Divorced After His Livestream Affair Chapter 07

Divorced After His Livestream Affair Chapter 07

The Divorce He Couldn’t Stop

Three days later, Ryan showed up at my office.

Unannounced.

Uninvited.

Unwanted.

My assistant appeared at my door looking nervous.

“Miss Hart…”

I looked up from my laptop.

“What is it?”

“Mr. Cole is here.”

I sighed.

Of course he was.

“And?”

“He says he’s not leaving.”

I checked the time.

Nine-thirty in the morning.

Too early for nonsense.

“Send him in.”

The door opened seconds later.

Ryan walked inside looking exhausted.

Dark circles under his eyes.

Wrinkled shirt.

Unshaven jaw.

For the first time since I’d met him, he didn’t look like a billionaire CEO.

He looked desperate.

Good.

“Emily.”

I didn’t stand.

Didn’t smile.

Didn’t offer him coffee.

Nothing.

Just:

“Ryan.”

He stared at me.

Probably waiting for me to soften.

To ask how he was doing.

To comfort him.

Instead I returned to my laptop.

“What do you want?”

His jaw tightened.

“We need to talk.”

“We already did.”

“No. We didn’t.”

I continued typing.

“Then talk.”

Ryan stared at me in disbelief.

“You aren’t even going to look at me?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Now I looked up.

Because I wanted him to hear this.

Really hear it.

“Because every time I look at you, I remember that livestream.”

The words hit.

Hard.

Ryan visibly flinched.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he exhaled.

“Emily, I made a mistake.”

I laughed.

A real laugh.

The kind that makes people uncomfortable.

“A mistake?”

“It was stupid.”

“You bought your mistress a penthouse.”

Silence.

“You transferred millions of dollars.”

More silence.

“You cheated for months.”

Ryan rubbed his face.

“I know how it looks.”

I stared at him.

Then slowly closed my laptop.

“That’s the problem, Ryan.”

“What?”

“You still think this is about appearances.”

His expression froze.

I stood up.

“You think I’m angry because people found out.”

“No—”

“I’m angry because you did it.”

The office fell silent.

Ryan looked away first.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because Ryan never looked away first.

Not from anyone.

“I love you.”

The words sounded ridiculous.

Almost pathetic.

I actually felt embarrassed for him.

“Do you?”

His eyes snapped back to mine.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means when exactly did you love me?”

I stepped closer.

“When you called me harmless on that livestream?”

His face went pale.

“Emily—”

“When you told Sophia I’d beg you to stay?”

His mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

“Or maybe when you told her I was too stupid to understand your business?”

Ryan looked like he’d been slapped.

Good.

I wasn’t finished.

“Tell me, Ryan.”

My voice dropped.

“Which part was love?”

For the first time, he had no answer.

None.

Because there wasn’t one.

Eventually he whispered:

“I messed up.”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

Then I picked up a folder from my desk.

The divorce papers.

Ryan immediately recognized them.

His face drained of color.

“No.”

I slid them across the desk.

“Sign.”

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

Almost violently.

“No.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Of course I do.”

His voice rose.

“I’m not signing that.”

“Then my lawyers will make you.”

Ryan pushed the papers away.

“Emily, stop.”

“No.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

The room became suffocatingly quiet.

Ryan stared at the documents.

Then at me.

Then back at the documents.

Like he couldn’t believe they were real.

The old Emily would never have done this.

The old Emily was gone.

Finally, he laughed.

A strange laugh.

Nervous.

Desperate.

“You’re overreacting.”

I blinked.

Then laughed harder than he had.

Overreacting.

Of course.

Being cheated on.

Humiliated publicly.

Used for money.

Almost robbed of my father’s company.

And somehow I was overreacting.

Amazing.

“You know what?” I said.

“What?”

“I’m glad Sophia exists.”

Ryan froze.

“What?”

“I’m serious.”

“Emily—”

“If she hadn’t come along, I might have spent the rest of my life believing you were a good man.”

His face tightened.

“That’s not fair.”

I stared at him.

“Fair?”

The word came out almost as a whisper.

Then I smiled.

The kind of smile that made people nervous.

“Let’s talk about fair.”

I opened another folder.

This one thicker.

Much thicker.

Bank transfers.

Property records.

Financial statements.

Ryan’s eyes widened.

“What is that?”

Evidence.

Fear finally appeared on his face.

Real fear.

Not fear of losing me.

Fear of consequences.

I knew the difference now.

“You’ve been busy.”

His voice became cautious.

“Where did you get those?”

Interesting.

Not:

Those aren’t real.

Not:

You’ve got it wrong.

Just:

Where did you get them?

Because he knew they were real.

Ryan suddenly stood.

“Who’s helping you?”

There it was.

The question he’d been dying to ask.

I smiled.

“Why?”

“Because this isn’t you.”

The insult slipped out before he could stop it.

I raised an eyebrow.

“This isn’t me?”

“You don’t understand this stuff.”

The room went silent.

The second the words left his mouth, Ryan knew he had made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

I slowly stood.

“You really believe that, don’t you?”

“Emily—”

“No.”

My voice cut through his.

Cold.

Sharp.

“That’s why this happened.”

Ryan froze.

“You spent three years convincing yourself I was weak.”

I stepped closer.

“You spent three years underestimating me.”

Another step.

“You thought kindness meant stupidity.”

Another.

“You thought loyalty meant blindness.”

Ryan didn’t move.

Couldn’t move.

“And now you’re discovering how wrong you were.”

For the first time since entering my office, Ryan looked afraid of me.

Not angry.

Afraid.

I loved it.

His phone suddenly rang.

The sound shattered the tension.

Ryan glanced down.

Then cursed.

“What?”

He ignored me and answered.

“Hello?”

His expression immediately changed.

Panic.

Pure panic.

My interest sharpened.

“What happened?”

Silence.

Then:

“What do you mean investors are pulling out?”

I smiled.

Oh.

This was getting good.

Ryan turned away.

“No, listen to me—”

Whoever was speaking cut him off.

Ryan’s face became paler with every second.

When the call ended, he looked sick.

“What happened?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Ryan?”

Nothing.

Then finally:

“Three investors just withdrew.”

I couldn’t stop smiling.

“That’s unfortunate.”

His eyes snapped toward me.

For the first time there was anger there.

Real anger.

“Did you do this?”

I tilted my head.

“Do you really think I have that much power?”

The truth was, I didn’t.

Not alone.

But Alexander did.

And Ryan knew it.

His face darkened.

“Black.”

I said nothing.

Ryan laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

Then he looked at me.

Really looked at me.

And suddenly understood something.

Something important.

Something terrifying.

I wasn’t coming back.

Not this time.

Not ever.

The realization hit him like a truck.

I saw it happen.

Right there.

In real time.

And for the first time since I’d discovered the affair…

Ryan Cole looked heartbroken.

Unfortunately for him, I was already past caring.

“Close the door on your way out,” I said.

Then I reopened my laptop.

And ended the conversation.

The last thing I heard before the door shut was Ryan whispering

my name.

Like he still couldn’t believe he’d lost me.

Like he still thought there was a chance.

There wasn’t.

Not anymore.