Chapter 3

Ethan ignored Blake. He kept his gaze on Chloe.

"I was invited here, Chloe," he said, his voice still low but firm. "By Arthur Vance. We have a business meeting. Regarding AuraTech Dynamics."

Blake howled with laughter. "AuraTech Dynamics? You? Miller, you wouldn't know an algorithm if it bit you on the ass. Are you completely delusional?"

Chloe stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"AuraTech?" she whispered, a strange expression on her face. "Blake... Blake told me the CEO of AuraTech Dynamics would be here tonight."

Her voice broke. "He said... he said it was a chance for me to network. To find you a better job, Ethan. I only came because of that."

Ethan' s mind reeled. She wasn' t here as "company." She was here trying to help him, in her own misguided way, based on the false premise of his "struggling" career.

The anger and hurt warred with a sudden, confusing wave of... something else. Tenderness? Frustration at the whole damn mess?

Before he could process it, Chloe' s expression shifted again. The tears spilled over.

"Divorce? Ethan, how can you say that? After everything?" She looked genuinely heartbroken. "Don't say that. Please. We can talk about this."

Her plea, so different from her earlier accusation, chipped away at his resolve.

But the public humiliation, her friends' sneers, Blake' s possessiveness – it was a toxic brew.

He remembered countless times she' d subtly steered him away from her social events, the polite but firm way she' d change the subject when he talked about his "little app projects." He' d thought she was shielding him, but maybe she was just... ashamed.

"Talk about what, Chloe?" Ethan' s voice was rough with emotion he was trying to suppress. "Talk about how your friends openly mock me, and you stand by? Talk about how you think I need you to find me a job? Talk about how you accuse me of stalking you when I' m an invited guest?"

He took a deep breath. "I' m tired, Chloe. I' m tired of the charade. The divorce stands."

Chloe looked like he' d struck her. She opened her mouth, then closed it, fresh tears streaming down her face.

The sight of her pain was a knife in his own heart, but the words were out.