Breaking Free from Ex, Stronger Her

After the new product launch, I was no longer the CEO of the company.

On the day of the press conference, I invited Rowan to attend. Several students from his laboratory also came to see the results of their hard work.

Halfway through the ceremony, I asked my assistant to keep an eye on the front desk while I took a break in the backstage lounge.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with several messages.

They were all from Marion.

I clicked on the notification and saw that there were multiple videos, all featuring her and Rowan.

At that moment, the door to the lounge swung open. Marion walked in with a strange smile on her lips as she said, [Mrs. Bradford, I just sent you something. Why don’t you take a look?]

"I’m not interested in porn vids," I replied with a sneer.

"You already know about me and Mr. Bradford, don't you?"

I said nothing in response.

Marion's expression changed. She gritted her teeth and continued, "Do you really think Mr. Bradford still loves you?"

She leaned on the table with one hand and her eyes flashed with malice.

"Did you know he comes to see me several times a week?"

"He once told me you were as indifferent as a dead fish and he had no interest in you at all. I’m the one who’s most compatible with him. That day when someone confessed to me, he tormented me for hours. One whole night!

"He only left one condom of the new box he bought that day. I guess you’ve never seen him look so energetic, right?"

"Do you know what he was doing when you called him that night?" Marion asked me with a smile.

Even though my love for Rowan was gone, I was still so irritated of this mistress’ audacity to speak so openly.

"So, what do you want from me? Do you want me to give up Mrs. Bradford's position to you?"

"I promise you, within a month, this title will be all yours."

Marion clearly did not expect me to respond that way and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Just then, the door swung open.

"What are you doing here?"

Rowan walked in, taking in the scene before him. Without missing a beat, he stood beside me and casually draped his arm around me, his expression hardening as he looked at Marion.

"I am here to thank your wife, sir. If she hadn’t cooperated with us, our laboratory wouldn’t have achieved such great results," Marion said with a smile.

Rowan raised an eyebrow, looking from Marion to me, clearly unsure.

I smiled and answered, "Miss Sterling is here to thank me. She’s much more sensible than other students."

Only then did Rowan seem to believe it.

He then said to Marion, "If you have that intention, it’s better to focus on improving your own skills."

After saying that, he took my hand and led me out of the room.

That night, Rowan did not return home. Something in the day’s events must have set off alarms in his mind.

He went off to “educate” his little lover, unaware that this would be the last time he and I would interact in this way.

Meanwhile, I packed up my things quietly. I also arranged for housekeeping to come and clean the house.

This place was left spotless.

Most importantly, all traces of my existence had been completely erased.

Before leaving, I took out my phone and scrolled through my Instagram. I found a post from Marion, uploaded at 2:30 this morning.

She had painted her nails a soft pink and was sitting on the marble sink in a hotel bathroom. Her back was to the mirror, her head turned halfway and the lipstick at the corner of her mouth was smeared.

The caption beneath the photo read, [Forever yours.]

I put my phone away and thought to myself, I wish you both forever.

The next morning, as Rowan drove home, his right eyelid twitched uncontrollably. He felt a sense of unease as if something was wrong.

Without knowing anything, he blamed it on a lack of rest.

——

As soon as he stepped into the house, he noticed that my shoes were gone. He frowned and walked into the house, scanning the unusually spotless living room.

So clean as if there was no trace of life.

"Dear?" he called out, but no one responded. Is she sleeping? he thought.

He then moved toward the bedroom, but as he passed the entrance, he stopped abruptly.

Something felt so wrong. Something seemed different from usual...

In the end, he finally realized that our wedding photo was gone!

His heart was beating like crazy as he rushed into the bedroom.

It was completely empty.

He checked the bathroom, the study and the kitchen. No sign of me anywhere.

"Honey, where are you? Are you hiding from me? If you’re upset, just come out and we’ll talk."

Too bad, the only voice that answered him was his own echo.

An unfamiliar sense of dread washed over him. Desperately, he pulled open the closet doors, only to find that all of my clothes were gone.

His gaze shifted to the dressing table. All my bottles and jars of skincare had vanished.

My perfumes, my bags, even my books...

…all of it had disappeared.

"Is Olivia playing some kind of prank? Running away from home?" he muttered.

Rowan tried calling my number, but the mechanical voice told him that the number was unregistered. He then tried to call me on Instagram and sent frantic messages, but all of them were left unanswered.

Desperate, he even tried contacting my parents abroad, but no one responded.

Finally, his eyes landed on a small table in the study, something he had overlooked earlier.

On it was a small box.

His desperate eyes were instantly ignited with a glimmer of hope. He walked over excitedly and opened the box with uncontrollably trembling hands.

Little did he expect, inside was the engagement ring he had given me.

He instantly froze in place.