DIVORCE PARTY SURPRISE: ONE NIGHT WITH THE CEO

~Lexi~

I stared at the name of the building in front of me: The Grand Elysium.

Then my eyes drifted down to my phone, reading the message once again: Engagement party between your husband and another woman. Come to the Grand Elysium by 7:00 PM.

My heart pounded. This had to be some mistake. It had to be.

I tried Ethan’s number again, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hi, you’ve reached Ethan Blackwood. I’m currently unavailable. Please leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Pick your damn call, Ethan!" I screamed into the phone.

With trembling hands, I shoved the phone into my bag and stepped out of the car. Hall C. The message had said Hall C.

I approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me, could you point me to Hall C?”

The receptionist gave me a polite smile.

“Right that way. Two lefts and a right. You’ll find it at the end of the hallway.”

"Thanks," I said, my heart beating fast.

This couldn't be happening. It was just someone trying to mess with me. Ethan wouldn’t do this.

But why wasn't he answering his phone?

I reached the hall’s entrance, only to be stopped by two bouncers.

"Invitation, please?"

"What?" I said.

"You have an invitation, right?" the bouncer asked, suspicious.

I swallowed. I hadn’t thought about an invitation. Why would I need one when my husband was inside?

“I-I left it at home,” I stammered.

The bouncers exchanged glances.

"All the invitations were virtual," one of them said, arms crossed.

My heart pounded harder. Without thinking, I bolted past them, sprinting down the hallway.

"Hey!" one of the bouncers shouted after me.

But I didn’t care. I slammed through the doors of Hall C, my breath catching in my throat as I took in the scene.

There he was. Ethan. Standing on stage, microphone in hand, wearing the same suit I’d bought him for our anniversary. And beside him, smiling warmly, was a heavily pregnant woman.

My world stopped. No, this wasn't real.

“Ethan!” I screamed.

The crowd turned toward me. The bouncers were already at my side, grabbing me. But Ethan saw me, and his eyes widened with shock. He dropped the microphone.

“Leave her alone,” Ethan said.

The bouncers released me, and I stumbled to my feet.

“Ethan?” I said. “What’s going on?”

Ethan took a step forward. “Lexi, what are you doing here?”

“What am I… What the hell is going on, Ethan?”

The pregnant woman moved closer, her hand resting protectively on her swollen belly.

"Who is this, darling?" she asked. “And why's she disrupting our engagement party?”

My eyes snapped to her. "Engagement party? Ethan, who is she?"

The woman smirked. “Oh, this must be the wife. Honey, I’m the woman who’s giving your husband what you never could.”

She rubbed her stomach.

“I’m carrying his baby. What you couldn’t do in five years of marriage.”

My world tilted. Five years. Five years of trying. Of hoping. Of doctors' visits and crushed dreams. And this was how Ethan was treating me?

“Ethan,” I whispered, “please tell me this isn’t true.”

Ethan wouldn’t look at me. “Let’s go outside and talk,” he said.

“No. Tell me it’s not true, Ethan! In front of all these people. Tell me she’s lying.”

“Lexi, stop making a scene. We’ll talk privately.”

“Privately?” I laughed bitterly.

“If you had anything to say to me in private, you would have said it yesterday when you took your bags and said you were going on a business trip.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “You’re being unreasonable.”

“Unreasonable?” I was shaking now.

“What’s unreasonable is finding out my husband’s engaged to another woman by text!”

Ethan finally snapped. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, Lexi. But you never gave me the chance.”

“Nine months, Ethan!” I pointed at the lady's stomach.

“You had nine months. What’s your excuse?”

The lady in question stepped in front of Ethan, facing me.

"You’re embarrassing yourself," she hissed. “Just leave.”

I moved toward her, arms raised. But before I could do anything, I felt a hard slap on my face.

I blinked, my hand flying to my cheek in disbelief. Ethan had slapped me.

“Leave,” Ethan said coldly.

“You couldn’t give me a child, and now you’re attacking the woman who can?”

I stumbled back. “Ethan...” I whispered.

The bouncers moved in, grabbing my arms again.

“Expect the divorce papers,” Ethan called after me.

“And be out of the house by the end of the week.”

As they dragged me away, tears blurred my vision. How could this be happening? I kicked and screamed, calling his name, but Ethan had already turned his back on me.

“Ethan!” I cried out one last time, my voice breaking. But the door slammed shut, and I was left standing outside in the cold. Alone.

I stared at the doors, refusing to believe what was happening.

How had it come to this? My husband—my life partner—had thrown me out in front of an audience. And for what? Another woman?

I felt like I was suffocating. How had I not seen this coming? I had tried to ignore the signs.

His late nights, the mysterious business trips, the hollow excuses. All the while, I’d convinced myself that our marriage was just going through a rough time.

I’d been hopeful, determined even, to make things work.

But it had all been a lie.

I couldn't let this go. I pounded at the door.

“Ethan! How could you do this to me? Ethan! Ethan! Open this door right now.”

My voice was hoarse from crying.

“That’s my husband. That’s the love of my life. You can’t do this to me, Ethan. Ethan! Ethan!”

I kicked the door.

“Come out right now and face me like a man, coward.”

From my side vision, I saw two hotel security officers walking toward me, their expressions serious.

“Ma’am,” one of them said as they got closer,

“we’ve received a complaint from the occupants of the hall. We’re going to have to ask you to leave the hotel premises.”

My jaw tightened. Of course. Throw me out like trash. First my husband, now this. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to pull myself together.

“I’m not leaving until I get answers,” I said.

The second officer stepped forward, his tone firmer.

“Ma’am, we don’t want to escalate this. Please cooperate, or we’ll have to escort you out ourselves.”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“Escort me? From my own husband’s engagement party? Go away!"

But they didn’t back down. One of them reached for my arm.

Before I knew it, they had lifted me off the ground, carrying me away from the hall. My body went limp, my strength completely drained. I stopped kicking, stopped screaming. What was the point?

As they carried me out of the hotel and toward the main entrance, my vision began to blur.

“Where’s your car, ma’am?” one of the officers asked.

“Or would you like us to call a cab?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I felt dizzy, lightheaded.

The world around me started to spin, and my legs gave out beneath me.

"Ma’am? Ma’am?" One of the officers called out, his voice muffled in my ears.

Everything went dark.