All Chapters of Ex Wife's Collapse After Divorce: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
21 chapters
Chapter one
"Sorry, sir. Ms. Lockwood and her gentleman are hosting a celebration upstairs. We don't accept visitors without an appointment."Ethan's fingers tightened around the gift box.What? Her gentleman? Then who was him?Three years of marriage, and he'd never once set foot inside Lockwood Industries. That was Vivian's rule. She said mixing personal life with business would invite gossip, would undermine her authority. He'd understood. He'd always understood and followed.But today was their third anniversary. He'd spent two weeks picking the perfect gift — a limited-edition Cartier bracelet that had cost him every penny of his savings, and decided to make an exception to secretly come, so that she would receive an impressive surprise.But now he stood in the lobby, and a security guard was telling him his wife was upstairs with her gentleman. Ethan swallowed hard. It doesn’t make sense."There must be a mistake," Ethan said. His voice came out steady, but his pulse hammered against his
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter two
The front door opened at 6:47 AM. Vivian stumbled into view, one arm slung around Damian Hale's neck. Her red dress from the party was wrinkled, the zipper half-undone at the back. Damian's collar was open three buttons too many, and there was a smudge of that same lipstick on his jaw.They reeked of champagne and something worse.Ethan looked at them from the couch and said nothing.Vivian blinked when she saw him. For half a second, something crossed her face — not guilt, not quite. More like mild inconvenience, the way you feel when you find a dish you forgot to wash."Oh. You're up this early." She shrugged off her coat and held it out toward him without looking. "Hang this up."Not why are you sitting in the dark. Not I can explain. Not even good morning, something she used to say.Hang this up.Like he was the coat rack now.Damian leaned against the doorframe, one hand still resting on the small of Vivian's back. He looked at Ethan with the expression of a man sizing up furnitu
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter three
Ethan stared at her. What caught him off guard was the smile.Aurora Sinclair didn't smile. Not like this. The woman was carved from ice in front of the public. Cold. Untouchable. The kind of beauty that made men fantasize and women seethe.Rumor had it the richest man in Crestwood had pursued her publicly. She'd shut him down without blinking, told him flat-out he wasn't her type. The gossip columns had a field day. Some whispered she didn't like men at all.But right now, standing at the bottom of those steps, Aurora Sinclair was beaming at him like she'd been waiting for Christmas morning.Sweet. Warm. Almost giddy.It was so far from her public image that Ethan's brain needed a second to reconcile the two."Have we met before?" he asked.Aurora's smile widened. "Of course. I've seen you more than ten times, Young Master."Ethan blinked.Aurora glanced at the suited men flanking the Maybach, then back at him. "This isn't the best place to talk." She tilted her head toward the car. "
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter four
"Damian's face is swollen. His lip is split open. He can barely talk." Her breath came fast through the speaker. "You come to my office right now and apologize. Formally. In person. Or I will never forgive you for this."Ethan’s jaw tightened. The good mood Aurora had left him evaporated like water on a hot skillet. Heat crawled up the back of his neck."Apologize," he repeated. The word tasted like ash."No." "What?" "I said no. I'm not apologizing." His voice was flat and steady. "Everything that happened was his fault. His and yours.""We didn't do anything wrong!" Vivian's pitch climbed. "You attacked him out of nowhere, Ethan! Do you know how humiliating that was? For him? For me?"A voice drifted in from behind Vivian."Viv, it's okay. Really."That gentle, wounded tone. The one that made Ethan's skin crawl. "Don't force him. I don't want to be the reason you two have problems. If he doesn't want to apologize, I understand. I'd rather take the hit than cause trouble between you
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter five
The security guards at Lockwood Industries didn't even blink. They knew Ethan’s face this time. One nod, the gate lifted, and Ethan walked straight through the lobby to the elevator.He reached Vivian's office on the fourteenth floor and pushed the door open without knocking.Laughter. Vivian was perched on the edge of her desk, legs crossed, leaning toward Damian who sat in the guest chair with his bruised face tilted up at her. His split lip had been cleaned and bandaged, but he was smiling — that soft, wounded smile.And Vivian was looking at him with an expression Ethan had never seen directed at himself.Not once. Not in five years.Her eyes were soft. Warm. Full of something that went far deeper than fondness.Ethan's blood went cold."Am I interrupting?" His voice hit the room like a bucket of ice water.Vivian flinched. She shot off the desk so fast she nearly knocked over her coffee, putting three feet of distance between herself and Damian in half a second."Ethan!" She s
