My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 155

After leaving Ashford Manor, I took my luggage to Sophie’s place.

Sophie didn’t live at home; instead, she had a spacious, bright, and cozy flat. From the balcony, the whole city seemed to be right at my feet. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

I thought to myself, Once I’m back from my travels, maybe I’ll buy a place like this—live on my own and enjoy my own company.

But that was something for the future.

Sophie had already planned out our travel route.

A few days ago, when she came to visit me, she took my passport with her and handled all the visa and flight arrangements.

I spent the evening at her flat, re-packing my travel luggage.

Later that night, Sophie, Ariana, and I headed to the airport for our first stop: Norway.

Norway, one of the five Nordic countries, is known for its winter trips, with skiing and the Aurora Borealis as the main attractions.

Sophie’s plan was to chase the Aurora, immerse ourselves in Norwegian culture, with skiing as more of a side activity.

I’d always longed to see the Aurora—I’d only ever seen pictures, never witnessed it in person.

When I heard Sophie’s plan, I was immediately captivated.

In the airport lounge, Sophie pulled out her phone and zoomed in on the map, excitedly explaining, “We’ll spend two days in Oslo, then head to Tromsø to chase the Aurora. After that, we’ll rent a car and drive to Sommarøy Island and the Lofoten Islands, take a cruise to Svolvær, and then we’ll rent a car for five more days. On our way back, we can stop in Saint Petersburg for a few days. What do you think?”

“Sounds good, just arrange it,” I replied casually.

Ariana did the math. “That’s at least a two-week trip. My vacation will be over by then.”

“You can return from Saint Petersburg, and Vivienne and I can go somewhere else. We can travel until New Year’s Day and then come back,” Sophie laughed. “Vivienne, is there anywhere you really want to go?”

I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “No, just arrange it however you like.”

Sophie gave my arm a playful shake. “Come on, give me some suggestions! This trip is mainly to celebrate your newfound freedom as a single woman. You need to have some say in it!”

“Well... Let’s talk about it when we leave Norway.”

“Alright.” Sophie glanced at her watch. “It’s almost time for boarding.”

“I’ll go to the bathroom,” I said, grabbing a tissue from my bag and standing up.

“I’ll go too,” Sophie immediately followed me.

After coming out of the bathroom stall, I was washing my hands when I suddenly heard Sophie call out loudly, “Vivienne, are you done? Wait for me outside.”

“Okay,” I replied, stepping out to wait for her.

Bored, I looked around, and suddenly, a man’s figure appeared in my line of sight.

I glanced at him instinctively, and something about him seemed familiar.

I shifted my gaze back to him, focusing, and my face instantly turned pale, as if I’d seen something terrifying.

That face—the last face I’d seen before I lost consciousness after the car accident.

At the intersection, when the car collided with the truck and exploded in flames, I remembered lifting my head before passing out and seeing the driver’s smile. That smile was twisted and cold, deeply etched into my mind.

Whenever the nightmares came, that face would appear again and again, tormenting me, refusing to be erased.

Since the accident, I had never received an apology from the driver—only forced compensation from the court.

Because I insisted on the driver facing severe punishment, the compensation wasn’t much—just about all of the driver’s savings.

If I were just an ordinary orphan, it might have taken me years to get that money. But because of my father’s identity, the car accident quickly caught the public’s attention. With the help of Chairman Hawthorne and the media, the driver—who had caused a fatal accident while driving under the influence and fled the scene—was sentenced to seven years in prison, which was considered a fairly harsh punishment.

Now, seven years have passed, and the driver is long out of prison.

Though no punishment, no matter how severe, could ever heal the pain of losing my father, there was nothing more I could do.

The driver clearly didn’t recognize me. He walked straight past me and entered the men’s restroom.

“Vivienne, what are you looking at?” Sophie came out of the restroom, saw me staring blankly, and followed my gaze toward the men’s restroom, but saw nothing.

“Nothing,” I shook my head. “Let’s go, we’re about to board the flight.”

“Okay.”

I kept glancing back at the men’s restroom, a thread of doubt creeping into my mind.

When the police and the prosecution investigated back then, the truck driver’s family seemed pretty ordinary, even poor. So why was he here?

While some flights are now cheaper than train tickets, this is the VIP lounge for international flights. The planes waiting to depart were all heading to Northern Europe, a long haul, and during the peak tourist season, tickets cost thousands of dollars. For a truck driver’s family, that was an enormous expense.

I was lost in thought, not paying attention to where I was going. Suddenly, I bumped into a man, and he nearly lost his balance. Thankfully, Sophie quickly steadied me.

“I’m so sorry, so sorry,” I snapped out of my daze and quickly apologized.

“It’s fine,” the man said curtly before hurrying off.

“Vivienne, what’s going on with you? You seem distracted. I even tried to warn you, but you didn’t react,” Sophie said, frowning as she looked at me.

“It’s nothing.”

Sophie eyed me suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. “You’re not still thinking about that jerk Alexander, are you?”

“No, no, you’re overthinking it,” I quickly denied.

“I’m just asking. Why are you reacting like this? I must have guessed right, didn’t I?”

I fell silent.

After nearly ten hours of flying, we finally arrived in Oslo around 2:00 PM local time and took a taxi to the hotel we had booked.

Alexander’s POV

I leaned back against the sofa, closing my eyes to rest, my fingers occasionally brushing the phone on the armrest as if I were waiting for some kind of message.

The phone rang, and I quickly answered, my movements tinged with impatience. "Hello?"

On the other end, Frederick’s voice came through. "CEO Hawthorne—oh wait, I should be calling you Chairman Alexander Hawthorne now!"

I frowned, my tone sharp. "Frederick, cut to the chase. You know what I want to hear."

I could hear the sound of a lighter flicking, followed by Frederick’s laughter. "Mr. Hawthorne, no need to rush. Ms. Vivienne and her group are headed to Norway. I saw them board the flight myself. I even overheard them talking about spending a few days in Oslo before heading to Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands..."

"That’s not it," I interrupted coldly.

"Alright, alright! Don’t worry. You don’t trust me? The tracker’s already on Ms. Vivienne. She won’t even notice it," Frederick said, his voice full of confidence.