he looked at me. “I’ll leave if you want me to.” His eyes searched mine. “Are you going to be okay by yourself?” That simple question instantly grounded me, serving as a beautiful reminder of just how much he cared for me. I gave him a small nod. “I got it.” Ethan held my gaze for a second longer, then smiled faintly. “I’ll be right outside the door in case you need me.” Brown’s jaw st

~AFTER CHAOS~ AMAYA’S POV By the time we got home, I felt like my body was carrying the weight of the entire day. Today had only been about the transition, and the real work would officially begin tomorrow. Ethan had stayed back at the company to handle a few things, while I returned home with Ariel. The moment I stepped into the sitting room, I dropped onto the couch and slipped off my heels, rubbing my aching feet as my head fell back against the cushion. I was exhausted, completely drained. “Mummy, I want to pee… and I’m hungry,” Ariel said as she climbed onto me. I let out a tired breath, about to get up when Maria walked in. “I’ll take her,” she said gently, already reaching for Ariel. “You look like you’re about to fall over.” Relief washed over me. “Thank you so much,” I whispered. Maria carried Ariel away while my daughter giggled, acting as though she hadn’t spent the entire day moving around. I closed my eyes for a second, thinking about