My Billionaire Ex-husband wants me back

Anna Laurent POV The wine tasted… off. At first, I thought I was imagining it. A little bitter. A little strange. Not enough to raise suspicion—just enough to make me pause. But I didn’t. I smiled instead. Because tonight was supposed to be special. “Our third anniversary,” Chloe said softly, lifting her glass toward me. Her smile was warm, gentle, perfect. “You should be happy, Anna.” Happy. The word felt foreign in my chest. Still, I nodded and raised my glass in return. “Of course.” Across the table, Ethan didn’t move. He sat there like he always did—cold, distant, untouched by anything happening around him. His dark eyes flicked toward me for less than a second before returning to his phone. That was my husband. The man I had loved for three years. The man who had never once looked at me the way a husband should. I swallowed the bitterness in my throat along with the wine. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe tonight would be different. It had to be. Right? The dining hall was quiet, too quiet for something that was meant to be a celebration. The chandelier above us glowed softly, casting light over the perfectly arranged table. Everything looked flawless. Just like Chloe always made sure it did. “Anna, I prepared everything myself,” she said, her voice light, almost shy. “I hope you like it.” I glanced at the dishes. All my favorites. Or at least… what used to be my favorites. “Thank you,” I replied quietly. Ethan still hadn’t said a word. Not even a simple “happy anniversary.” Not even a glance in my direction. I told myself not to care. I had spent three years teaching myself how not to care. And yet, sitting there, watching him scroll through his phone like I didn’t exist… It still hurt. “Ethan,” Chloe called softly, tilting her head slightly. “You’ve barely touched your food.” He finally looked up. Not at me. At her. “I’m not hungry.” His voice was calm. Flat. Indifferent. But when he looked at Chloe, there was something else there. Something subtle. Something I had never seen when he looked at me. I lowered my gaze, my fingers tightening slightly around the stem of my glass. It’s fine. I told myself that over and over again. It’s fine. I took another sip of the wine. This time, the bitterness was stronger. It lingered at the back of my throat, sharp and unpleasant. A faint uneasiness settled in my chest. “Chloe,” I said slowly, “this wine…” She blinked at me, her expression instantly concerned. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” “No, it’s just—” My words cut off. A strange heat spread through my chest. At first, it was subtle. Then it wasn’t. My grip on the glass tightened as the warmth turned into something else. Something wrong. My heart began to pound. Too fast. Too hard. “Anna?” Chloe’s voice sounded distant suddenly, like it was coming from far away. “You don’t look well.” I tried to respond. But my throat felt tight. The room started to spin. No. No, this isn’t right. The glass slipped from my fingers. It shattered against the floor, the sharp sound echoing through the room. My body swayed. “Ethan…” His name left my lips in a broken whisper. For a brief second, our eyes met. And I saw it. Something flickered in his gaze. Surprise? Concern? I couldn’t tell. Everything was blurring. My knees hit the floor. Pain shot through me, but it barely registered. Because something worse was happening. I couldn’t breathe. My chest tightened violently, like invisible hands were crushing my lungs. Air wouldn’t come in. No matter how hard I tried. “Ethan…” I reached out toward him, my fingers trembling. “Help…” This time, I was sure. I saw it. A flash of something in his eyes. Not indifference. Not coldness. Something else. But before he could move— Chloe screamed. “Anna! What have you done?!” Her voice was sharp, panicked, filled with fear. Fear that sounded too real. Too perfect. I froze. Even in my fading state, something felt wrong. Deeply wrong. “She… she switched the glass!” Chloe’s voice shook as she stepped back, covering her mouth. “I saw her—she must have poisoned herself!” What? No. No, that’s not— My mind struggled to process her words. Poison? Switched glass? That didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. I tried to speak. Tried to tell Ethan the truth. But my voice wouldn’t come out. “Ethan, do something!” Chloe cried, her eyes wide with fear as she looked at him. “She’s trying to frame me!” Frame her? My vision darkened at the edges. My heartbeat became erratic. Slow. Then fast. Then slow again. Ethan stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the floor. For a moment— Just