All Chapters of The Ex Wife's Regret : Chapter 81
- Chapter 90
154 chapters
Chapter 84
JOHN'S POVThe challenge room is nothing like the small practice rooms I've been working in. It's larger, more deliberate in its arrangement. Chairs curve in a half circle around the central examination area, close enough that observers can track every movement and every decision made in real time.I stand at the entrance for a moment, taking it all in. Families sit in the back rows, some leaning forward already paying attention to what's about to unravel, others affecting casual disinterest that doesn't quite land. Evaluators occupy the front, notepads open, pens ready. Dr. Hayes is there. Professor Nika. Mr. Carter with his sharp, X-ray like eyes.And Elder Ming, seated slightly apart from the others, his expression unreadable.The patient sits in a chair positioned exactly between two stations, one assigned to me and one to Divo. The symmetry feels intentional, like the setup itself is making a statement about balance and competition before either of us has done anything.Divo is
Chapter 85
JOHN'S POVThe corridor outside the challenge room fills quickly. People spill out from the observation seats, clustering in low, restless groups, talking in the hushed tones people use when they're not sure what just happened but know it was significant.Nobody leaves. That's the telling part. They're all waiting for something, a verdict, a result, some official word from behind the closed doors that will tell them how to feel about what they just watched.The doors stay closed.I lean against the wall a little way from the main crowd, giving myself space to breathe. My team finds me within minutes."What happened in there?" Thomas asks, unable to help himself. "They cut it off right at the most interesting part.""I noticed," I say."Your hands were steady the whole time," Maya says, studying me with that direct assessment she applies to everything. "Even when they messed with the lighting. Even when the patient's condition shifted. You didn't flinch.""Neither did Divo," I point ou
Chapter 86
JOHN'S POVThe summons comes through a runner, he's a young assistant I've seen around the Academy but never spoken to. He delivers the message without making eye contact, hands me a small folded card, and walks away before I can ask questions.The card has two words in Elder Ming's elegant script.“Tea house.”I go after dinner, when the garden paths are quiet and most participants are in their rooms processing the day. The evening air is cool and smells like rain that hasn't arrived yet.The tea house feels quieter than before. The same small space, the same paper screens, the same low table. But the stillness tonight is heavier, weighted with intention in a way our first meeting wasn't. Last time felt like an introduction. This feels like something else.Elder Ming is already seated, two cups set out, steam rising. He looks up when I enter but doesn't smile this time."I thought you wouldn't show up, please sit," he says simply.“Why would I ignore such an invitation” I say as I ta
Chapter 87
Chapter 87JOHN'S POVThe schedule change hits before breakfast is even finished.A notice goes up on the main board while most people are still eating, and the ripple it creates moves through the dining hall fast. Heads turn. Chairs scrape the floor as people move out. People abandon half eaten food to go read it, then come back to their tables wearing expressions that range from confusion, disappointment to alarming. Lawrence returns to our table with the look of someone carrying information he hasn't decided how to deliver yet."Well, I have good news and bad news.” He says. “What's the gas news?” I ask, already pausing from the food in eating. “The groupings changed," he says, sitting down.“And the good news?” Maya asks. “Oh, the groupings have changed” he says again. "For what?" Maya asks."Everything today apparently. Morning briefing, afternoon sessions, practice assignments. All of it reshuffled." He glances at me. "Your name moved.""Where?""Well for one it's a new gro
Chapter 88
Chapter 88JOHN'S POVI wake before the morning bell, which isn't unusual anymore. Sleep has been thin and unreliable since the comparative challenge, my mind refusing to fully settle down even when exhaustion should drag me under.The closed door evaluation is scheduled for late afternoon, leaving the entire day stretched tight with anticipation. Every hour between now and then feels like something to get through rather than live in.I sit up and swing my legs off the bed, feet finding the cold stone floor. The room is still dark, the window showing only the faint gray that comes before actual sunrise. I stay sitting for a moment, letting myself wake fully before moving.The shared washroom down the hall is empty this early. I stand under the water longer than necessary, letting the heat work into my shoulders where tension has taken up permanent residence. The steam fills the small space, obscuring the mirror, which is fine. I don't particularly want to see my own face right now.Ba
