The Genius Ex-Wife’s Revenge Portfolio novel Chapter 7

Ella showed up just as the night was getting started.

After hours of shopping, Fiona didn’t even give her a chance to catch her breath. She dragged Ella straight to Club 1996, determined to throw the biggest single-girl celebration anyone had ever seen.

What Ella didn’t expect was to run right into David and his crew. She heard the laughter, the snide comments floating her way. She knew those faces in the VIP booth. Cedric and the others had always been part of David’s crowd. Cedric was David’s best friend. He used to go on about Jessa.

Over the past three years, Ella had never managed to fit in with them. They made sure she knew it. The labels they stuck on her were always the same: “the desperate stand-in bride,” “the ugly duckling,” “that country girl who doesn’t belong.”

When a man doesn’t love you, his friends never bother to pretend.

Fiona was furious, ready to throw down right then and there. She started rolling up her sleeves. “I swear, Ella, give me two seconds and I’ll shut them up for good.”

Ella caught her arm, shaking her head. “Don’t. It’s not worth it. I’m divorced, Fiona. They’re just noise.”

Looking at Ella’s cool, almost unbothered expression, Fiona forced herself to calm down. Just then, whispers started spreading through the club. People were looking over, eyes wide, voices rising. Someone called Ella a cutie. Fiona grinned, her mood lifting instantly. “Let’s go, Ella. Tonight’s about you. Let’s party.”

She swept Ella away to another VIP section, tossing her purse onto the table. “Bring out all the escorts. Every last one!” she called out.

Back across the room, Cedric and the other trust fund kids were still laughing—until a chill crept over them. They glanced up and saw David watching them, eyes sharp and cold, his whole vibe a silent warning.

The laughter died on their lips. None of them dared say another word about Ella.

Cedric looked over at David. For all his indifference, David had been taken care of by Ella for three years. Maybe that meant something, even if he’d never shown her any real attention.

Suddenly the buzz in the club got louder. “She’s gorgeous. Like a celebrity.”

Cedric nudged him, grinning. “Well? What do you think?”

One of the other guys scoffed. “I bet she’s not his type. He likes them soft and sweet, like Jessa. Not someone so icy and out of reach.”

“Look at her legs, though,” another whispered. “They’re just as good as Jessa’s.”

Ella was wearing a short, designer skirt for the first time, showing off legs she’d always kept hidden. They were long, slender, perfectly shaped, the kind of legs that made you stare and forget what you were saying.

Just as good as Jessa’s.

David watched the so-called cutie for another moment. Something about her seemed familiar, as if he’d seen her before, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.