The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 293

Winona bit her lip. "That's not what I meant."

Before she could continue, Yves said, "Julian and his daughter are watching us. You don't want him to know where we stand, do you?"

Winona nodded. "No."

"Then if you don't want to go out and celebrate with me, I'll take you home," he said, casually draping his arm around her and guiding her toward his Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

His embrace was broad and strong, and she looked small and delicate nestled against him. From behind, they looked like a long-term couple, comfortable and deeply connected. The sight was a bitter pill for Julian to swallow. He had never given her that kind of affection; their relationship had always been one-sided. Only now did he truly realize she was gone for good, happily in the arms of another man. She looked lovely, radiant, like a woman in love.

But she no longer belonged to him.

Yves had his driver, Caleb, take Winona's car with Mia and her grandmother. He drove Winona home himself. The moment the car door closed, the intimacy between them vanished.

She picked up where she had left off. "Yves, my sister, my grandmother, and my son all rely on you, but I..."

He cut her off again. "I was there in the courtroom. I saw how you handled Julian. He never stood a chance. A woman with your intelligence and ruthlessness... why would you ever be interested in me?"

"That's why you won't go out and celebrate with me, as Mia suggested. If I couldn't even figure that much out, I wouldn't have survived this long in Greenwood City."

Her voice was firm. "I can be your mistress. I keep my promises. But only your mistress."

"My ex-husband dragged this out for three months, pushing me into a corner. I had to make a choice between two evils and turn to you for help, which earned me the delightful nickname 'professional mistress' and the hatred of the entire city. Even in court today, the Nicholsons were still accusing me of using their money to support my 'boy toys'."

"Do you think anyone cares about my dignity?"

"In a situation like this, all I could do was go all in. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't, so I decided to make it count."

"You powerful people have the ability to twist black into white. But people like me, my grandma, my sister, my son—the supporting cast—we have to survive too, don't we?"

"I was reading the comments earlier. Most people were praising me, saying I was brilliant. But some were asking why I didn't just post my marriage certificate online months ago. Why endure three months of abuse and public slander?"