The Ex-Wife's Billion Dollar Comeback - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

~ Calum ~
“I was humiliated. My parents were humiliated. And people started leaving after Soraya turned up,” Rose muttered, pacing back and forth at the conference room.
It was already three in the afternoon, and only Rose, Calum, and their close friends were left behind.
Rose turned to Calum with tears rolling down her face. “You have to do something, Calum! You have to punish Soraya and Silas Ward for destroying my image!”
Calum was seated at one of the tables, talking to his lawyer on the phone. He ended the call and revealed, “It was true what Soraya said. The City Legal Officer allowed her lawyer to take out the divorce filing. It was partly their fault for not realizing that I—”
He frowned and admitted, “—that I forgot to sign the last page.”
“But why?!” Rose screamed. “Why did the Legal Officer have to give Soraya a deadline? And why did you forget to sign it?”
“It must be another one of Soraya’s schemes,” Claire suggested.
“Enough!” Calum snapped at Claire. “If it weren’t for you and Roger, this wouldn’t have escalated so far. You could’ve just asked Soraya why she showed up here.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Melvin echoed, sighing from his seat.
“But—but,” Claire stammered, seething beside Melvin. She crossed her arms and said, “Even you didn’t want to speak to her!”
Calum had to admit it—he never gave Soraya a chance to explain herself. Claire and Roger were quick to paint her as a troublemaker, and he let their accusations cloud his judgment.
As to why he had forgotten to sign the last page of the divorce agreement? It was baffling to Calum.
“Calum, you have to investigate the Legal Officer. Maybe Soraya paid him,” Roger suggested from another table. “She doesn’t want to let go of her ‘Mrs. Montclair’ title.”
Calum was about to respond when Melvin cut in.
“Now, I might’ve believed that a few weeks ago,” he said, glancing around the room. “But I don’t think so anymore. Soraya seems like a different person now.”
He looked directly at Roger. “If she really wanted to cling to the marriage, she wouldn’t have taken out the divorce filing at all. She could’ve waited silently, let Calum think everything was settled. Then, two months later, after the cooling-off period, they’d both find out they were still legally married.”
“But she didn’t do that,” Melvin continued. “She wanted Calum to see it. She gave him a choice. To me, it looked like she was determined to make the divorce happen.”
Calum’s eyes narrowed. He had to admit, it did seem that way. This certainly was not the Soraya he used to know. Had she already made peace with walking away?
‘Maybe it was Silas,’ he thought. ‘They could really be in a relationship.’
Calum frowned, also considering, ‘Or maybe she and Edward Wright have some kind of connection?’
The incident that landed Sage in the hospital had left the NexaCode Technologies CEO speculating about the tension between Soraya and Rose. And now, Edward Wright wasn’t returning Calum’s calls.
But maybe… Soraya and Edward had grown close.
While Calum was piecing things together, Melvin added, “Do you remember when Mr. and Mrs. Sharma said they wanted Soraya to marry their son? Maybe that’s it.”
Calum’s brow furrowed again. He’d forgotten all about that moment at the business gala.
“What?” Claire raised a brow. “Mr. and Mrs. Sharma—the founders of Aegis Core Systems? They want their son to marry Soraya?”
When Melvin nodded, Claire scoffed. “Oh, please. I bet she manipulated them. Their son probably has no idea he’s being matched with a lowlife.”
“Enough! Enough,” Calum said. “It’s already done. We just need to deal with the aftermath.”
“I’ll have Greg offer a goodwill payment to all the guests who attended today, in exchange for their silence. They’ll sign non-disclosure agreements,” Calum said firmly. “As for Silas Ward… I’ll handle him.”
He wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with the Aegis Core Systems CEO, but at the very least, Silas would get a warning.
“And Soraya? What about Soraya?” Rose asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“What about Soraya? What exactly do you want me to do?” Calum replied. “Should I tell her that next time there’s a problem with the divorce agreement, she’s free to delay it?”
He couldn’t help but add a touch of sarcasm. The truth was, he didn’t see anything wrong with what Soraya had done. She had even messaged him earlier, but he’d been too busy with the lunch party to read a single text.
“No!” Rose snapped. Her nose flared. “She could’ve—she could’ve just asked Greg to give you the divorce papers!”
“Logically speaking, Aegis Core Systems is just three blocks away from here, and the Montclair Group is much farther,” Melvin said. “I—I probably would’ve gone straight to Calum too.”
“You’re not helping, Melvin,” Claire retorted. “Are we forgetting who Soraya is? She’s the woman who trapped Calum into marriage! That woman has many schemes behind her back—”
“Stop! I’m fucking tired of this,” Calum said, hissing. “Maybe it’s for the best that Soraya acted the way she did. The sooner we’re divorced, the better.”
He checked the time and said, “I have to go. I promised to pick up Sage from school today.”
Rose looked at him with a silent protest in her expression. He didn’t have to pick up Sage himself, but lately, Calum had realized he’d spent too much time helping Rose expand her business. Sage had been left alone at home.
Because of his absence, his daughter had started longing for Soraya again. And because of his neglect, he hadn’t even noticed her asthma symptoms had returned. Even after Soraya reminded him to bring Sage to the doctor, he still delayed it.
“You can come with me,” Calum offered. “Sage would like it if you were there.”
“I can’t. I have to talk to my parents.” Rose looked away. “But send my regards.”
~ Rose ~
Rose’s parents were staying at the Prima Hotel for the day. She went up to their suite after saying goodbye to Calum’s friends.
When she walked in, her mother, Silvia Becket, asked, “Well? Have you and Calum found a solution?”
“Where is Calum?” her father, Reginald Becket, added.
“Calum went to pick up Sage from school,” Rose said. “And as for the solution? He said he’d ask all the guests to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
“That doesn’t change how people see you, Rose,” Reginald said. “You shouldn’t have agreed to this relationship while he was still married. You broke a family—”
“Calum and Soraya never truly had a relationship, Dad! I did not break a family! What they had was broken from the start,” Rose argued.
Her father shook his head. “Unfortunately, others won’t see it that way.”
“Enough,” Silvia said, urging Rose to sit beside her.
She rubbed Rose’s arm and pulled her into a soft embrace. “We just need to prove the people wrong. Show them what you and Calum have is true love.”
Silvia turned to Rose and suggested, “Once the divorce is finalized, push for a wedding. We’ll also talk to Calum about it. I suggest getting pregnant right away. That will certainly speed up the marriage. There are many ways to get this done. I can help you.”
With a smile, her mother added, “And then, you’ll be Mrs. Montclair, married to the wealthiest man in Cedar Heights.”