a moment— I thought he would come to me. Help me. Save me. But he didn’t. He stood there, looking down at me. His expression unreadable. Cold. Distant. Just like always. And then he spoke. “She poisoned herself.” The words hit harder than the pain tearing through my chest. For a second, I forgot about the suffocating weight. Forgot about the burning in my veins. All I could hear… Were those four words. She poisoned herself. My fingers curled weakly against the floor. No. That’s not true. You know that’s not true. I looked at him, desperate. Searching. Begging. For anything. A sign. A crack. A hint that he didn’t mean it. But there was nothing. Just cold certainty. In that moment… Something inside me shattered completely. It wasn’t the pain. It wasn’t the fear. It wasn’t even the betrayal. It was the realization. I had never meant anything to him. Not as his wife. Not as a person. Not even as someone worth saving. To Ethan Blackwood… I was nothing. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye as my vision blurred completely. My body hit the floor fully this time. Cold marble pressed against my cheek. I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. Couldn’t feel anything. The last thing I heard was Chloe’s trembling voice. “Call the police…” And then— Darkness. … A sharp gasp tore through my throat. I sat up abruptly, air rushing into my lungs like I had been drowning. My chest heaved violently. My hands flew to my throat. I could breathe. I could breathe. My heart pounded wildly as I looked around. The room. The walls. The bed. This wasn’t the dining hall. This was… My bedroom. No. That’s not possible. I pushed myself back against the headboard, my fingers gripping the sheets tightly. Everything felt real. Too real. The faint scent of lavender. The soft fabric beneath my hands. The quiet hum of the air conditioner. I knew this room. I lived here. Three years ago. My breathing slowed, but my mind didn’t. It raced. Spinning through memories that felt too vivid to ignore. The wine. The pain. Ethan’s voice. Chloe’s scream. My death. I looked down at my hands. They weren’t shaking anymore. They looked… Normal. Unharmed. Alive. “No…” I whispered. This couldn’t be real. I threw the covers off and stumbled out of bed, my legs weak but functional. Step by step, I moved toward the mirror. Each step felt unreal. Like I was walking through a dream I couldn’t wake up from. When I reached it— I froze. The woman staring back at me… Was me. But not the me from last night. She looked younger. Softer. Untouched by the exhaustion and pain I had carried for years. Her eyes were still clear. Still hopeful. Still— Naive. My fingers trembled as I slowly lifted my hand and touched my face. The reflection did the same. Real. “I…” My voice broke. “I’m alive?” The words felt strange in my mouth. Unfamiliar. Impossible. My gaze dropped to the calendar beside the mirror. And that’s when my heart stopped again. The date. Three years ago. Before the marriage fell apart. Before everything went wrong. Before I died. A cold realization settled deep in my chest. This wasn’t a dream. I had come back. Back to the beginning. Back to the moment where everything could change. My fingers slowly curled into fists. My reflection stared back at me. The same face. But something in my eyes had changed. The softness was gone. Replaced by something colder. Sharper. Awake. Memories flooded my mind. Every word. Every betrayal. Every moment I had been ignored, humiliated, discarded. Especially by him. Ethan Blackwood. My husband. The man who watched me die… And chose to believe I did it to myself. A hollow laugh escaped my lips. So this is my second chance. Not a blessing. Not a miracle. An opportunity. My gaze hardened. If I had another life… I had already made my choice. This time— I wouldn’t love him. This time— I wouldn’t stay. And this time— I would never die like that again. I turned away from the mirror, my heart finally steady. My mind clear. My decision made. Without hesitation, I reached for my phone. There was only one thing I needed to do first. One thing that would change everything. I stared at Ethan’s contact name on the screen. For a brief second, my fingers hovered. Memories tried to surface. Emotions I once couldn’t let go of. But I crushed them. Completely. Then I pressed call. The phone rang once. Twice. Then he picked up. “Anna?” His voice. Cold. Familiar. Unchanged. I closed my eyes for a second. Then opened them. And spoke. “I want a divorce.” Silence filled the line. Heavy. Unexpected. For the first time I had said something he didn’t expect. And somehow… I knew Everything was about to change.