Chasing Her Discarded Ex-husband

THE UNKNOWN LOVER

ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV

The room goes quiet as Vanessa walks in, commanding all the guests attention. The black velvet gown she has on, clings perfectly to her curves, accentuating her figure like a work of art. Every man, including me, can't take his eyes off her as she walks down the stairs.

Mr. Raven stands up, a broad smile spreading across his face. "Vanessa, so glad you could make it!" His voice is warm, laced with a genuine fondness that was noticeably absent when he spoke to Aubrey.

Mrs. Raven rises too, her face lighting up with joy. "Oh, Vanessa, my dear!" she exclaims, leaning in to kiss both of Vanessa's cheeks.

I see Aubrey’s knuckles whiten around her wine glass, as she watches her parents fawn over Vanessa. I can’t blame her, they’re treating Vanessa like royalty, but I'm sure they expect her to contribute so much to their charity.

Mrs. Raven guides Vanessa to a seat at the table, unfortunately, one directly across from me. A waiter pulls out the chair for her with utmost respect.

As Vanessa settles in, her gaze locks onto mine.

"Abel Blackwood! What a surprise to see you here!" she exclaims, feigning surprise in a way that piques Mr. Raven's interest.

"Do you two know each other?" he asks, and my heart races.

"Everyone knows him," she replies, her smile growing wider. "The famous model 'runway angel,' right?"

Somehow, I manage to curl my lips upward in a semblance of a smile. "That's me," I nod as nonchalantly as I can manage and her face splits into an evil grin, and she shakes her head. I can tell she's enjoying this, making me uncomfortable.

"And I bet you didn’t know he’s Aubrey’s new boyfriend," Mrs. Raven adds cheerfully.

All the color drains from my face. Did she really have to say that? Now?

"For the first time, she actually brought home a sensible man," says Mr. Raven.

"Wow..." Vanessa say, sounding completely unflustered by what has been revealed. "Congratulations, Aubrey. Who knew you had it in you to make such a unique choice?"

"Yeah, thanks to the ungrateful i***t who let him go," Aubrey retorts with a tight-lipped smile, possessively taking my hand. The amusement immediately vanishes from Vanessa's face, getting replaced by a cold glare. I feel a pang of panic, this isn’t going to end well. But then I see a smirk creeping back onto her lips. Aubrey should know better than to poke at Vanessa. She can get extremely pissed sometimes.

“How’s your divorce going with that gold-digging clown?” Aubrey continues to jab, referring to Vanessa's ongoing divorce. Her parents frown at her remark.

"That’s not very kind," Mrs. Raven interjects gently, squeezing Vanessa's hand. "Vanessa knows her worth and made the right choice to leave that useless bum."

Vanessa nods but keeps her gaze fixed on Aubrey. "It's going great."

"Oh! I almost forgot," she continues. "I brought a very wealthy guest who wasn’t invited initially but could contribute generously to your charity. I left him outside to check if it’s okay for him to come in." She glances at Mr. and Mrs. Raven.

Mr. Raven's eyes light up. "Of course! We’d love to have him."

Mrs. Raven chimes in enthusiastically, "We should be thanking you for bringing in more contributors!"

Vanessa smiles sweetly at Aubrey. "He’s quite the gentleman, you might even know him." She calls over a nearby waiter, whispering instructions for him to fetch the gentleman she's talking about.

A few seconds later, the waiter leads in a man in a black suit, that man is none other than Senator Jonathan Luis Green. Things gonna get hot in here. I really wish I can just stand and leave right now.

A sharp noise of a c***k suddenly slices through the murmurs of the guests and we all look to see Aubrey's champagne glass has slipped from her fingers, shattering on the marble floor. Her expression shifts from shock to fury as she glares at Vanessa, who sits with self satisfied smirk plastered across her face. She did this on purpose. What's for? To cause a scene? Aubrey's parents would love Jonathan, it's even surprising they were acting nice to me after Aubrey introduced me as her boyfriend.

