NOT YOURS TO LOSE, EX-HUSBAND
My ex-husband, Reese Beaumont, sent me divorce papers on our anniversary, five years after I walked down the aisle to join him. I signed them with a red lipstick and sent them back to him, with a short note which read: "I am not going to give you the liberty of thinking you still own me."
Now, one year later, he is standing in my office, the smug look in his eyes gone, and for some reason, still wearing our wedding ring.
"You're still mine, Roxanne. You didn't sign the divorce papers, and you seem to forget that you're nothing without me."
A soft chuckle escape my lips, right as my fake fiancé walks in, holding our one-year-old son. The son Reese never knew I was pregnant with.
"Funny," I mutter. "Because I don't remember you being in control of the game."
Now, he's everywhere, showing up at my gallery and outbidding my fake fiancé at my auctions. Telling the media we are on the road to reconciliation.
But I am not the same woman who cried for him one year ago.
I am the woman he never expected to walk out the door. And the one he'll always regret letting go.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 5
Roxanne's POV
After a lot of coaxing, Lennox lends me his phone to call Reese, but he hovers around, watching me like a mother hawk about to swoop in and save her child.
The call goes to voicemail the first time after ringing ceaselessly. But on the second try, I hear a slight cackle before a breath.
"Reese?"
"Oh!"
Camilla.
"It's you. Are you done being a crybaby because your food got tossed out? You can come back home if you want to. I mean, I'll talk to Reese so he doesn't get mad at you. But you really didn't have to be that dramatic and run off."
I make it a point to ignore her. "Where is Reese? I want to speak to him."
"Asleep," she says curtly. "And he has had a long night. He doesn't want to be disturbed. Call or come later. Whatever you decide."
The line clicks dead, and I look up at Lennox.
"What do you want to do?" he asks.
"Can you take me back home?"
A huge part of me thinks he is going to start another fight, but he just nods, slipping his hands behind my knees as he lifts me into his arms.
"I can walk, Lennox," I protest as he moves out of the room, Isaiah taking the rear.
"I know," my best friend responds. "But I want to do this. You've just been through something traumatic. It's the least I can do."
I nod and wrap my hands around his neck, feeling the balls of his feet rock me gently until my eyes flutter closed. I stay asleep throughout the ride, nestled in the back seat.
Until a pair of hands pushes me out of my dream world.
"Hey, Mrs. Beaumont," he whispers just as my eyes open slowly. "You're at your husband's place."
I notice the way he says husband's place and not my place, but I ignore it, pushing myself up into a sitting position. Do pregnancies make people feel sleepy around the clock?
"Lennox went in first," he explains when I start looking around the car. "He wants to be sure if Reese is in the mood for guests."
"Reese?"
"Isn't that his name?"
"I didn't tell you."
Isaiah's fingers push a stray curl getting in the way, tucking it behind my ear. He lingers for the most fleeting second that I might have imagined it.
"He owns a company. It isn't hard to make the connection."
"You call me Mrs. Beaumont."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have that much respect for him."
Isaiah helps me out of the car and places a hand firmly on the small of my back as he leads me inside. In the living room, Reese and Camilla are sitting on the longest couch. She has her feet propped up against his thighs, staring at Lennox, who seems bewildered at the situation.
But when I walk in, she drops her feet.
Or more like Reese gets on his feet and leaves her no option but to pull back.
"What is this?" His voice is thunderous, rocking the whole building. "Where the hell have you been?"
Reese's eyes narrow in on Isaiah's hand still on my waist, and it looks like he is about to go up in flames. Turning around slowly, I face Lennox. "You have to leave. Please."
"Roxy...."
"I'll be fine, Lennox," I whisper. "Reese is my husband. He can't hurt me. At least, not intentionally."
"And if it's not intentional?"
"Please."
Lennox sighs and stalks out, leaving Isaiah, who is now staring at Reese. His upper lip raise in a smirk before he regards me one last time, walking the same way Lennox went. My gaze follows their retreating figures until I can't see them anymore.
Isaiah.
There is something about his presence that leaves him anchored to the spot even when he's no longer there. I can still feel his hand on my back, burning through cotton.
