No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 117

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CHAPTER 0117

ROMAN’S POV

Just after g

getting home from Lauren’s place, I loosened my tie with a sharp tug, the tension in my chest refusing to let up. I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it onto the couch, but my mind was still trapped in the car, haunted by what I had uncovered only minutes ago.

The ride back had been nothing more than a blur. The city lights, the movement of traffic, even the voices of people passing along the sidewalks, all of it felt distant, like I was submerged in water. Because the whole time, one image replayed itself over and over: the blog page, the headline, the truth staring me in the face.

Lauren Darrow. Ex–wife of Ethan Black.

I sank down onto the edge of the couch, elbows resting on my knees, and let out a long exhale. I had discovered something I never thought would ever cross my mind.

When I first met Lauren at that club five years ago, she had looked… young. Tired, yes, almost like the world was pressing her shoulders down with too much weight. But she had been stunning, the kind of beauty that doesn’t announce itself loudly but lingers in the mind like a song you can’t forget. She had seemed ordinary in the best way an average woman with charm, strength, and mystery.

Never, not for one second, did I imagine that at the time she was married.

I leaned back, running my hand down my face. How do I know she was married then? Because the date on that damn blog was from five years ago. A month before I met her. That meant that while she was in front of me, sitting with that usual grin, trying to act like she didn’t want to be there, she had already tied herself to Ethan Black the man I despise more than anyone in this city.

That thought alone made my jaw clench.

I reached for my tablet, powering it on, and pulled up the same site I had been staring at in the back of the car. The glow of the screen lit up my face as I scrolled back to that article.

“Lauren Darrow, ex–wife of billionaire businessman Ethan Black.”

The words felt heavy, like each one had been carved into stone. My eyes traced them again and again, searching for some mistake, some loophole, anything to suggest it wasn’t real. But there it was, black and white, undeniable.

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling. Why?

Why would she marry him? Of all people… Ethan Black. That vulture, that parasite, that pathetic excuse of a man who destroys everything good around him. I know him. I know the way he operates cold, selfish, ruthless in the

worst ways.

So why Lauren?

Did she marry him out of her own will? Or was there something else? Was it forced? Arranged? Or maybe she thought she didn’t have a choice. But this isn’t the old days when families traded women like property. She’s intelligent, independent, and strong–willed. She wouldn’t just marry someone like Ethan unless there was

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more to the story.

I rubbed my temple, frustration simmering in my veins. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

Footsteps echoed across the floor, drawing me from my thoughts. One of the maids appeared, a glass of water balanced carefully in her hand.

“Sir,” she said softly.

I accepted the glass with a faint nod, my throat suddenly dry. Tilting it back, I drank deeply, the cold liquid rushing down as if it could cool the heat burning in my chest. By the time the glass was empty, I had already made up my mind about what I was going to do next.

Setting it down, I stood, my body moving with purpose. There were questions I wanted no, needed to ask Lauren. But what was the point? Each time I tried, she found a way to sidestep them, to wall herself off behind. polite smiles and evasive answers.

No. If she wouldn’t give me the truth directly, then I would find it elsewhere.

1 strode down the hall, past the glow of the chandeliers, and into my office. Normally, after a long day, I avoided this place. The weight of business meetings, deadlines, and deals left me too drained to step foot inside. But today was different. Today I wasn’t here as the CEO of one of the largest companies in the city. I wasn’t here for profit margins or quarterly reports.

I was here to try and uncover Lauren’s past.

I wasn’t naïve. I knew I wasn’t an expert at digging into people’s lives, not the way professionals were. But I had a friend who specialized in that field, someone who could peel back every layer of a person’s history until only the bare truth remained. And once I had gathered what little I could, I would hand the rest to him.

He would dig deeper. Down to the schools she attended, the men she had dated, every connection, every shadow she ever tried to leave behind.

Was it invasive? Maybe. Was it obsessive? Probably. But I couldn’t help myself. I was curious, no, beyond curious. I needed to know if she was in a relationship now, if she was still tied to Ethan somehow, or if she was truly free.

I sat at my desk, fingers poised over the keyboard, the familiar weight of determination settling over me. For all his wealth and power, Ethan Black wouldn’t be able to do this. Most men in his position couldn’t. But me? I had built myself from the ground up, brick by brick, and I knew how to dig where others didn’t even know where to

start.

“Alright, let’s see what we have here,” I muttered, my eyes narrowing at the screen.

Search results poured in, scrolling endlessly, but most of it was useless. Fragments of business achievements, news about her work, articles praising her intelligence. Nothing new.

Still, I forced myself to keep scrolling. The only real lead I had was that one blog, the one I had already dissected. But something told me not to let go of it just yet.

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