Dear Ex-husband, You Were Wrong!

Burning for more

Four Days Later – Reele Café

Elena's pov

I sat hunched in the corner of the café, my disguise laughable even to myself. Black hoodie. Black trousers. A black cap tugged low with oversized sunglasses hiding my swollen eyes. I looked less like someone blending in and more like someone running from their own shadow.

The video of me begging for love had spread across the internet like wildfire. They called me pathetic, a disgrace, a beggar for affection. Every headline, every whisper felt like another knife to the chest. Not a day passed without tears soaking my pillow or alcohol burning my throat.

And yet, I wasn’t done. He would pay. Calvin would regret mocking the woman who once swore she’d die for him.

The coffee in front of me had gone cold. I slurped it anyway, the bitterness grounding me.

“Nice disguise,” a voice said as someone slid into the booth beside me.

I jerked, then exhaled when I saw my lawyer, Sean. At this point, I don't think I can even afford his services again.

“How the hell did you recognize me?” I muttered, pulling my cap lower.

He smirked. “Because no sane person wears sunglasses inside on a Monday morning. You stand out more than a celebrity.” He dropped his leather bag on the table. “Now, business?”

I nodded, straightening. “Yes.”

He began pulling out documents, but my phone rang. My sister’s name flashed across the screen.

“ Excuse me. “

I answered quickly. “Angela?”

Her sobbing voice spilled through the speaker. “I’m scared, Elena. Please, come home. Dad’s acting like he’ll kill himself. Please..”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Angela, listen to me. Take deep breaths. Keep him in sight and don’t let him out of the house. I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Okay?”

“Okay…” she whispered.

I ended the call and dropped the phone onto the table with a thud. My shoulders sagged. “I’m so damn tired.”

Sean gave me a look, part pity, part warning. “It’ll be alright, Elena… but not for some months.”

A chill ran through me. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “Calvin called me. He wants his three million back. Every dollar he invested in your café. He gave you one month.”

My heart sank, heavier than lead. “Is he insane? My café is already on life support. I can’t pay him back.”

Sean’s jaw tightened. “He said if you don’t… he’ll rat your brother out.”

My breath caught. Of course. Calvin wouldn’t let me go without twisting the knife deeper. My brother’s secret , the one I swore to protect, dangled over me like a noose.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. Why was it always me? Why did good people keep breaking while monsters walked free?

“Listen,” Sean said carefully, leaning closer. “There’s… another way.”

I narrowed my eyes. “If this is about prostitution, I’m not in.”

His head snapped back. “What? No. God, no. Why would you..”

“Because,” I cut in bitterly, “that’s exactly what half the lawyers before you suggested.”

He shook his head. “Not me. What I have is… unusual. There’s a billionaire in town looking to invest. I know someone close to him. If you pitch your café, there’s a chance he’ll take you seriously. I can't tell you who he is but you'd have to find out yourself”

A laugh slipped past my lips, harsh and cracked. “Pitch a sinking café to an unknown billionaire? Sean, you must think I’m…”

“There’s no harm in trying,” he interrupted firmly. “At least get your family out of Calvin’s claws.”

I stared at him for a long moment. He was right. Anything was better than being dragged back into Calvin’s orbit.

“You’re right,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t be near him again.”

***

7 PM – An Unknown Mansion

The mansion was a cathedral of wealth,

stone pillars, arched windows glowing gold, gardens trimmed nicely. I’d been waiting in the courtyard for three hours, nerves gnawing away at me, confidence leaking like water from a cracked glass.

Just when I was ready to leave, headlights cut through the dusk. A sleek black car rolled in, polished enough to mirror the world around it.

The guards opened the door, and he stepped out.

The moment his eyes met mine, my breath caught. He was striking,tall, broad-shouldered, features carved sharp beautifully.

Dark hair fell across his forehead in disarray, his suit clinging perfectly to his body. His presence was commanding, magnetic, and dangerously calm, the kind of man who could burn down an empire with a single glance.

“Are you coming in,” he asked, voice low and smooth, “or are you just going to stare?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. I followed him inside.

