The Genius Ex-Wife’s Revenge Portfolio novel Chapter 156

With that, Jessa strutted away on her crystal heels, vanishing into the study.

Ella stood there, frozen.

No one loves you, do they?

The words wouldn’t stop echoing in her mind.

She knew exactly how Jessa saw her. To Jessa, she was just some shadowy outsider, always hanging around, wanting what wasn’t hers—a mother she’d lost, David she could never reach. She was the girl with nothing, the girl nobody cared about.

Jessa pitied her.

A sharp, stinging pain shot through Ella’s chest, spreading until she could barely breathe. The cruelest part was how twisted it all felt. Jessa’s mother and Jessa’s David were supposed to be hers, once.

Ella stared at the study’s closed door. If Jessa pleaded with him, would David really let Wesley go?

Jessa had told her to listen in, but in this moment, Ella realized she had no courage left.

She couldn’t bear to listen.

The warmth she’d felt just moments ago faded, replaced by a cold ache. She should never have let herself hope for anything from David.

No hope meant no disappointment. No more wounds.

The maid came over with a bowl of ice. “Ma’am, please, you should put this on your face.”

Ella shook her head. “It’s fine. I don’t need it.”

…

Inside the study, David sat at his desk, flipping through paperwork. Jessa walked up behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. “David, I heard you’ve got Wesley.”

David glanced up. “Did Carter talk to you?”

His eyes were sharp and impossible to read.

Jessa nodded, not bothering to hide it. “Yeah, he did. David, just let Wesley go. Your families have always been close, and you do business together. Are you really willing to wreck that relationship for Ella? She’s not worth it.”

Not worth it.

David didn’t even look up from his papers. His voice was icy. “Take Miss Irvine home.”

Aiden turned to Jessa. “Miss Irvine, this way, please.”

Jessa started shaking, her anger bubbling over. She was being thrown out, just like Carter.

She stormed toward the door, then suddenly stopped and turned around. “David, are you refusing because she’s a girl, or because she’s Ella?”

David finally looked her way, his voice flat and impatient. “Leave.”

Leave.

That was it. The last straw.

Jessa’s hand shot out and knocked a vase off the table. It crashed onto the floor, shards flying everywhere.

It was the first time they’d ever fought like this because of Ella.

Jessa stormed out, leaving David alone in a room that felt colder than ice. The chill in the air was enough to keep everyone else far, far away.