"Reese...."
"You spent the whole night out, Roxanne, and you returned to my house with two men. What do you want me to make of that?"
I think that is so hypocritical of him, seeing as his best friend practically lives with us. But I don't let that materialize past my thoughts as I step closer to him.
"Babe," I whisper. "I spent the night in the hospital. When you... I understand that Camilla had to go to the hospital too, so I called Lennox over."
"You weren't really hurt, were you?" He accuses, narrowing his gaze at me.
"I was," I breathe. "I almost lost the baby."
My husband stops, and his eyes widen a fraction. "The baby?"
I nod, my face breaking into a smile. "Yes, Reese. I'm pregnant."
I couldn't tell that Camilla was off the couch and beside Reese until she says something in a snicker. "You think that would work?"
I blink. "Work? I am...We have been trying for a child for years now."
She looks at Reese. "Don't tell me you believe her. She's only trying to get attention after the other night, and it's understandable since you are both married."
And then, she turns her attention back to me. I cannot help but notice that my husband has taken in every word.
"Roxanne, I really understand you. I do. But you don't have to lie to get away from what you did the last time. I almost died because of your jealousy."
"Reese, are you going to let her talk to me this way?"
"She's right, you know?" he mutters, sighing.
"What are you saying?"
"You have always tried to see the worst in our friendship, it makes me wonder if it's not just you projecting your own acts. I mean, you have a best friend of the opposite sex, and not once have I heard Reese complain about it."
"Yet, you accuse us of cheating, even if you never say the words." And then, tears start streaming down her eyes. "Roxanne, you need to know that I can't do that to you."
"Reese...."
He keeps quiet, his hand on her back, trying to get her calm.
"You know what?" Lennox was right. I shouldn't have come here. "I am leaving."
I move towards the door, not seeing through the blur of tears gathering in my eyes.
Reese's voice follows me. "Roxanne, the moment you step out of this house will be the end of our marriage."
My hands finds the doorknob. It feels just like our marriage, hard and cold. I feel the defiance inside of me. It is very small, but present nonetheless. I am going to protect myself from him. I am going to protect my baby from him.
I leave his words behind me, charging out back into the night.
And I don't look back.
You may also like
9.2
In LA's Business world, Zane Calloway, thirty, turns cartel king after his father's gruesome murder, ruling The Atlas Group with a bloody fist. He learned how betrayal could ruin even the biggest empire and was hell bent on keeping Atlas Group. However when Sienna Carter, his new assistant got in the picture, he threw caution to the wind. To become the only one controlling the cartel, he would use Sienna who was a supposedly ghost from a dead cartel as bait for his enemies. Sienna Carter made his mission become even more complicated as she ignites a dangerous sparks in him. Twenty-five year old Sienna Carter just wanted to stay alive, running away from danger had been the only thing she was capable of since her family were murdered. All she had as a semblance of her old life was the locket her dying father had given her and when a new job pops up in Los Angeles, she gambled for it, hoping for her sake that it wouldn't lead her straight to the same hell she was running from.
However, she would soon realize that the Atlas Groups was going to be more than just a survival decision but the key to everything.
9.6
Ezran Williamson never asked for a new family, especially not one that comes with a stepbrother he can't stand.
At twenty-one, Ezran is sharp-tongued, rebellious, and determined to graduate and build a future in programming on his own terms.
But when his mother remarries a powerful businessman, his carefully controlled life collides with Lucian Banks, his cold, dominant, and dangerously untouchable stepbrother. Successful, older, and infuriatingly composed, Lucian is everything Ezran hates.
Slowly, hatred turns into tension, tension becomes chemistry, and chemistry ignites something neither of them is prepared to face.
What begins as resistance slowly unravels into a forbidden obsession, one that defies family, morality, and control. As secrets surface and pressure mounts, Ezran and Lucian are forced to choose between duty and desire, legacy and love, because some feelings don't fade and some obsessions are worth every consequence.
8.3
I lost my memory. Or rather, I faked it.
Conrad Gallagher, the boyfriend I had been secretly dating for five years, effortlessly erased our entire relationship.
