DIVORCED BY THE CEO MARRIED TO HIS RIVAL3 / 3

Chapter 3 THE SPACE BETWEEN US

The silence that followed Clara's words was suffocating.

Damian's hand found mine, his grip steady, but I felt the slight tremor in his fingers.

"Don't listen to her," he said quietly. "Clara feeds on drama. It's how she survives."

Clara laughed, a cold sound that echoed through the corridor.

"Oh, Damian. Still protecting your little secrets? How predictable."

Alexander stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "What secret?"

Clara turned to him with a smile that never reached her eyes. "Ask your rival. I'm sure he'd love to explain."

"Enough." Damian's voice hardened. "Elena, let's go."

He led me toward the waiting guests. Behind us, Clara's blazing eyes followed our every step, while Alexander watched with a strange smile that sent a chill down my spine.

I tried to ignore them, but Clara's words followed me long after we left the gala.

What secret was Damian hiding?

And why had her warning affected him so deeply?

---

A black car waited at the curb. Damian's driver opened the door, and I slid inside. Damian followed, settling beside me as we pulled away from the hotel.

Silence filled the car.

This wasn't the comfortable silence we had shared over dinner at Noir. It was heavy, uncomfortable, and full of questions neither of us seemed willing to ask.

I stared through the window as the city lights blurred past.

Finally, I turned toward him.

"Are you going to tell me what Clara was talking about?"

Damian turned slowly. His silver eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw something vulnerable beneath his usual confidence.

Then it disappeared.

"Is this some scheme to cover up the fact that you're slowly running back into your ex-husband's arms?"

His words struck me like a slap.

"What?"

"I saw the way you looked at him tonight. And I saw the way he looked at you." His voice was cold and controlled. "You claim you want nothing to do with Alexander, but your eyes tell a different story."

"My eyes?" I let out a bitter laugh. "You're accusing me of running back to him when you're the one hiding secrets? That's rich, Damian."

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Then why did Clara's words make you flinch? Why are we leaving so early?"

"Because I was protecting you!"

"From what? The truth?"

His composure cracked.

"From everyone, Elena. A war is coming, and you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"A war? You told me this was about justice. About making Alexander pay for what he did. But this isn't just about that, is it? It's about your obsession with destroying him."

"My obsession?" He turned to face me fully. "You think I'm obsessed with Alexander Sterling?"

"I think you've spent years plotting his downfall. I think you married me to get closer to him. And I think there's something important you're refusing to tell me."

For the first time since I had met him, Damian looked genuinely shaken.

He turned away.

"I can't tell you."

"You can't, or you won't?"

"Both."

The car stopped outside his apartment building. Neither of us moved.

"I thought we were partners," I whispered. "I thought we were building something together. But you're just like Alexander. You use people and discard them when they're no longer useful."

Damian flinched.

"Elena-"

"Don't." I opened the door. "Whatever you're hiding, figure it out before you come back to me. I'm done being kept in the dark."

I stepped out and walked toward the building without looking back.

---

Inside my room, I closed the door and leaned against it, allowing the tears to fall.

I had trusted Damian.

After Alexander had destroyed me, I had sworn never to let another man make a fool of me. Yet here I was again, tangled in secrets and lies, unsure of whom to believe.

And what Damian had said about my eyes kept haunting me.

Had I looked at Alexander with something more than hatred?

I hated the thought. Alexander had broken my heart, humiliated me, and discarded me as though our marriage meant nothing. I had no reason to want him back.

So why did the question refuse to leave my mind?

And why was Clara's warning bothering me so much? Was it simply because I wanted the truth, or because I had begun to believe Damian might mean more to me than I was willing to admit?

I didn't know anymore.

---

A few blocks away, Alexander Sterling sat in his office, staring at a newspaper.

The headline screamed:

DIVORCED WIFE RISES: ELENA STERLING ENGAGED TO RIVAL BILLIONAIRE DAMIAN BLACKWOOD

He had read it a dozen times. Each time, the words cut deeper.

Elena was engaged.

To Damian Blackwood.

His rival. His enemy.

His fingers tightened around the paper, crumpling its edges.

He had let her go. He had signed the papers. He had pushed her away.

But seeing the photograph of Elena at the gala, her hand resting in Damian's, her smile directed at another man, stirred something inside him he couldn't explain.

He had never imagined it would hurt this much.

The door opened, and Clara walked in with a glass of wine.

"Brooding, darling?"

Alexander didn't look up.

"Leave me alone."

Clara ignored him and perched on the edge of his desk.

"Your ex-wife certainly isn't wasting any time sulking over you. At the gala, she looked absolutely radiant. Some people are saying she's never looked better."

Alexander's jaw tightened.

"She's nothing to me."

"Nothing?" Clara tilted her head. "Then why have you been staring at that newspaper?"

He looked up sharply.

"She's a façade. Damian is using her to get to me."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

"It's the truth."

Clara laughed softly. "I know the truth, Alexander. And it's written all over your face."

"I said I want to be alone."

Clara rose and headed for the door, pausing at the threshold.

"When you're ready to stop lying to yourself, let me know. We have work to do."

She left, closing the door behind her.

Alexander looked down at Elena's photograph again. Her eyes sparkled with a happiness he had never given her.

His hand trembled.

With a furious growl, he tore the newspaper in half.

---

The next morning, I came downstairs to find Damian already seated at the breakfast table.

He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, quietly reviewing something on his tablet.

"Good morning," I said, taking the seat opposite him.

"Good morning."

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he set the tablet aside and looked directly at me.

"I was wrong," he said softly. "I shouldn't have spoken to you that way last night."

My stomach fluttered at his apology.

Alexander had never apologized to me. Whenever he hurt me, he always found an excuse or explained why I was the problem.

"I'm sorry too, Damian," I admitted. "Maybe you were right about one thing. I haven't completely figured out my feelings about Alexander. But that doesn't mean I want him back."

Damian studied me before offering a small smile.

"It doesn't matter now. We're partners, Elena. You deserve the truth, and I promise you'll have it when the time is right."

I nodded, though his answer did little to quiet my curiosity.

We continued breakfast, and soon his assistant arrived with a stack of documents. Damian began reviewing them, discussing figures, meetings, and business decisions with the man.

I sat quietly, listening to words I barely understood.

During my marriage to Alexander, I had been little more than a housewife. I had spent years arranging dinners, attending social events, and making sure his home was perfect. I had never been invited into the world where decisions were made and fortunes were built.

Watching Damian work made me wonder what I might have become if I had been given the chance.

Perhaps there was more to me than being someone's wife.

Damian suddenly closed the file.

"Elena, I need you to be ready by eight tomorrow morning."

I blinked. "Why? Where are we going?"

"To my office. I'm introducing you to my executive team."

I nearly dropped my fork.

"Your office? To do what?"

"To begin working with me."

I stared at him, certain I had misunderstood.

"Damian, I've never worked in a corporate office before. I don't know anything about running a company."

He leaned back, his silver eyes holding mine.