He Chased His Ex, I Axed the Vows

Maya Spencer shot back, "I already left him. What more do you want from me? I’m not the one fighting the divorce—it’s your precious Rayan who won’t sign the papers."

"What?" Elina Guzman froze, completely caught off guard.

Now it made sense. Elina had tracked Maya to this neighborhood—no grand old Victorian, just a block of average, modest homes mixed together. At first she’d assumed Maya was just visiting a friend, but looking at how she was dressed? It was pretty clear she actually lived here.

A cold knot formed in Elina’s stomach. This confrontation wasn’t going to go the way she’d planned. She could already feel it spinning out of her control.

Maya sat right across from her, watching every flicker cross Elina’s face. Shock melted into unease, which shifted into obvious regret, then quickly smoothed into a forced smile—all in the span of a heartbeat. Maya didn’t miss a single change.

Instantly, she was on high alert. Was Elina just here to stir up trouble? Was she worried Rayan might actually change his mind about the divorce? Or was this just plain old insecurity eating at her?

Elina reached for the check, and Maya got it: she wasn’t actually scared of Maya taking the money. She just didn’t want to give Maya any kind of upper hand here.

Maya snatched it faster, curling her fingers tight around the paper to hold it secure.

"Give that back!" Elina snapped, her face twisting with rage.

Maya held the check just out of Elina’s reach, a cold laugh huffing out of her. "Isn’t this supposed to be for me? I never said I didn’t want it."

Desperation flared in Elina. She shot to her feet and lunged for it. "Maya, fine, you want money so bad, but think for a second—this is my money. You’re straight-up stealing it."

Watching Elina drop that sweet innocent act and show her teeth was actually kind of funny to Maya. She didn’t even care about the check; the panic on Elina’s face was entertainment enough. She couldn’t help but wonder if Rayan had ever seen this side of her.

Maya stood and stepped back, calling Elina out on her messed up logic. "Ms. Guzman, you told me Rayan feels guilty and can’t bring himself to ask me for a divorce, right? But he swears to me the two of you are just platonic. Nothing inappropriate going on. He’s told me a hundred times he never cheated on me. He hasn’t admitted to a thing… yet here you are, openly admitting you’re the other woman?"

Elina’s face cycled through a dozen different emotions before she could even speak.

"What? You didn’t know that either? Well, well. This guy really is something else, isn’t he? Feeds you one line, feeds me another, plays both of us. But regardless of all that, I’m still his wife. And you… you’ve been played for a fool."

They stood toe to toe, neither backing down an inch. Maya had always hated Elina’s fake good-girl act, and this run-in wasn’t entirely an accident. Provoked past her limit, Elina bit back with sharp, biting sarcasm. "Maya, stop slandering Rayan. I’ve known him since we were kids. Our twenty-year bond isn’t something an outsider like you can ever break."

"Oh, is that right? So you’re saying he’d never lie to both of us like that? Does that mean you’re the liar, then?"

"You…" Elina was speechless. She couldn’t talk her way out of that one.

"Does Rayan know how two-faced you really are? You’ve known each other since childhood—twenty years, that’s a long time. He must know, right? Birds of a feather flock together… you two really are the perfect match."

Elina couldn’t win with words, so she yelled toward the café entrance, "Are you all deaf out there?"

Two burly bodyguards burst through the door seconds later.

Maya sighed. Women’s rivalry always boiled down to a man, didn’t it? And it was never fair.

"I’m still married to Rayan. Right now, I’m still his legal wife. Do you two really dare lay a hand on me?"

She’d been "escorted" against her will before—she knew empty threats wouldn’t stop these guys. So she dropped Rayan’s name, right where they could hear it.

The bodyguards froze, hesitating.

"Get the check from her," Elina ordered.

Maya quickly tucked the check down the neckline of her top, and tilted her chin up defiantly, chest forward. "Scared of losing a hand? Go ahead. Try me."

"You do it…" The first bodyguard nudged the second, stepping back.

Maya slowly backed toward the door. The bodyguards just stood there. They didn’t block her path, they didn’t make a move. It was just a job—no need to risk getting in trouble over it.

Amid Elina’s loud, furious curses, Maya walked out of the café safe and sound.

She paused for a minute on the sidewalk, snapped a quick photo of the check, and sent it straight to Rayan.

Truth be told, she’d already caused a big scene over the divorce, embarrassed Rayan and the whole Spencer family. Even through all that, Rayan still hadn’t agreed to sign off fast. She figured it couldn’t be easy for him, either.

She didn’t want to take Elina’s word for it. She’d rather trust what she saw with her own eyes.

Five years married to Rayan. Even if they were splitting up, she didn’t want him falling for someone’s lie.

Of course, if he really loved Elina enough to choose to be blind to it? She had nothing more to say.

---

Spencer Group, President’s Office.

London had been wrapped in thick fog all day, and it only cleared a little by four o’clock in the afternoon. Sunlight slanted through the tall windows, stretching Rayan’s shadow long across the floor.

Even though Spencer Group’s stock price was holding steady, his face was etched with worry.

His assistant, Brycen Wells, came in to update him. "Mr. Spencer, the Chairman’s down in PR. I couldn’t get a minute with him."

Rayan’s brow furrowed even deeper.

"The Chairman’s happy with how the crisis was handled. I hear PR wants to keep pushing your 'loving husband' image to boost your reputation while the scandal’s still fading. It’s the cheapest, most effective strategy they’ve got."

Rayan closed his eyes for a beat, grinding his teeth. A loving husband? What a fucking joke.

PR had deliberately tied Elina to the "Mrs. Spencer" title, spun that whole narrative. Maya was already hurt, and now this just made everything a thousand times worse. Reaching out to comfort her now would just look like he was using her.

Brycen offered a suggestion: "Mr. Spencer, maybe you should pick up a gift for Mrs. Spencer?"

With all the tension lately, Mr. Spencer’s bad mood had been rough on everyone on staff. Brycen was just trying to help.

Rayan initially scoffed, shaking his head. Then he paused, thought it over, and hesitated before finally giving in. "You think that would work?"

Brycen’s eyes lit up. "It’s better than doing nothing, right?"

"What’s a safe bet?"

"Jewelry. Diamonds. You can’t go wrong with diamonds."

"Then pick out a diamond necklace. Have it ready for me by end of day."

"No problem at all."

Just then, the office door swung open. Marcos Spencer walked in, his face set in a hard line, and got straight to the point. "Don’t think I don’t know who the woman in those photos is. Even if our deal with the Guzmans went through, you’re still a married man. Carrying on like this isn’t appropriate, is it?"

Rayan jumped to explain immediately. "There’s nothing going on between us."

Marcos chuckled, like he knew better, that familiar fatherly knowing look in his eyes. "I know you too well. We messed up before, but you need to look at this clearly. Someone set this whole thing up on purpose. We got lucky the PR crisis worked out okay in the end."