The living room swallowed me whole, high ceilings, black drapes, chandeliers spilling diamonds of light. Everything screamed money, power, and control.

“Sit,” he said simply. I obeyed.

He poured wine into two glasses, then handed one to me before settling a few inches away on the couch.

“So,” he drawled, “your pitch?”

I scrambled, nearly dropping the glass. “Right. Um… I started a café a year ago with the help of a sponsor, but five months in, losses began…”

“Did you ever check your staff?” he cut in, sipping his wine.

“Yes,” I said quickly.

He smirked. “You’re oblivious to more than you realize. Did you even ask my name before starting this little presentation?”

I flushed. “I’m sorry.”

“My name,” he said slowly, “is David East. And Elena… you’ve been blinded by more than just your marriage.”

“Ex-marriage,” I shot back, bristling. “And with all due respect, Mr. East, don’t believe everything you see online. I was deceived. I was betrayed.”

“Of course you were.” His voice was calm, almost mocking. “But this isn’t about your café. This is about you.”

“Excuse me?”

He leaned in, eyes flicking briefly to my lips. “I’ve been watching you. You want revenge, don’t you? Against Calvin.”

I stiffened. “What do you know about him?”

“More than you do,” he murmured. “And I know he won’t stop until he destroys you.”

My pulse quickened. “Why should I trust you? I just met you through my lawyer.”

“Because,” David whispered, his gaze piercing through me, “trusting me for one day will undo the years of misplaced faith you gave your ex-husband.”

My throat went dry. “What do you want?”

His lips curved, slow and deliberate. “I need a woman like you to take my revenge on someone very dear to me. You agree, and the three million is yours. Give me an heir within six months… and half my inheritance will belong to you.”

Shock rooted me in place. My lungs refused to move. The offer was insane and unreal.

“Why?” My voice trembled, betraying me. “Why me?”

His eyes darkened. “Because I know you, Elena. I know why you faked pregnancies. Why you hid behind pills. You were terrified Calvin would kill the child… like he did before.”

My blood ran cold. He knew. He knew too much, too deep, even about the murder.

“How..how do you know this?”

He leaned closer, his mouth grazing my ear, his voice a dark caress. “Because when I set my eyes on a woman… I don’t miss.”

The wineglass slipped from my hand, crimson spilling like blood across his white shirt. My breath caught as I scrambled. “I’m so sorry…” My fingers brushed his chest, frantic, trembling, touching him when I shouldn’t.

He stilled my hands with one of his. Then, without hurry, he began unbuttoning his shirt. “You poured it,” he said softly, eyes never leaving mine. “So I’ll remove it.”

Fabric slid away, revealing his beautiful abs that stared at me first. My pulse stuttered, my throat dry. His body radiated heat, a heat that pulled me in like gravity.

And then, his hand came up, cupping my face with shocking gentleness. His thumb stroked my cheek, slow, claiming.

“Elena,” he murmured, his voice raspy. “Your eyes don’t lie. And neither do mine.”

I wanted to deny it. To pull back. But the air between us burned. My body betrayed me the second he’d stepped out of that car, and now there was no going back.

Before I could think, my lips crashed onto his.

He groaned deep in his chest, the sound vibrating through me as his hands seized my waist. In one motion, he lifted me onto his lap, his mouth devouring mine like he’d been starving.

His tongue teased, demanded. His fingers slid higher between my thighs, parting me without shame, pulling me tighter against the hard proof of what he wanted. My jacket slipped from my shoulders, forgotten.

I gasped when his lips broke from mine only to claim the curve of my throat, teeth grazing, sucking, marking. Heat surged through me like wildfire, dangerous and intoxicating.

“Forget Calvin,” he whispered against my skin, voice rough and sinful. His teeth nipped my ear. “He gave you nothing but pain. Let me give you something real… tonight.”

His hand slid beneath the hem of my dress, palm hot against bare skin. I should’ve pushed him away. Instead, my head throbbed back, surrendering.

And when his fingers tugged my shirt free, I didn’t stop him. I burned for more.