Ex Husband, You Will Beg Me

CHAPTER 5

Aria’s POV.

The car pulled up to NexWave Group headquarters at exactly 8:47 AM. I'd chosen the timing deliberately. Not too early; I wasn't eager. Not late, I wasn't desperate. Just perfectly, precisely on time to walk in while Damien was settling into what he thought was his coronation.

"Ready?"

Maya asked from beside me. She wore a charcoal pantsuit that made her look like she could buy and sell someone's soul before breakfast. Her wild curls were tamed into a sleek bun, and she carried a leather portfolio stuffed with the documents that were about to detonate Damien's entire world.

I checked my reflection in the tinted window. The woman staring back was a stranger, or maybe she was who I was supposed to be all along. The suit was Valentino, black with subtle silver threading that caught the light when I moved. My hair fell in loose waves over my shoulders, and my lips were deep crimson red, the colour of wine and victory and blood. I looked devastating. I looked powerful. I looked like I could ruin someone's life before lunch.

"I'm ready," I said.

We stepped out, and the morning sun hit the glass facade of NexWave Tower like a declaration. Fifty-seven floors of steel and ambition. My father had helped build this empire before he sold his shares. Now it was mine.

The receptionist, a young woman with severe bangs, looked up as we approached. Her eyes widened slightly.

"I'm sorry, but if you're here for the public…" She stopped mid-sentence, recognition dawning. "Wait. You're... Mrs Cross?"

"Ms Winters," I corrected, my voice smooth as silk. "And I'm here for the board meeting."

She glanced at her colleague, uncertainty flickering across her features. "I'm not sure you're on the…"

"I'm not asking for permission," I said, not unkindly, but with enough steel that she sat back. "I'm informing you. Which floor?"

"Forty-seven," she stammered. "But I should call…"

I was already walking toward the elevator, Maya's heels clicking in rhythm beside mine. Behind us, I heard the frantic whisper of the receptionist on the phone, but I didn't care. Let them warn Damien. Let him have thirty seconds to panic.

The elevator was glass on three sides. I watched the floors tick by: twenty, thirty, forty, and with each number, I felt myself transforming. Shedding the woman who'd waited by the window. Becoming someone who didn't wait. Someone who took.

"You're smiling," Maya observed.

"Am I?"

"Like a shark. It's terrifying. I love it."

The elevator chimed. Forty-seven. The doors slid open to reveal a reception area that screamed executive power. An assistant in a crisp blouse jumped up from her desk. The boardroom was at the end of a glass hallway. Through the transparent walls, I could see them, twelve board members seated around an enormous table. And at the head of it, standing like he owned the place, was Damien.

He wore a navy suit that probably cost as much as my car. His hair was perfect, his posture confident, and his smile easy as he gestured to something on the presentation screen. He looked every inch the billionaire heir, the golden boy finally claiming his throne.

He had no idea he was about to be dethroned by his own ex-wife. I paused at the door, just for a moment. Maya positioned herself beside me, files held like a weapon. We exchanged a glance, one last moment of calm before the storm.

Then I pushed open the door.

The soft click of my heels on the marble floor cut through Damien's speech like a blade. Conversations died mid-sentence. Heads turned. The air shifted, charging with electricity and confusion and something that felt deliciously like fear.

Damien turned slowly, his confident smile still in place, ready to dismiss whoever had dared interrupt his moment.

Then he saw me.

The smile froze. His eyes went wide, not just with shock, but with something that looked almost like recognition, as if he were seeing me for the first time. His gaze travelled from my heels to my face, lingering on the red lips, the styled hair, and the expensive suit. This wasn't the woman he'd left. This wasn't the wife who'd signed divorce papers with trembling hands a few days ago.

"Aria?" His voice cracked slightly on my name. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I let the silence stretch, enjoying the way his confusion rippled through the room. The board members stared at me like I was a ghost or maybe a grenade with the pin already pulled. I smiled. It wasn't a kind smile.

"Didn't anyone teach you respect, Damien?" My voice was honey over steel. "Is that how you speak to your boss now?"

His face went through several expressions at once: confusion, disbelief, and anger. He settled on condescension, that familiar patronising tone he'd perfected during our marriage.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He laughed, but it sounded forced. "Look, if you need money, talk to my secretary. She'll handle whatever you need. I'm in the middle of something important; please leave."

The board members exchanged glances. I could feel their discomfort, their second-hand embarrassment for the crazy ex-wife making a scene. I took a step further into the room, my heels clicking like a countdown.

"How pathetic. By the time I'm done with you, that will be my line."

Damien's expression darkened. "Aria, I won't ask again. Leave before I have security throw you out."

Before he could reach for his phone, movement caught my eye. Vanessa rose from her seat near the middle of the table because, of course, she was here; of course, she had a seat on this board. She wore a cream-coloured dress that did nothing to hide the baby bump. She strutted to the front of the room, her heels clicking against the marble in a parody of confidence.

"You heard him, Aria." Her voice dripped with false sympathy and real venom. "Go, before you embarrass yourself further. Damien left you a credit card and a penthouse. If you wanted more money, you could have just texted. Don't come here and interrupt a board meeting."

She paused dramatically, then raised her left hand. A massive diamond caught the light, an engagement ring that probably cost more than most people make in a year.

"My father was on this board long before you ever walked in here," I said.

"Damien told me everything; your father sold his shares. You have no claim, no power, no place here."

