Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 153

Emmy pulled up and parked, only to find the gate locked tight.

A woman sweeping the sidewalk wandered over and nodded toward the house. “Looking for that weird old lady? Her grandson just picked her up.”

“Weird old lady?” Emmy echoed, thrown by the nickname.

“Yeah,” the woman replied with a shrug. “She’s been here for years, but she keeps to herself. Never talks to anyone. We all just call her that.”

Got it, Emmy thought. She glanced at the empty yard—looks like she was too late.

Honestly, that was a relief. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a couple of complete strangers.

Back in her car, she grabbed her phone out of habit. A news alert popped up right away.

All Nelson Corporation websites gone dark—public memorial or sign of big changes?

The picture showed the Nelson logo, stark and silent on a pitch-black background. The whole thing felt heavy and tense.

Emmy remembered what Abriella had said earlier—that today was kind of a big deal.

But just how big? Had something happened at Nelson years ago, something so terrible it shook the company to its core? Maybe even cost lives? Was this their quiet way of honoring it?

A chill ran down her spine. Emmy gripped the steering wheel, suddenly desperate to just get home.

That night, after reading a little for work, Emmy kept going back and forth on whether to call James and clear the air.

You can’t just let misunderstandings hang forever. The longer it sits, the worse it gets.

She bit her lip, finally opened James’s chat, and typed: Did you see my social network post?

Worried he wouldn’t know which one, she quickly sent another: The one from last night.

She waited. Nothing.

Just as she was about to close the chat, a little “James is typing...” popped up at the top.

She shot up in bed, staring at her phone, heart pounding.

Seconds dragged by. Still typing...

Was he writing a whole essay? Getting ready to lecture her or something?

Time crawled. It felt like forever.

“I know you’re mad, but that doesn’t mean you get to call me a jerk,” Dean said, his tone softening. “I’m not a player, I don’t cheat, I’ve never two-timed anyone. How am I a jerk?”

Sure. He wasn’t a player. He wasn’t a cheater. He was even faithful.

But in another life, they’d spent seven years together, and his heart was always with someone else.

Wasn’t that enough?

She didn’t even want to argue. She just wanted this call over.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it. If not, I’m hanging up.”

Dean suddenly blurted out, “I’m getting married.”

Emmy raised her eyebrows. “Congrats, I guess.”

“I’m not telling you this to get at you or anything,” Dean rushed to say. “I’m not that childish. I met Eve’s mom today—the wedding’s set for the holidays. You’re the first person I wanted to tell.”

“Great. Got it. I’m hanging up now.”

“Emmy!” Dean’s voice shot up, desperate. “How long are you going to keep pretending? I’m getting married and you’re not even a little upset?”