My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 146

“I remember,” I replied.

When Vivienne was first slandered as the third party, I didn’t stand up for her. Instead, when she was injured in the car accident and couldn’t see clearly, I kept the truth from her. That was when I made her a promise.

“You know what I was thinking back then?” Vivienne recalled, her expression pained. “I thought we were going to divorce eventually, and I couldn’t keep the pregnancy a secret forever, so I used that promise to ask you to give up custody. I wanted to keep this child! So, even when I was at my lowest, even when I wanted the divorce more than anything, I never used that promise... But...”

Her voice faltered, and she couldn’t finish the sentence, choking on her tears.

Maybe it was because she knew she would never have the chance to use that promise again.

Vivienne’s words struck me like daggers, painfully reminding me of all I had done.

While she had been planning for herself and the child at that time, I had been busy protecting Isabella’s career, completely unaware of Vivienne’s suffering.

Before I could respond, Vivienne continued, “Do you know what Isabella’s fans said when they called me the third party? They cursed me, saying I’d never have children... Haha, their curse worked...”

“It’s my fault,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have clung to everything with you. After Isabella’s accident, you chose to cut ties with me to be there for her. I almost lost the child... that was fate trying to warn me. I should have let go of you then. It’s my fault. I deserve to be cursed!”

She laughed bitterly, tears streaming down her face.

It was as if she was losing her mind.

Seeing her like this tore my heart apart.

After I left that night, I’d said those cruel words, but she was still robbed of everything, and she never once told me.

I couldn’t imagine how helpless she must have felt, enduring all that pain alone...

Everything Vivienne went through was because of me.

If I hadn’t listened to Olivia, if I hadn’t let our past relationship leak, if the media hadn’t spread rumors about us reconciling, Vivienne would never have been attacked, called a third party, and verbally assaulted.

Though I tried to suppress the rumors, the criticism never stopped.

If I hadn’t been so indecisive and indulged Isabella, Vivienne wouldn’t have suffered so much.

Maximus was right. The debt I owed Isabella should never have been carried by Vivienne.

Vivienne owed Isabella nothing.

She was the most innocent person in all of this.

Yet she was also the one I had hurt the most.

“When I close my eyes now, all I see is a tiny baby crying, asking me why I didn’t want him. I wasn’t a good mother. My selfishness and stubbornness killed my child...” Vivienne sobbed, her vision clouded with tears.

“Vivienne, it’s all my fault. Everything is my fault!” Hearing her self-blame shattered me.

I wiped the tears from Vivienne’s eyes with my hand, speaking softly, “I heard that St. Damaris Cathedral offers memorial services to pray for the souls of the departed. If you’re willing, we can go there together, light a candle for our child, and pray that he finds peace in the next world. Let that be the last thing we do for him as parents.”

Vivienne stopped crying, but her eyes were still glistening with tears. After a long pause, she cautiously asked, “Do you think the baby will forgive me?”

“He will. He definitely will. And if you’d like, we can also light a candle for your father, as a tribute.”

“When should we go?” Vivienne wiped her tears away.

“Let’s eat first. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll go.”

Vivienne wiped the last of her tears away and said, her expression unreadable, “After we go to the church, we’ll head to Family Court and get divorced.”

A sharp pang of discomfort rose in my throat. “Alright... we’ll get divorced... we’ll get divorced...”

Third-Person POV

...

Vanguard GE’s Conference Room

The group’s top executives, along with major shareholders, had gathered.

Though it was called a shareholders’ meeting, it wasn’t much different from the previous board meeting. The shareholders were all present, appearing calm on the surface, but the atmosphere behind their composed expressions was anything but peaceful.

They weren’t concerned about the cause of Chairman Hawthorne’s death; what mattered to them was how the company’s shares would be distributed after his passing.

Vanguard GE wasn’t your typical public company—it was more of a family-run conglomerate. This meant that the Chairman’s selection process was largely symbolic, and the position was usually held by the largest shareholder of H. Dynasty.

Being a family business also meant that the majority of shares were held within the family, with outside shareholders owning only about 30%, including all the minor shares.

Of the remaining shares, Chairman Hawthorne’s second son, Tristan Hawthorne, held 10%, his youngest daughter, Arabella Hawthorne, also held 10%, and both Alexander and Sebastian each held 5%.

Chairman Hawthorne himself held 40% of the shares. How these shares were distributed was crucial, as it would determine who would become the next Chairman of the group.

The Chairman held the highest power within the group, almost single-handedly deciding the company’s direction and the interests of the shareholders.

Since the CEO change and Chairman Hawthorne’s passing, the company’s stock had dropped even more drastically. Despite statements from the leadership insisting that the CEO change wouldn’t affect the company’s strategic planning, the market’s reaction had been largely indifferent.

Thus, everyone hoped that appointing the new Chairman would calm the shareholders and put an end to the stock’s downward spiral.

Arabella joined the shareholders’ meeting via video call from Los Angeles.

Once the video connected, Arabella immediately targeted Sebastian with a sharp tone. "Sebastian, your methods are something else. I must admit, I’m impressed. If it weren’t for the official email from the company, I wouldn’t have even known the CEO had changed!"

It was no secret that Arabella had always favored Alexander among the younger generation of Chairman Hawthorne’s grandchildren. In the past, she had always been a staunch supporter of his proposals.

Sebastian remained calm, his smile unwavering. "Aunt, I think you’ve misunderstood. This was simply the decision of the board of directors."

Ten minutes later, Evelyn and Chairman Hawthorne’s lawyer entered the room.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the shareholders were eager to get to the point.

The lawyer wasted no time. "We are now going to announce Declan Hawthorne’s will. The will addresses assets, including bank deposits, real estate, vehicles, Vanguard GE shares, and other company assets. For now, we’ll focus solely on the distribution of Vanguard GE shares."

"The distribution is as follows: 40% of the shares held by Declan Hawthorne. Of that, 30% will go to his wife, Evelyn Hawthorne, and 10% will go to Alexander. Other assets are distributed separately, which we won’t discuss here. The will has been notarized by the government, and anyone with doubts is welcome to verify the court records."

As soon as the lawyer finished speaking, the shareholders exchanged confused glances, whispering among themselves.

They couldn’t understand why Chairman Hawthorne had made such a decision!

This meant that the largest shareholder in the company was now Evelyn Hawthorne—someone with no experience in company management.

Even Tristan was baffled. Why had his father made this decision?

Was the intention to pass the majority of the shares to his mother, waiting for her death to redistribute them according to his wishes? And why, then, had he given Alexander 10% separately?

Some of the shareholders were beginning to understand.

Arabella immediately pointed out, "Do I even need to ask? Clearly, Dad wasn’t happy with someone. Mom doesn’t know the first thing about running the company, so who exactly is supposed to take the Chairman’s seat?"

At that moment, Evelyn spoke up. "Chairman left me the majority of the shares, but that’s only out of respect for our many years of marriage. I don’t understand these business matters, so I won’t be participating in the Chairman election."

The shareholders exchanged uneasy glances.

It was not uncommon for situations like this to arise in other companies—when an elderly leader passed on all their shares, their descendants would battle for control, and the elder’s kindness would soon be forgotten.

Evelyn came from a modest background. If she held the shares, at least her children and grandchildren would behave accordingly in front of her before her passing—whether sincerely or out of obligation.

Since Evelyn wasn’t participating in the Chairman election, the next largest shareholder was Alexander, who held 15% of the shares.

In other words, Alexander was now poised to become the next Chairman of Vanguard GE!

He held 5% more than Tristan and Arabella—whether Chairman Hawthorne had intended it this way was anyone’s guess.