No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 106

CHAPTER 0106

ROMAN’S POV

I sat back in my chair and let out a long, heavy sigh, dragging a hand across my face as the adrenaline of the evening finally began to fade. “What a day,” I muttered to myself, my voice barely more than a whisper in the stillness of my office. The gala was finally over, and although the clinking of glasses and scattered chatter still echoed faintly from the hall, in here there was nothing but silence.

The event had gone exactly as planned. Every detail had been executed with precision- the décor, the speeches, the entertainment, the presentations. I’d spoken to nearly every shareholder, shaken every hand that mattered, and made certain that they left satisfied. Their expressions alone had been enough to tell me we had succeeded. Hale Industries‘ thirtieth anniversary was no small milestone, and tonight I’d made sure it would be remembered as proof of our strength and stability.

But of course, there had been one element I hadn’t accounted for.

Ethan Black.

I leaned my head back against the chair and exhaled sharply. What the hell had he been doing here? A rival CEO, attending my company’s anniversary gala, it didn’t make sense. Maybe he had shown up just to watch us fail, hoping to gloat if things had gone south. I could picture the smug look that would have crept across his face if even the smallest detail had faltered. But nothing had faltered. He’d had to stand there, silently watching, as everything turned out perfectly. That, at least, was satisfying.

I scoffed softly, though the satisfaction was short–lived. My mind drifted away from Ethan, away from the applause and the investors, and back to the one thing that had shaken me tonight.

Her.

Lauren Darrow.

Five years. It had been five whole years since I last laid eyes on her. For a while, I had truly believed time would dull the sharpness of her image in my mind, that the years would soften the memory of her face until it became little more than a blur. But the moment I saw her again tonight standing there in the crowd, her eyes as they met mine, it was as if no time had passed at all.

Every memory came rushing back with startling clarity. Her voice, the way she had looked at me that night five years ago. And the way I had felt with her – God, I could still feel it now. The jolt of electricity that had shot through me when our bodies had collided, the intensity of the passion between us, the raw connection that I hadn’t been able to replicate with anyone else. Even after all this time, just one glance at her was enough to reignite everything.

I rubbed my temples, trying to calm the storm inside me. She had been uncomfortable when she’d first realized I was her boss that much had been obvious. That discomfort was part of the reason I hadn’t pushed things back then. I’d told myself she needed time, that eventually she’d grow used to my presence. I thought we had time.

But then, without warning, she was gone.

I remembered the day I had walked into the office, asking where she was, only to be met with the manager’s carefully composed expression. The board had made an “emergency transfer,” they said. Lauren Darrow had

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been sent to the Italy branch.

I was furious. Furious at the board, at the manager, at the entire damn situation. I scolded the manager harshly, demanding why I hadn’t been informed first, why such a decision had been made without me. But as much as I hated to admit it, the reasoning made sense. The Italy branch had been on the verge of collapse, and they needed someone to turn it around. Lauren had been their choice.

Still, the fact that she had left without me getting her number, without even the chance for a proper goodbye, gnawed at me.

For years afterward, I’d kept tabs on the Italy branch, watching its miraculous recovery under her leadership. She was thriving there, accomplishing everything the board had hoped and more. Somewhere deep down, I had convinced myself she’d started a new life there maybe she had found someone, maybe she was even married by now. The thought stung more than I cared to admit.

After three years of silence, I had forced myself to let go chasing after a ghost.

Until tonight.

There was no way to contact her, and no point in

Until she appeared again, like some haunting flame I thought I’d extinguished, and I realized with startling clarity that I’d never truly forgotten her at all.

I clenched my jaw, irritation prickling at me again not at her, but at the people around me. No one had thought it necessary to inform me she was back at headquarters. The manager had kept this from me, and I wouldn’t let that slide. This was the last straw. She needed to understand that decisions like this were not hers to make. If

she thought she could keep secrets from me, she was mistaken. One more misstep like this, and she’d lose her job.

But anger aside, the image of Lauren tonight burned too brightly in my mind to be ignored. She had been. standing in the crowd, surrounded by faces, and yet all I could see was her. Even after five years, her beauty hadn’t faded, it had only sharpened. Her figure was flawless, her presence commanding in a way that made my breath catch. She was radiant, stronger, more refined, as though time itself had been shaping her into the very best version of herself.

And now now she is back.

This time, I wouldn’t make the same mistake. I wasn’t going to let her slip away without showing her that I wanted to be part of her life. If it meant starting small, starting as friends, so be it.

A knock interrupted my thoughts. Soft, deliberate. I straightened immediately, my body instinctively falling back into composure. That knock could only belong to my men.

“Come in,” I said, my voice firm, betraying none of the chaos still twisting inside me.

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