Chapter 89
Chapter 89JOHN’S POVThe closed-door room is smaller than the public challenge hall. That’s the first thing I notice when I step inside.Not the evaluators. Not the locked door. Not even the absence of audience.The size.The challenge hall is built for spectacle, rows of seats, bright lights, the constant hum of people pretending not to judge you while absolutely judging you. This room feels like someone took a storage office and decided it was good enough to crush reputations inside.Three evaluators sit behind a narrow rectangular table. No elevated platform. No audience gallery. No observers pretending to take neutral notes.Just three of them.And me.The door shuts behind me with a soft click. It sounds louder than it should.“John,” the woman in the center says without looking up from her tablet. Her hair is tied back neatly, streaks of gray running through black like she earned every strand through other people’s incompetence. “Take your position.”Take your position. Like I’
Chapter 90
Chapter 90JOHN'S POVI wake the next morning feeling like I barely slept. The closed door evaluation ran late, and by the time I got back, my mind wouldn't settle. I kept replaying that evaluator's silence, the way he studied me before closing the file.The washroom is busy. I wait my turn, step under the water when a stall opens, and let it run hot. Back in my room, I dress in the standard clothes and lace my boots carefully.At breakfast, there's a notice board near the entrance. My name has moved again.The aftermath of the evaluation does not bring clarity. No results announced. No feedback. Instead, group schedules shift again without explanation.I scan the board. I am reassigned to a smaller advanced workshop focused on complex cases. Starts in an hour. Conference Room D."Your name got moved again it seems," Maya says, appearing beside me."Yeah.""Advanced workshop. That's supposed to be for top performers. Usually only eight or ten people get assigned there.""Who else is i
Chapter 91
JOHN'S POVThe day stretches into evening without relief. I'm heading back to my room after the workshop, already mentally exhausted, when an announcement crackles over the PA system."Mandatory dinner this evening. All participants and selected family representatives. Assembly hall at seven. Attendance is required."I stop in the corridor and close my eyes. Of course. Of course there's more.Thomas appears beside me. "Did you hear that?""It would be impossible to not hear it.""A compulsory dinner sounds like torture," he says."It will be," I agree.Back in my room, I change into cleaner clothes. The Academy provided formal wear at the start, simple but presentable. I pull on the dark shirt and pants, check that everything sits properly, and try not to think about how much I'd rather skip this entirely.At seven, I make my way to the assembly hall. It's transformed from the sparse space used for announcements into something resembling an actual formal dining room. Long tables arran
Chapter 92
JOHN'S POVI wake with the dull ache of yesterday still sitting in my chest. The networking dinner left something heavy behind, something that doesn't fade with sleep or morning routine. But I don't have a choice, I still go through the motions anyway. Shower, dress, and making sure my boots are laced well as funny as that may sound. The following morning does not reset the tension from the day before. Instead, it simply compounds it. The dining hall buzzes differently today. Although conversations appear to cluster tightly, voices lowered but urgent. Something is moving through the participant population like a current.I grab my food and head to find my team."You hear?" Thomas asks immediately. Barely letting me settle down. "Hear what?" I say as I take my sit. "Mentorship offers," Maya says, leaning in. "Word is that a few selected participants from the closed door evaluations will receive a private mentorship from senior instructors."My stomach tightens. "Where'd you hear th
Chapter 93
Chapter 93JOHN'S POVI do not open the sealed note again until I am alone in my room. The corridor noise fades behind my closed door, and I sit on the edge of my bed with the folded paper still in my hand.The weight hasn't lessened. If anything, it feels heavier now that I'm actually about to read it.I read it three more times, parsing each phrase for hidden meaning.Advanced mentorship track sounds positive. But this opportunity can be taken away as easily as it was given.I fold the note and set it on my desk, then lie back on the bed and stare at the ceiling.Sleep doesn't come easily. My mind keeps turning over possibilities, outcomes, what this means for my standing here.By morning, others already know.I don't know how information spreads so fast in this place, but it does. By the time I reach breakfast, people are looking at me differently.The shift in behavior is subtle but immediate. Some treat me with more caution than before, like I've moved into a category that requir