Chapter 3 Ex-girlfriend

LAUREN'S POV

I wiped my cheeks fast and tried to smile. I didn't want Elena to worry.

"Just something in Mommy's eye," I said softly.

She didn't look convinced, but she nodded and came down slowly, hugging her teddy bear tight. She climbed onto the couch beside me and leaned her little head on my shoulder. I held her close, breathing in her soft baby shampoo scent, trying to hold myself together.

"Did Daddy come home already?" she whispered.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yeah... he's upstairs. He didn't want to wake you when he came in." I lied.

Ethan didn't even attempt to go into her room and at least check on her.

She didn't say anything after that. Just sat there quietly until her eyes started to droop again. I carried her to her room and tucked her in gently.

I kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you more than anything, baby."

When she was finally asleep, I went into the master bedroom. Ours. Well, used to be ours.

The bed still looked neat, untouched - Ethan hadn't slept in it for weeks now. He said he needed space. Said work was too stressful, and he didn't want to keep me up when he came in late.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. My chest felt tight, and the remaining tears I'd held back because of Elena's presence came rushing in like a storm.

I curled up, pulled the blanket around me, and let it out. Silent, broken sobs that hurt deep in my ribs. The kind that no one hears. The kind that makes you feel completely alone.

I cried until the pillow was wet. I must've fallen asleep sometime after three or four. The sky was already starting to brighten when I finally closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, the room was filled with soft daylight. My head felt heavy. My eyes were swollen. I reached for my phone to check the time. It was past 10.

I sat up slowly, brushed my hair back, and went downstairs.

The house was quiet.

"Mrs. Lauren," Rosa said gently from the kitchen. "I took Elena to school. You were sleeping so deeply, I didn't want to wake you."

I nodded. "Thank you, Rosa."

She gave me a small smile and kept wiping down the counter. I walked into the living room and saw her tidying up. That's when she noticed something on the coffee table.

"Oh," she said, picking it up. "This looks like Mr. Ethan's."

I looked closer. It was his silver USB drive - the one he always kept on his keychain. He used it for work. Always said it had important files on it.

Rosa frowned. "He must've dropped it."

Right then, her phone buzzed. She answered quickly, nodding as she spoke in Spanish. Then she turned to me. "That was Mr. Ethan. He asked if we had seen the USB. I told him yes."

"And?"

"He said I should drop it off at the office and leave it at the front desk."

I stayed quiet for a second. He had to call the maid instead of his wife - I was used to it by now. It wasn't like it was anything new. 'I'll take it,' I said.

Rosa looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll go."

She didn't ask any questions. Just handed it to me and said, "Be careful, Mrs. Lauren."

I went upstairs, got dressed slowly in jeans, blouse, nothing fancy. Just enough to look presentable. My hands shook a little as I brushed my hair.

I drove to Ethan's office. My fingers gripped the steering wheel too tight the whole time. I kept thinking about that photo from last night. That soft pink lipstick. The way he had lied and made me feel crazy for asking.

When I walked through the glass doors of the building, and got to the CEO level the front desk secretary looked up and froze for a second. She clearly recognized me. Her smile was tight and nervous.

"Mrs. Black," she said. "Uh... Mr. Black is in a meeting right now."

I tilted my head. "Is that so?"

"Yes, he's...he's not available at the moment. And he asked not to be interrupted. But I take your message, if you like. And inform him when he's done."

Her voice was polite, but the look in her eyes wasn't. It was like she was trying to warn me. Like she knew something and didn't want me to go any further.

But I didn't stop. I didn't even answer her. I walked past her and opened the door to Ethan's office.

And there he was sitting on the couch, relaxed, smiling. Sitting right next to him, too close, was a woman I didn't recognize at first.

She was laughing softly, her hand resting on his arm like it belonged there. Like it had been there a hundred times before.

My heart dropped.

He didn't even hear me come in at first. He looked up when the woman paused mid-laugh and glanced toward the door.

When our eyes met, something in his face shifted - not guilt, not shame. Just surprise. Like I'd interrupted something slightly inconvenient.

But it was the woman who held my focus.

Her face. Her eyes. The way she tilted her head when she smiled - something about it felt familiar.

And then it hit me.

College.

Ethan's ex-girlfriend Sofia Crane. The popular girl Ethan used to be crazy about. The one he always chased until she left him high and dry. Back then, she had everything - beauty, money, connections.

I remember hoping she'd stay gone. After she broke up with him and made him the talk of the school then. That she'd never come back into his life. And now here she was.

Sitting next to my husband in such an intimate position.

Everything inside me turned cold. My hands clenched the USB so tight I thought I'd snap it in two.