"You're only fit to be a casual hookup."
Then, he announced his engagement to a woman approved by his parents.
To save myself from utter humiliation, I faked amnesia, conveniently forgetting no one but Conrad.
But when it was time for me to get married, Conrad regretted it. He kidnapped me right out of my wedding and spirited me away: "Don't marry him, okay?"
8.2
He wanted freedom after breaking me. So I hired a stranger for one reckless night.
But he's not a call boy. He's a mafia king who owns this city. Now he decided I'm his. No negotiations. No escape.
9.0
Jordan was taken aback, his lips parted as he gasped in surprise.
Chloe sighed, "Is there any other special cleaning you want in the room aside from the regular one?" she asked coolly.
Jordan stared at her in disbelief. Her indifference stung him. Did she just ignore what he was saying? He waited three hours for her the day before. Of course he could never tell her that. He had been mad at himself for having such feelings. Right now, he couldn't be any madder.
But the girl just stood there, looking so nonchalant, carefree, unconcerned. His business card was a treasure to anyone else, but she had trashed it. He clenched his jaw. For once, he was at a loss for words.
Chloe spoke up, "I will get to work then."
She turned to leave.
"Hey!" Jordan bellowed.
She stopped, frowning. Why was he so angry?
"You will get to work, doing what? Telling everyone it wasn't you who made that mess?" he scoffed, "Isn't that what you were about to say to my mother?"
Chloe put on a false perplexed look, "But that's the truth. We both know I am not the one at fault. What exactly are you scared of, Mister Cavanaugh? Why should it be a big deal?"
"So you are going out there to tell on me?" he gave a low laugh.
"No. Not really," Chloe said offhandedly, "I think I have my job back for now, thank you. I will face that and hope you don't play such games with me again."
Jordan came closer to her, frowning, "Are you threatening me?".
Chloe wanted to place her hands on his broad chest and push him away, he smelled so good, "Threatening you? Hell no, that's not a threat. I was just soliciting for peace. I didn't do anything wrong to you or your family. YOU wronged me, you ought to apologize. But I am not even asking you to".
Jordan moved closer, step by step, until her back hit the door. His face hovered inches from hers, his breath warm, his eyes dark and unreadable. Chloe's heart skipped a beat, as she began to panic.
Chloe Carson thought moving to Colorado would bring stability and a chance to rebuild her life. But her new job at the Cavanaugh mansion proves anything but simple, especially with Jordan, the handsome yet infuriating heir whose every word and glance keeps her on edge.
As Chloe tries to find her footing, she also faces Niles, her cousin's crush, whose attraction to her awakens feelings she did not expect. Torn between Niles's gentle affection and Jordan's intoxicating pull, Chloe must navigate jealousy, secrets, and emotional traps she never saw coming.
As unexpected consequences spiral around her, Chloe will have to decide whose heart she can trust... before it is too late.
7.4
I was the wife of Damien Valenti, the most ruthless mafia Don in Chicago.
But to cement his power and marry a rival family's daughter, he exiled me to the slums without a single dime.
"Stay not as my wife, Izzy, but as my whore."
That was his final ultimatum before dumping me out of his black SUV like trash.
Terrified of losing me, my five-year-old son, Angelo, secretly hid in the car to follow me.
Two days later, in a squalid Indiana motel, Angelo caught severe pneumonia.
I had no money and no doctor. In sheer desperation, I sliced my own wrist with broken glass, pressing my bleeding arm to his pale lips, begging him to drink and live.
But my little boy died in my arms.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Damien was sipping vintage champagne with his new bride, casually dismissing the life of his own flesh and blood.
The grief turned me into a monster. I spent twenty years clawing my way through the underworld to destroy his empire, only to die with a bullet in my chest.
I gave him my absolute devotion, yet he traded our family for political power without a single ounce of hesitation.
Opening my eyes again, I was back in that hellish neon-lit motel room.
Angelo was burning with fever and fighting for air, but he was still breathing.
This time, I wasn't the naive girl who loved Damien Valenti. I was a woman holding two decades of their darkest secrets, and my vendetta had just begun.