After the Divorce, He Begged Me Back Chapter 08

After the Divorce, He Begged Me Back Chapter 08

I wrenched my arm back, but his grip was 

like iron. 

“I’m not letting you slip away again, Chloe,” Holden snarled, his eyes wide with a manic, dangerous intensity. “You’re coming home. with me right now.” 

He dragged me forward, but before he could take a second step, a tall figure intercepted. 

1. us. With a swift, brutal motion, the man tore 

Holden’s hand away from my wrist. 

He pulled me protectively against his chest, 

shielding me with his broad shoulders. 

“Are you okay?” Ethan Brooks asked, his 

deep voice thick with concern. 

I looked up into his striking, hazel eyes and 

felt the tension melt out of my shoulders. I 

smiled. 

“I’m fine, Ethan.” 

He scanned my face, his expression dark 

with immediate guilt. 

“I should have never let you handle this 

meeting alone.” 

The man standing before me was Ethan 

Brooks. 

Six months ago, he was the one waiting in 

the black sedan to rescue me. 

My mother’s heart was boundless. Over the 

years, she had quietly financed the educations of several underprivileged 

children, and Ethan was one of them. 

From his first day of middle school all the way through his college graduation, my mother had sent him monthly allowances accompanied by letters. Every single note 

ended with the exact same sentence: Study 

hard, Ethan. Chloe and I are waiting for you. 

By the time her final letter arrived, Ethan was trapped overseas in a highly classified corporate research think–tank. When he finally broke protocol and rushed back, her tombstone had already been erected. 

At the cemetery, he had handed me a heavy 

embossed business card containing nothing 

but his name and a private line. 

“Chloe, call me whenever you need. 

anything,” he had whispered, his hands. 

trembling as he handed it over. “Anytime. 

Anywhere.” 

Only later did I discover that Ethan was the 

brilliant mind behind the 

multi–billion–dollar EC Group. He had left 

for America on a full scholarship at eighteen, 

built his first startup at twenty, and crossed 

a ten–billion–dollar valuation by 

twenty–three. 

Every single check my mother and I had sent 

him over the years had been meticulously 

documented in a leather notebook. Under 

each transaction, he had penned the same 

vow: Return tenfold. 

Furthermore, Ethan had been aware of 

Holden and Amber’s affair long before I was. 

He had tried to drop subtle warnings in hist 

messages, but I had been too drowned in 

grief over my mother’s passing to notice the 

red flags. 

After pulling me from that mansion, he flew 

me out to New York for an extended retreat. 

During those months, he personally trained me in corporate finance and executive. 

operations, exposing me to a world I never 

knew existed. 

We returned to the city just a month ago, and 

he immediately appointed me Managing 

Director of this multi–million–dollar 

acquisition project. 

Neither of us had anticipated that Holden’s failing firm would be one of the desperate bidding applicants. 

When Holden first requested an audience with the executive director, Ethan had 

offered to send a proxy, but I firmly declined. 

Running away solves nothing. I wasn’t the criminal in this story, so why should I hide in 

the shadows? 

Still, Ethan refused to let me out of his sight, watching our interaction from a nearby table 

until Holden laid a hand on me. 

Seeing a powerful, handsome stranger 

holding me in his arms, Holden’s face. 

twisted into an ugly, jealous rage. 

“Take your hands off my wife!” he roared, lunging forward to grab Ethan’s shoulder. 

Ethan intercepted his wrist mid–air and 

shoved him back with effortless power, his 

eyes turning stone–cold. 

“Mr. Vance, I believe your desperation is 

clouding your memory,” Ethan said, dusting off his lapel. “If I recall the press releases correctly, your wife’s name is Amber Ross.” 

“You…” 

Unable to counter, Holden whipped around to look at me, his eyes full of frantic 

pleading. 

“Chloe, please! We had an agreement. The marriage to Amber was purely strategic. Now that you’re back, I’ll draw up the paperwork 

tonight and remarry you!” 

When I remained completely silent, his voice 

grew even more hysterical. 

“Are you worried about the kid? Don’t worry, 

I’ll make sure he disappears. It will just be 

the two of us, exactly like old times. Just 

come home with me, okay?” 

I stared at him as if looking at a rabid 

animal. 

“Holden Vance, you murdered both of my unborn babies and had a doctor butcher my body so I could never conceive again,” I whispered, my voice cutting through the 

restaurant like a blade. 

“What makes you think I would ever return to you?” 

Holden froze, his face draining of all color. “How… how do you know about that?” 

I cast one final, disgusted glance at him, then took Ethan’s hand and walked toward 

the exit. 

“Secrets have a way of rotting through walls, 

Holden. Enjoy the ashes of your life.” 

He stood frozen among the tables, unable to take a step forward. 

His mind spun as he tried to figure out how the medical cover–up had leaked. 

Suddenly, a terrifying realization struck him, and his eyes twisted into an expression of pure malice. 

“Amber Ross.”