All Chapters of The Ex Wife's Regret : Chapter 101
- Chapter 110
154 chapters
Chapter 104
Chapter 104JOHN'S POVThe Academy does not celebrate the completion of the simulation.I wake up the morning after expecting some kind of acknowledgment. Results posted, rankings announced, feedback provided. Something to tell us how we did after seventy-two hours of hell.Instead, restrictions are announced.The notice goes up on the main board before breakfast. I read it twice to make sure I'm understanding correctly.Effective immediately: Certain internal databases are temporarily locked pending review. External communication privileges are suspended until further notice. All participants are expected to continue standard curriculum during the interim evaluation period."Protocol review?" Maya says, reading over my shoulder. "What does that mean?""No idea," I say. "But locking databases and suspending communication seems excessive for a standard evaluation period."The shift is framed as procedural, routine maintenance essentially. But the timing is too deliberate to be coincide
Chapter 105
Chapter 105JOHN'S POVThe introduction is scheduled for the next morning assembly. The notice goes up on the board late the previous evening, just a single line: Mandatory attendance. Special introduction of late-arrival participant. 8:00 AM sharp.I wake early, anxiety sitting in my chest like a stone. Something about the timing, the secrecy, the way everything has felt off since the simulation ended, makes this feel oddly significant. I go through my morning routine on autopilot. Shower, dress, skip breakfast because my stomach can't handle food at the moment. The hall is arranged formally when I arrive. Faculty are positioned near the front in a line, their presence deliberate and official. Advanced candidates are seated in the first few rows within clear view of the entrance.I end up in the third row with Diana to my left. Divo is in the second row directly ahead. Ariel is two rows in front of me, sitting with her mother Eleanor beside her.The air carries the residue of unres
Chapter 106
Chapter 106JOHN'S POVRachel is placed within our workshop group by afternoon.The updated roster goes up right after lunch, and I see it immediately. Team Three, Advanced Workshop. My name at the top as provisional coordinator from the simulation. Divo listed second. Diana third. Then Rachel, newly added."Well, that didn't take long," Diana mutters beside me, reading the same list."They're not wasting time," I agree."Are you going to be okay with this?""I'll have to be."The workshop meets in Conference Room B, the same space we've been using all week. I arrive early out of habit, settling into my usual seat. Diana takes her spot to my left. Others filter in gradually.The instructor does not acknowledge the tension when Rachel enters, doesn't introduce her or make any special accommodation for the late addition. But the placement is strategic, obvious to anyone paying attention. She's being inserted directly into the most advanced group, the one with the most complex case studi
Chapter 107
Chapter 107JOHN'S POVThe Academy tightens again overnight, and this time the changes are impossible to miss.I discover it first thing in the morning when I try to access the standard medical database for case study preparation. Instead of the usual login screen, a new prompt appears requesting additional clearance codes I don't have."What the hell?" I mutter, trying again with the same result.At breakfast, everyone's talking about it."They added security layers to everything," Thomas says, frustrated. "I can't even access my own research notes from last week.""Same here," Maya confirms. "Whatever they're locking down, they're being thorough about it.""Anyone know why?" Lawrence asks.Nobody does. Or if they do, they're not saying.Later that morning, I notice something else. Two administrative staff members who've been fixtures in the medical wing since I arrived are simply gone. Their offices are empty, nameplates removed, no explanation posted or provided."Did you see that?