"Aubrey!” Jonathan calls out, striding confidently toward the table. "Why didn’t you invite me, my love? I’ve been waiting for you to introduce me to your family."

Now it's my turn to be shocked. Does her parents not know Jonathan? She claimed her father was the one forcing them together. But her parents appear equally bewildered. Mr. Raven's face twists in disgust as he glares at Jonathan.

"Aubrey... how do you know this man?" her father asks, irritation lacing his voice.

Mrs. Raven clears her throat loudly. “Aubrey? Is this… your fiance?” she asks incredulously, glancing between Aubrey and Jonathan as if trying to piece together a puzzle.

“Yes...no! I mean…” Aubrey stammers getting to her feet. “It’s complicated.”

Jonathan frowns. “Complicated? honey, I thought we were past that.” He turns toward the Ravens with an earnest expression. “I’m senator Jonathan Green. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Mr Raven's gaze remain fixated on his daughter, and if looks could kill, Aubrey would be a small mound of ash on the floor.

“And how long have you been… dating my daughter?” he demands.

“Dating?” Jonathan repeats, his tone confused. “We’re not just dating we’re engaged."

“Oh no!” Aubrey's mother cries. "Aubrey. Tell me this it’s not true, because if it is...?”

“Mom..it’s not what....”

“Don’t even try it, Aubrey! I heard him! What about this nice gentleman?” She turns to me. "Did you know about this?"

At the moment, I wish for nothing more than to disappear into the floorboards. Of course I knew about Jonathan but not that he was Aubrey's choice. I shake my head slowly.

“Your dating a man twice your age? Someone older than your father?” Mr. Raven exclaims incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief. “And you’ve kept it a secret from us? From him?” He gestures at me.

Jonathan’s expression shifts from confusion to concern as he glances between Aubrey, her parents and me. “I didn’t mean to create any trouble,” he says earnestly, stepping closer Aubrey and taking her hand. "But your daughter and I ..."

"Take your filthy paws off my daughter, you criminal, and get out of my house, now!” Mr Raven's seethes through gritted teeth.

Jonathan looks shocked as two security men approaches.

Whispers ripple through the guests, their curious faces peering in from the edges of the room.Thank God this was a private charity event without media or this would be on broadcast tomorrow.

"Is there a problem, sir?" one asks Mr. Raven.

“Escort this criminal out of my house!” he spits, his face a mask of rage.

Jonathan doesn’t wait for an escort, he shoots the Ravens a furious look before storming out.

Aubrey's parents turn to her, hurt and anguish etched on their faces.

An oppressive silence fills the room until Mrs. Raven finally speaks: “How long?” Her voice drips with disgust.

"Tell us! How long have you been seeing that old criminal?” her father demands through clenched teeth.

“A few months,” Aubrey whispers, shrugging.

"Try again.” Vanessa interrupts. "I’ve seen you both for more than a few months... I just didn’t think you were sleeping with that... old pervert."

Hell. She's just making this worse. It was a revenge card.

"Stay out of this, you bi.."

“Aubrey,” her mother warns sharply.

"A year and a few months. What do you care?” Aubrey shouts.

“A year! A year!" her father bellows, making everyone cringe at the force of his outrage

Her mother closes her eyes like she's been stabbed, her hand flying to her mouth as she stifles a sob. When she opens them, they are filled with anger.

She suddenly stalks toward Aubrey and slaps her hard across her face, astonishing us all. The sound resonates off the whole room.

"Mom!" Aubrey clutches her cheek, shocked.

“I thought you were changing, and now this,” her mother sobs. Mr raven steps forward, wrapping his arms around his wife.

"I’m no longer fifteen, mother." Aubrey groans. "I'm twenty eight for f***s sake, you don't get to lecture me on my personal responsibility and acceptable behavior."

"Get out of my house, now!" Mr raven spits out.

"Whatever." Aubrey snorts grabs her handbag and storms out.