My Divorced CEO Wife Is Begging for Me Back

Chapter 9

Conan frowned as he glanced at the attendant. He hadn't visited Sky Rock Hotel in years, and this was the first time he'd heard that guests needed membership cards to access its dining floors.

He had been away from the Ashworth family's businesses for too long. Apparently, things had changed.

His silence, however, didn't escape Daven.

"What's wrong, Conan? Where's your card?" Daven asked, wearing a mocking smile. "Don't tell me you were just boasting."

Conan didn't respond.

Rhea frowned. "Can you stop embarrassing yourself? If you don't have a membership card, just admit it. There's no need to make a scene."

Athena quickly stepped forward. "Come on, it's fine. We don't have to eat on the eighth floor. I have a Black Gold card, so we can enjoy a perfectly good meal on the third floor."

But Conan seemed uninterested in her suggestion.

He lowered his gaze to the silver ring on his finger. After a moment, he slowly twisted it off.

The ring had been a gift from his grandmother, the founder of Sky Rock Hotel and the woman who had built the Ashworth family's hospitality business into a formidable chain. She had placed it in his palm on her deathbed, telling him it would always remind him that he belonged to the family, no matter where life took him.

It wasn't an ordinary piece of jewellery. The ring was a personal token of recognition across establishments under Ashworth Diamond Group. He was entitled to the highest level of hospitality, without needing an ordinary membership card.

Conan held it up.

Daven stared for a second before bursting into laughter.

"What is that supposed to be?"

He pointed at the ring.

"Don't tell me that's your VIP card!"

A few people nearby turned to look.

"Conan, you really are something else. You don't have a membership card, so you've decided to use an old, ugly-looking ring to fool everyone?"

His laughter grew louder.

"Even if you want to pretend to be wealthy, at least put some effort into it!"

He then glanced at Rhea, deliberately lowering his voice, though not enough to keep the others from hearing.

"Rhea, look at what you're dealing with. You're the successful founder and owner of Voss Sparkles Enterprises, a respected businesswoman in Milan City. Yet your ex-husband keeps finding ways to make you lose face. First, he embarrassed you at home, and now he's doing it in public."

Rhea's expression darkened.

"Conan, have you ever considered how your actions affect me?" she snapped. "You embarrassed me throughout our marriage, and even now, after everything is over, you still can't stop making a fool of yourself!"

Conan looked at her, his jaw tightening.

Athena couldn't bear to listen any longer.

"That's enough! Why are you all making such a big deal out of this?"

She pulled out her Black Gold card and handed it to the attendant.

"Here. Use this. I want a private dining space on the third floor and a good selection of dishes. Arrange everything."

The attendant accepted the card with a polite nod.

"Certainly, Miss."

But Conan stopped her.

"Use the ring."

Athena turned towards him. For a moment, she looked uncertain, wondering whether he was genuinely confident or simply too stubborn to admit defeat. However, she quickly concealed her doubt and nodded.

"All right. If that's what you want."

The attendant looked between them before reluctantly accepting the ring.

"Please wait a moment while I verify it."

She handed it to another staff member, who brought over a small verification device. The attendant placed the ring against the scanner and waited.

A few seconds passed.

Then the machine beeped.

Verification failed.

She tried again, turning the ring over and adjusting its position.

The result remained unchanged.

"There's no registered chip," she announced.

The attendant examined the ring more closely.

Unlike the hotel's VIP cards, which contained built-in electronic chips that allowed the system to identify their owners and membership privileges, the ring had no such feature. Its material appeared unusual, but there was nothing the machine could recognise.

Conan's brows drew together.

He hadn't expected the verification process to be this complicated.

The attendant looked at him with growing contempt.

"I recently started working here, but I know that our guests must present valid membership cards. I didn't expect someone dressed like you to be bold enough to attempt something like this."

She returned the ring, placing it pointedly in his palm.

"This is just a worthless ring. It cannot grant you access to any floor. Please don't waste our time."

Conan slipped it back onto his finger.

"Call the hotel manager."

The attendant stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I said, call the hotel manager."

She let out an incredulous laugh. "Are you serious? Every guest who wants access to the upper floors presents a membership card. You're the only one trying to use a ring, and now you have the audacity to demand the hotel manager?"

Her voice grew harsher.

"The manager is a very busy person. She doesn't have time to entertain people like you. Just look at yourself! You can't even afford a decent meal in a two-step hotel, yet you're standing at Sky Rock’s entrance making unreasonable demands. Get lost before I call security!"

Daven burst into laughter.

"Did you hear that, Conan? Even the staff know you're making a fool of yourself!"

He shook his head, looking thoroughly entertained.

Conan's patience finally ran out.

He turned towards Daven.

"Since you're so confident, why don't we make a bet?"

Daven's laughter subsided. "A bet?"

"Let's see who can dine on the eighth floor today."

Daven looked at him for a moment before laughing again. "You're challenging me?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Of course not!"

Rhea frowned. "Conan, stop talking nonsense. Daven is the acting CEO of Rivers Flame Holdings. He's not someone you can compare yourself to. Do you even understand the difference between you two?"

Conan didn't spare her a glance.

"Whoever loses will kneel at the entrance and kowtow ten times in apology to the winner."

Daven's smile widened. "Fine. I accept."

He was more than happy to teach Conan a lesson in front of everyone. By the time they were done, he wanted the man to regret ever opening his mouth.

Conan turned away and took out his phone.

He dialled a number. "Kole."

"Yes, Master Conan."

"I've been stopped at the entrance of Sky Rock Hotel."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Understood, Master. I'll handle it immediately."

Conan ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket.

The attendant scoffed. "What's this? Are you putting on a show now? How long do you intend to keep this act going? You're more desperate than I thought."

Daven laughed so hard that tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

"Conan, you're unbelievable! Even when disaster is staring you in the face, you still refuse to give up pretending. Who exactly were you calling? The President of the hotel?"

Conan looked at him without responding.

Rhea's patience had also worn thin.

"Conan, enough. If you kneel down and apologise to Daven now, I'll let you off the ten kowtows. At least have some dignity left."

For a moment, Conan simply stared at her.

After three years of marriage, she still had absolutely no faith in him. She hadn't even considered that he might be telling the truth. To her, he would always be the useless man who had depended on her.

A bitter feeling settled in his chest.

He looked away.

Just then, the sharp clicking of high heels echoed from inside the hotel.

A woman in an elegant black suit hurried towards the entrance, her expression unusually tense. She was the hotel manager, and she seemed to be in a terrible hurry.

The attendant immediately straightened.

"Manager!"

The woman barely acknowledged her before the attendant began speaking.

"Manager, this man has been causing trouble at the entrance. He refused to present a proper membership card and insisted that an ordinary ring could grant him access to the eighth floor. We've explained the rules several times, but he won't listen. Should we call security and have him removed?"

Daven exchanged a glance with Rhea.

Both wore expressions of anticipation. They were eager to see how Conan would be dealt with.

Athena, however, was becoming increasingly uneasy. She tightened her grip on Conan's arm, already thinking of how to smooth things over if the manager decided to throw him out.

But what happened next left everyone stunned.

The manager stepped forward and, without hesitation, delivered a sharp slap across the attendant's face.

SMACK!

The attendant staggered, clutching her cheek.

"Manager...?"

Before she could ask another question, the woman turned towards Conan.

Then, under the horrified gazes of everyone present, she bowed at a full ninety degrees.

"I'm terribly sorry, Imperial Guest. I've kept you waiting!"

Her voice trembled with urgency. 

"I'm sorry I'm late!”