Chapter 108
Chapter 108JOHN'S POVThe alarm slices through the corridor, then dies before anyone fully reacts.For a moment, no one breathes. Rachel and I stand frozen in the maintenance hallway, staring in the direction the sound came from. My heart pounds against my ribs.Then footsteps echo from the main corridors. Voices calling out instructions."Stay calm, please. Return to your dormitories in an orderly fashion.""This is a precautionary measure. Please proceed to designated safe areas."Instructors begin moving us without raising their voices, appearing at corridor junctions to redirect traffic away from the secured wing with steady hands and calm expressions that somehow convey both authority and reassurance. It's the calm that makes it worse. The complete lack of panic or urgency suggests this isn't unexpected. Nothing about this feels accidental.Rachel and I emerge from the maintenance hallway into the flow of participants being herded toward residential areas. She stands close enou
Chapter 109
Chapter 109JOHN'S POVThe Academy feels different the next morning, and it's not just my paranoia.Security at the entrances has doubled. Where there was one guard before, now there are two, checking IDs more carefully, scanning badges with deliberate attention. Two corridors near the administrative wing are blocked off entirely with temporary barriers and official-looking signage that says "Maintenance - Access Restricted."We are told it's temporary. Standard procedure. Nothing to be concerned about.No one believes that.Not after the alarm. Not after Marcus vanished without explanation. The tension running through the Academy now is palpable, participants moving through hallways with heightened awareness, conversations dropping to whispers when instructors pass.Even Divo who usually strides the hallway with radiating confidence seems to have his shoulders lowered. The morning workshop convenes in the same room as yesterday. I arrive a few minutes early, settling into my usual s
Chapter 110
Chapter 110JOHN'S POVThree removals in two days.The number sits heavy in everyone's mind even though no one says it out loud. Marcus yesterday. Sarah and Daniel today. Three people who were here, participating, struggling alongside us, just gone.No one laughs during breaks anymore. The usual scattered conversations and occasional jokes have evaporated completely. People sit in tense silence or speak in low murmurs, glancing at instructors and each other with the constant wariness of prey animals sensing predators nearby.The afternoon session begins and the instructor doesn't reset the scenario like I expected. Instead, he pulls up our failed exercise from this morning."You'll continue from where you left off," he announces. "The spread carries forward. Your earlier mistakes matter now."A quiet groan ripples through the room. Starting fresh would have given us a clean slate to work with, a chance to apply lessons learned. Continuing from failure means we're already behind, befor
Chapter 111
Chapter 111JOHN'S POVPerformance consolidation apparently means there are no more clean slates.I figure that out quickly on the second day of the new phase. The scenario doesn't end when our session time is up. It doesn't reset overnight. It just continues, persistent and unforgiving, carrying forward every decision we made and every consequence we failed to prevent.When we return to the workshop room in the morning, the simulation is exactly where we left it yesterday evening. The infection spread. The resource depletion. The population exposure. Everything carries forward.The scenario runs continuously through the day, accumulating pressure with each passing hour. Decisions stack on top of previous decisions, creating layers of complexity that compound into impossible situations.By afternoon, exhaustion shows in everyone.We're not just tired from today's work. We're carrying yesterday's fatigue and the day before that, accumulated stress that has nowhere to discharge because
Chapter 112
Chapter 112JOHN'S POVThe next phase begins in a smaller hall I haven't been in before, tucked away in a section of the Academy that feels more administrative than educational.No medical equipment. No beds. No containment simulation boards or diagnostic displays.Just desks arranged in neat rows, each with a single chair and a blank workspace."This is different," Diana mutters beside me as we enter."Yeah," I agree quietly. "Very different."The sterile simplicity is somehow more unsettling than the complex medical scenarios we've been running.We file in, taking seats as directed. My usual team is here, plus several others from different groups. Maybe twenty of us total.The instructor at the front is someone new. Older woman, severe expression, professional attire rather than medical uniform."Anyone got any idea on who she is??" Thomas whispers."No idea," Maya responds. "Never seen her before."The woman waits until we're all seated, then speaks without introducing herself."To
Chapter 103
Chapter 113JOHN'S POVRachel doesn't look away from me, even as other participants begin filtering past us in the corridor.The fear in her eyes isn't subtle. It isn't restrained or carefully managed like everything else about her presentation since she arrived. It's raw and immediate, the kind that comes from recognition rather than speculation."Everyone back inside," the instructor's voice cuts through the hallway. "We're not finished."People freeze mid-step, confusion rippling through the group."What?" someone says. "Ybur you dismissed us.""And now I'm recalling you. Return to your seats. Now."We file back into the room reluctantly, the energy completely different now. We're all wary and tense. Rachel moves past me without speaking, taking her seat with rigid posture.The instructor waits until we're all seated."The assessment continues," she says, her tone colder now. "You have your files. Complete the analysis. Predict risk factors. Flag behavioral instability. Identify wh