My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 48

Alexander brought Isabella Blackwood to visit Grandpa.

He brought his lover into the house to meet Grandpa.

A cold shiver spread through my chest, as though icy raindrops were falling in a wild wind, soaking me to the bone.

Why was he doing this to me?

Just the other day, he was called away by a phone call from Isabella. Not a single message from him, yet here he was, bringing Isabella to the hospital to see Grandpa.

Where did that leave me, his wife?

I stood quietly at the door of the hospital room, listening to the conversation inside.

Isabella’s voice was sweet, almost flattering, while Pop-Pop and Nana’s tone remained cool.

"Thank you for your kind words, Miss Blackwood," they said.

Nana then steered the conversation to Alexander, adding a subtle hint of reproach.

"Alexander, didn’t you come back with Vivienne yesterday? Why are you here alone today with Miss Blackwood? She must be busy with work, and you too—why drag her into this? What if the media catches wind of it and runs some false story? Won’t it hurt Miss Blackwood’s reputation?"

Isabella quickly interjected, "Nana, it was my decision to come. I heard Pop-Pop was in the hospital, and I was so worried, I asked Alexander to bring me."

Evelyn furrowed her brows. "Alexander, why do you involve outsiders in everything? Miss Blackwood, I’m not targeting you, but some people might try to take advantage of the situation. If word gets out that Alexander’s grandfather is in the hospital, people will start showing up with gifts and hanging around, making things uncomfortable."

Isabella paled, casting a hurt look at Alexander.

"Nana, I’m sorry," Alexander said, stepping forward. "It was my idea to bring Isabella. If you’re upset, you can blame me."

He had searched for Isabella all night.

After days without seeing him, she was filled with insecurity, overthinking, and even resorting to self-harm.

Alexander, feeling there was no other way, had tried to prove his commitment to Isabella through this gesture, hoping it would calm her down.

Grandpa’s face suddenly darkened, and he broke into a violent cough, clutching his chest.

"Pop-Pop!" Alexander rushed forward, concern in his voice.

Evelyn helped Grandpa sit up. "Miss Blackwood has already visited, but Alexander’s grandfather isn’t well and can’t meet guests for too long. You should go for now. Alexander, have someone escort Miss Blackwood home and then go pick up Vivienne."

"Okay," Alexander said, his voice tight. "Isabella, I’ll walk you out."

"Wait," Grandpa spoke up suddenly, his voice hoarse. "Miss Blackwood, go ahead. I need to speak with Alexander."

Isabella hesitated, looking at Alexander.

He gave her a silent nod, signaling her to leave. "Pop-Pop?"

At his words, I turned and walked toward the bathroom.

I didn’t want to be around them now.

I stayed in the bathroom for a few minutes, thinking they’d probably left by now, and finally stepped out.

To my surprise, I ran straight into Isabella at the bathroom door.

"Vivienne, so you’ve come to the hospital," Isabella said with a smile. "Why didn’t you go in? Why are you hiding in here?"

I didn’t reply right away.

"Of course," I added, "I wanted to give you some face. I didn’t want to witness the scene where Pop-Pop and Nana kicked you out of the room. I figured you’d have nowhere to hide."

Isabella’s smile faltered for a moment.

I smirked, watching her struggle to keep her composure, then walked past her without another word.

"Vivienne Sinclair," Isabella called after me, her tone sharp. "Why rush off? I have something I want to say."

I paused and turned back. "Unless it’s about Alexander, I don’t think we have anything to discuss. Or are you planning to reminisce about your time with him? Is that all you have left?"

"No, you’re wrong," Isabella shot back, crossing her arms with a smug look in her eyes. "What I have to say concerns you."

I raised an eyebrow, staying silent.

I knew Isabella wasn’t about to say anything good, but my legs felt like they were made of lead, and I couldn’t seem to move away.

Isabella took two slow steps forward, her smile now more calculated. "I heard you were in a car accident a few days ago. The person who hit you was one of my fans. Do you know why they did it?"

I met her gaze without blinking.

Isabella’s grin widened. "Because you’re the mistress between me and Alexander!"

I laughed, a bitter sound. "You only have the guts to say that to my face. You know very well who the real homewrecker is. You strut around, pretending to be all high and mighty, but are you not worried that I’ll go to the media and set the record straight? I could easily call you out as the mistress."

Isabella burst out laughing.

"What’s so funny?" I asked, confused.

"I laugh because you’re so naïve. Right now, in the eyes of the media and netizens, you’re the homewrecker."

At my silence, Isabella pressed on. "You still don’t get it, do you? If you’d just checked your Twitter, you wouldn’t have said something like that."

My heart skipped a beat. Recently, my vision had been blurry, especially when using my phone. I hadn’t checked it much and hadn’t even opened Twitter in days.

What had happened in these past few days?

Why had no one told me?

Was Alexander hiding this from me?

"What’s the matter?" Isabella taunted. "Too scared to check?"

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms, leaving deep red marks.

I knew exactly what Isabella was doing—she was provoking me.

The more she goaded me, the less I was willing to give in.

"Ha!" I let out a forced laugh. "Vivienne Sinclair, didn’t you claim to be Alexander’s wife? Don’t you even have that much faith in him? At least you should know that Alexander doesn’t want you. It’s good that you’ve figured that out. But look—just yesterday, I made one call, and he couldn’t wait to come to me. He even brought me to meet Pop-Pop and Nana."

"If it weren’t for you, Alexander and I would’ve already been married. The one he loves is me, and you’re the one standing in between us, ruining everything."

"Isabella Blackwood, you should know better than anyone who the real homewrecker is. When Alexander and I got married, you two were already over. I never interfered with you—you interfered with us," I said, my throat tightening. Every word came out clear and deliberate.

"Then why won’t you check your phone? Stop pretending. You know the truth. Deep down, you’ve already accepted that you’re the real homewrecker between Alexander and me!"

I scoffed lightly, "It’s just looking at a phone. What’s so hard about that? Even if the media and the internet call me a homewrecker, does it change the fact that you’re the mistress?"

I knew I shouldn’t check my phone.

But somehow, my hands moved on their own, pulling my phone from my bag and opening Twitter.

There were hundreds of unread notifications.

My fingers trembled as I tapped on the most recent tweet.

The comments under it had grown to over ten thousand.

I had braced myself for the insults and slander, but what shocked me was the timing.

The earliest comments accusing me of being the homewrecker were from days ago.

August 16th.

What had I done that day? 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

I racked my brain, remembering that it was a Saturday. I’d watched the ballet with Alexander and later went to the club to pick him up.

It must’ve been photographed.

I tried to calm myself, turning off my phone’s screen, then glanced at Isabella. "I’ve seen it. So what? They’re just people jumping on the bandwagon, led by the media. Can we really take anything they say seriously?"

Isabella burst into laughter. "Vivienne, if I said you were foolish, I’d be putting it lightly. Have you ever stopped to think why it took you so long to find out what happened? Why hasn’t anyone stepped up to clear things up for you?"