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter six
"You're… you're really divorcing me?"Her voice cracked on the last word. She searched his face for something — a flinch, a hesitation, anything that said this was a bluff.Nothing. Ethan's eyes were flat. Dead calm.Vivian's hands trembled. She stepped back from the desk like the paper might burn her."Why?" The word came out strangled. "Why are you doing this?""Because I don't love you anymore."The air left her lungs."Is this — is this because I asked you to apologize?" She grabbed the edge of the desk to steady herself. "Because of that? You're throwing away our entire marriage over an apology?"Ethan tilted his head. "What else would it be?""That's insane!" Vivian's voice shot up an octave. "That's absolutely insane, Ethan! Three years! Three years I've been with you — three years I've given you a home, a life, everything — and you want to throw it all away because I asked you to show some basic decency?!""How can you be this petty? How can you be this jealous?"The word hun
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter seven
The office door slammed shut behind Ethan, and the silence that followed was deafening.Vivian stood behind her desk, chest heaving, fingers still tingling from the force of her signature.Damian leaned against the bookshelf, arms crossed, watching her with that patient, concerned expression he always wore so well.For thirty seconds, neither of them spoke.Then the adrenaline drained out of her like someone had pulled a plug.'What did I just do?'She sank into her chair. Her hands were shaking. She pressed them flat against the desk to make them stop.Three years. Three years of Ethan waking up before dawn to prepare her meals. Three years of pressed suits hanging on her closet door every morning. Three years of a man who never raised his voice, never pushed back, never made her life difficult in any way.Rational. Obedient. Convenient.She'd had it good. She'd had it really good.And she'd just signed it all away because her blood was running hot."Damian." Her voice came out small
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter eight
Vivian's mouth opened. Nothing came out.Aurora Sinclair. The name slammed into her brain like a freight train. This was the woman whose company had single-handedly turned Lockwood Industries' Q3 numbers around. The woman whose preliminary partnership deal had Vivian's entire board salivating for more. The woman Vivian had been drafting an expanded cooperation proposal for just yesterday.And she'd just called her a whore.Damian had gone rigid beside her. His smirk was gone, replaced by something pale and tight."Ms. Sinclair." Vivian forced the words out. Her throat felt like sandpaper. "I — this is a misunderstanding."Aurora didn't blink."I'm here to catch my husband cheating," Vivian said quickly, the words tumbling over each other. "I had no idea you were the one — I mean, I didn't know it was you in the car. I would never have—""Your husband." Aurora's gaze flicked to Ethan, then back to Vivian. Her tone could have frosted glass."I — yes." Vivian gestured vaguely at Ethan.
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter nine
The SUV pulled into Lockwood Industries' underground parking garage. Vivian killed the engine but didn't move.Her hands were still shaking.Damian reached over and touched her arm. "Viv—""Don't." She pulled away, pushed the door open, and walked toward the elevator without looking back.The office felt too bright. Too normal. Like the world hadn't just tilted sideways on a Crestwood sidewalk.Vivian dropped into her chair and stared at nothing.Aurora Sinclair. Ethan had been standing next to Aurora Sinclair like he belonged there. Like he'd always belonged there.A knock on the door.Damian let himself in without waiting for an answer. He'd loosened his tie, composed his face back into that easy, concerned expression he wore so well."Hey." He pulled a chair close. "You okay?"Vivian didn't answer. "Listen to me." Damian leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It's going to be fine. I've been asking around about Sinclair — she's tough, but she's not petty. She's not going to tank th
Last Updated : 2026-04-20
Chapter ten
The line went silent for three full seconds.Vivian gripped the phone tighter. "Ethan, I know you're angry. I understand. I must have done something to upset you, and I'm sorry — I really am. But I know you don't mean what you're saying. You still care about me. You—""Stop."His voice cut through like a blade."I mean every word."Vivian's mouth opened, but nothing came out."And stop telling yourself I still love you," Ethan continued, his tone flat and cold. "That's just you lying to yourself.""Ethan—""First — I did love you. Three years, Vivian. Three years I gave you everything I had. And you threw it away like garbage. You didn't cherish a single day of it. You don't deserve my love."Her fingers went white around the phone."Second — whatever I have with Aurora is because of what I bring to the table. My ability. My value. It has nothing to do with you."Heat rushed to Vivian's face. Shame and fury tangled together until she couldn't tell them apart."Stop lying!" Her voice p
Last Updated : 2026-04-20