My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 159

Vivienne’s POV

When Sophie saw the message, she grinned mischievously and handed me her phone. "Vivienne, look at this! He wants your contact info!"

I still thought they were reading too much into it. "Didn’t I tell you? He just wants to compensate me for my ruined clothes."

Sophie raised an eyebrow and replied to Nathaniel, "Why does he want your WhatsApp?"

The text box at the top of the screen lit up for a moment before Nathaniel sent his response. "I stained the lady’s clothes. I should pay for the cleaning costs."

I glanced at the message, shrugged, and said, "See? I told you..."

Before I could finish, Nathaniel sent another message. "Also, she’s really pretty."

Sophie burst into laughter, teasing, "Vivienne, what’s your excuse now?"

I turned my gaze away, casually glancing in Nathaniel’s direction, and our eyes briefly met. I quickly looked away, feeling incredibly awkward.

I wasn’t even considering starting a new relationship right now. Even if I did, I wouldn’t choose someone younger than me.

Maybe I was just craving affection, but I leaned more toward finding a mature, steady man who could be patient with me and make me feel the warmth of home—like a father would.

A lot of college students these days still act like children, and I was already exhausted. I had no interest in watching some kid grow up.

After spending three days in Oslo, the three of us headed to Tromsø.

Alexander’s POV

I had just returned to The Crescent Estates.

As soon as I stepped inside, a little kitten ran up to me.

I paused, looking down at it from above.

It made me think back to when Vivienne had been recovering in the villa—quiet and withdrawn. If it hadn’t been for Ziggy keeping her company and giving her something to focus on, her condition might have worsened.

She didn’t love me, but she cared deeply for the child. If she had truly lost a child before, why did she act as though that child had never existed?

Ziggy, oblivious to human gazes, climbed onto my shoe, its sharp claws catching onto the hem of my suit trousers as it tried to climb higher.

I scooped Ziggy up, intending to head upstairs.

Just then, Gabriella walked out from the bathroom, carrying a bag of trash. "Sir, you’re back," she said.

I gave a low grunt in acknowledgment.

Gabriella instinctively glanced at me.

I must have lost weight. My face had become more angular, my eyes sunken, and deep creases had formed around my brow, making my features sharper. My brow bone jutted out, and my eyebrows furrowed in a way that made me look even more inscrutable. My presence was more imposing, radiating a natural authority that made anyone hesitant to meet my eyes.

Gabriella quickly looked away, sighing quietly. It had been a tough time for me—first, my grandfather’s passing, then Vivienne’s miscarriage, followed by our divorce, and the car accident. After all that, how could anyone not lose weight?

"Mrs. Hawthorne asked me to give you this box before she left."

I stopped in my tracks, my hand pausing on Ziggy’s back as I raised my eyes to Gabriella.

She hurried to retrieve the box. It was beautifully crafted, with inlaid mother-of-pearl on its surface.

Opening it, I found several delicate jewelry boxes inside.

"Mrs. Hawthorne asked me to tell you that these are the pieces of jewelry you gave her. They were too precious, and she didn’t need them, so she wanted me to return them to you."

I set Ziggy down and walked over slowly, picking up a box and opening it. Inside was a necklace.

It was the one I had bought for her on the way to Ashford Manor, the day I finished my interview. She may have opened it once, but she never actually wore it.

The other boxes contained various pieces of jewelry—necklaces, bracelets, bangles, earrings, brooches, and so on.

They must have all been gifts from me.

Except for the necklace, I didn’t remember the rest of them.

These must have been chosen by Jane on my instructions. I had never even looked at them myself.

Then, in the box, I noticed a few small square boxes—definitely ring boxes.

I opened one and found a woman’s ring inside.

It was the matching ring I had bought for her the day Victor apologized—his apology, our matching wedding bands.

When the custom rings arrived, I had placed it on her finger myself.

I still remembered the way the ring looked on her fair finger.

I had never paid attention to my own ring, but now I realized that hers must have been removed long ago.

I stared at the ring for a long while, my gaze clouded.

I returned the ring to its box, closed the case, and carried it upstairs.

At eight in the evening, inside the private room of the club, the atmosphere was dim and noisy.

Maximus pushed open the door, greeted Jasper and a few others, then scanned the room. He walked over to the corner sofa and sat next to me, casually asking, "Why are you sitting here?"

"Peace and quiet," I replied, my voice calm and steady.

"Divorced?" Maximus asked, pulling a cigarette pack from his pocket.

"Mm."

Maximus glanced at me briefly and tossed a cigarette my way.

I lit it with his lighter and took a drag.

"Where is she now?" Maximus exhaled a ring of smoke.

"Traveling with friends in Norway."

Seeing my calm demeanor, Maximus raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You just let her go like that? If it were a woman I liked, I wouldn’t let her go so easily!"

I stayed silent, tapping the ash off my cigarette before placing it back between my teeth.

Letting go... how could I?

If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have let Frederick put a tracker on her.

If I hadn’t found out about that thing all of a sudden, I’d be in Norway right now.

Maximus, unaware of the details, saw my silence and assumed I was truly letting go. "This isn’t like you."

"I need time."

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the sofa, slightly parting my lips. A swirl of smoke floated up in delicate circles, vanishing into the air.

That incident was like a bee that flew through my heart, leaving behind a sting that remained deeply embedded in my flesh.

If I didn’t understand it, that sting would keep reminding me—she had a child with another man.

But tragically, I only found out about it after I had fallen in love with her! Completely unprepared! Completely blindsided!

Letting go—I couldn’t do it.

I knew clearly that I truly loved Vivienne, and I couldn’t bear to part with the three years we’d spent together.

She was like an unassuming jasmine flower, silently and imperceptibly seeping into every corner of my life without me even realizing it.

It was true that time deepens feelings.

But she had a child with another man, and that man might still have a place in her heart—perhaps even an irreplaceable one.

I didn’t know what I should do to make Vivienne care even a little bit about me.

Just the thought of that child made my heart twist, like a trapped beast, struggling and roaring in agony, itching to lash out, to tear that man apart!

"Something happened?" Maximus asked, noticing the expression on my face.

I remained silent, holding the cigarette in one hand while I poured myself a glass of liquor and drank it in one go.

Maximus, sensing my mood, didn’t press further. "Healing too fast? Drink less."

"Alexander? You smoke now too?" Victor approached and sat down.

I snapped back to reality and replied nonchalantly, "I smoke when I feel like it."

"I heard you and Vivienne got divorced?"

"Mm."

There was a brief pause, and the room fell quiet for a moment.

Although some were playing cards and others were drinking, their peripheral vision was on us.

There had long been rumors that I married Vivienne because she had caught Chairman Hawthorne’s eye, and the earlier interview clarifying the matter was forced by Chairman Hawthorne.

Now, Chairman Hawthorne had passed away not long ago, and I had already divorced Vivienne, confirming the rumors.

Isabella hadn’t appeared in the media for a while, either.

There were whispers that my divorce from Vivienne was to marry Isabella, and that I didn’t want her to be in the public eye anymore.

Victor knew part of the story and understood that Vivienne had initiated the divorce after her miscarriage.

Although he had never been fond of Vivienne, she was still my wife and it was my child.

He was about to offer some comfort when someone, oblivious to the situation, spoke up:

"Congratulations, Mr. Hawthorne, for getting out of the nightmare. Honestly, you should’ve divorced her a long time ago. A man as outstanding as you—how could someone like Vivienne be worthy of you?"