I let my gaze drop to the ring. It was gaudy, oversized, and desperate. The kind of ring a man bought when he was trying to prove something. Then I looked back up at Vanessa, and my smile didn't waver.

"I see he engaged you already." My voice was conversational, almost friendly. "But by the end of today, that'll be the only thing you own."

The door behind me opened. I didn't turn around, but I heard the footsteps, multiple pairs. Maya squeezed my arm once, then moved to stand beside the table. Margaret Chen walked in first, all five feet two inches of her radiating the kind of power that made grown men nervous. She wore a burgundy suit and carried a briefcase that probably contained enough legal ammunition to level a small country. Behind her was James Whitmore, Damien's personal attorney. Whitmore looked pale. Margaret looked like she could eat him for breakfast.

"Ah," I said, my smile widening. "Full house. Perfect. Let's begin the party."

I walked across the room, not to the empty seats, not to the sidelines where everyone expected me to go. I walked straight to the head of the table, to the CEO's chair where Damien had been standing moments ago.

And I sat down. The murmurs started immediately. Confusion rippled through the board like a wave. Damien's face went from pale to red.

"What the hell do you think you're…"

"Ms Chen," I interrupted, not looking at him. "Would you like to begin?"

Margaret stepped forward, setting her briefcase on the table with a decisive click. She opened it and pulled out a thick stack of documents, each one tabbed and organised with ruthless efficiency.

"Good morning, board members. My name is Margaret Chen, and I represent Ms Aria Winters." She didn't waste time on pleasantries. "I'm here to inform you that there has been a significant change in the ownership structure of NexWave Group. Specifically, regarding the Cross Family Trust and the associated shares in this company."

Damien laughed, a harsh, disbelieving sound. "This is ridiculous. James, tell them this is ridiculous."

But James Whitmore wasn't laughing. He was staring at the documents Margaret was distributing to each board member, and his face had gone from pale to grey.

"These are certified copies," Margaret continued, "of the marriage contract signed by Damien Cross and Aria Winters six years ago, as required by the late Robert Cross's last will. Please direct your attention to page thirty-four, section twelve, subsection C."

The sound of papers rustling filled the room. I watched the board members' faces as they read, as comprehension dawned, as their eyes widened one by one.

"No," Damien said. It was barely a whisper. "No, this can't be possible."

He spun to James, his voice rising to a shout. "You said you reviewed every clause, every word for months! You said there were no surprises!"

James looked like he might be sick. "I… I did review it. I reviewed everything. But this section, this particular clause, was buried in the marriage contract, not the trust documents. It was cross-referenced but not explicit. And you never mentioned the marriage contract." He swallowed hard.

"What does it say?" One of the board members asked, her voice cutting through the chaos. "What clause?"

Margaret's smile was sharp as a knife. "The clause states that in the event of a divorce filing within six years of marriage, the party who files for divorce forfeits all rights, claims, and interests in the Cross Family Trust and associated assets, including the fifty-one per cent controlling shares of NexWave Group. All forfeited assets transfer in full to the non-filing party."

The silence was deafening.

"Damien Cross filed for divorce," Margaret continued. "The papers were signed four days ago. As of 9:03 AM this morning, all assets previously held in trust for Damien Cross, including 1.2 billion dollars in liquid assets and the controlling shares of this company, have been legally transferred to Aria Winters."

Gasps echoed around the table. One of the older board members actually dropped his papers.

"No." Damien's voice was strangled. "No, that can't…. James, fix this. There has to be a loophole. There has to be something."

"There isn't." James looked defeated. "I've been reviewing the documents since 4 AM when I discovered the clause. I've had three other attorneys look at it. It's ironclad. Your father made sure of it. He knew..." James trailed off, but the implication hung in the air.

I stood slowly, letting the moment breathe. Every eye in the room was on me, some shocked, some calculating, some grudgingly impressed.

I walked around the table toward Damien. He was frozen, his face cycling through emotions so quickly I could barely track them. Shock. Disbelief. Rage. Fear.

Good. Let him feel what I'd felt. Let him drown in it.

"Now you see, Damien." My voice was quiet, but it carried through the silent room like a bell. "You and your little trash you call a baby mama have no place here. Your house, your cars, your accounts, your shares, even your trust fund all belong to me."

I stopped directly in front of him, close enough that I could see the pulse hammering in his throat.

"I wonder how you'll take care of your baby on the way. Hmm..." I tilted my head, pretending to consider. "Maybe I can offer you something. Something manageable until you get back on your feet."

I let the silence stretch, watching him realise what was coming. "I'll give you a job here, as Head Janitor. How's that for mercy?"

The humiliation that crashed over his face was everything I'd hoped for and more. Behind him, Vanessa made a strangled sound. But I wasn't done with her yet.

I turned to face the board.

"As the new majority shareholder and CEO of NexWave Group, my first order of business is a comprehensive review of all current board positions. Each member will be required to submit a formal statement of their recent contributions and qualifications before the close of business today. Those who fail to meet the company's new standards..." I paused, letting the silence stretch before offering a small, deliberate smile. "Well, I'm sure we can find positions more fitting for their abilities."

My gaze landed on Vanessa, lingering just long enough to make my meaning clear. Then I walked past Damien, letting my shoulder brush his, the lightest touch, the loudest statement. Maya fell into step beside me, her heels clicking in perfect rhythm with mine.

"Ms Chen will be in touch with the details of the transition," I called over my shoulder. "I expect full cooperation. Good morning, everyone."

I walked out of that boardroom with my head high and my spine straight, every step echoing through the glass hallway like a victory march.