CEO Ex-Wife Wants Me Back

I had always been what you would call a slow person. Case in point: When I saw the stern-looking female CEO appearing in the financial news who looked just like my wife, it took me ages to finally realize it was truly her. Immediately after, a stream of comments highlighted in different colors overlaid my vision. [Oh my God! Julian Vance, the shameless supporting male lead, has finally shown up to stir the pot! Imagine dragging a child into this just to scam Ms. Eunice Latour, how disgusting!] [Didn’t he already make away with two million as compensation? Why is he back again? He must be sick in the head if he thinks that he can use his child as a pawn to get ahead in life!] [I can’t wait to see Mr. Carter put him in his place! Let the real male and female protagonists shine!] It took me half a minute before I finally wrapped my head around what they were saying. It seemed I had been in the world of a novel, one where I was cast as an evil supporting male lead whose main goal was to make the male and female protagonists look good. My wife was Eunice Latour, the female protagonist in question. One day, she went out to buy food for the baby, only to never return. Chapter 1 I reported my wife, Eunice Latour’s disappearance to the police. They spent an entire month searching for her while I had even gone as far as to speak to the freight transport drivers I knew to collect intel because I was starting to suspect Eunice had fallen victim to a human trafficking scheme. After countless turmoil, I finally found out that she had been ambushed by her enemies and ended up suffering a second bout of amnesia. This time, she regained her memories before she met me, remembered she was the CEO of a prestigious tech company, and ran off with the male lead of the story. But she forgot everything about me. I looked at Eve, our child who was only one and a half years old. The child was busy chewing on the drawstring of my hoodie, completely unaware of the mess she had made by drooling all over it. Almost three years ago, I found Eunice unconscious and critically wounded in the alleyway behind a modest bar I ran. After that, I drained my savings amounting to eight hundred thousand dollars to pay for her surgery. When she woke up, she claimed to have forgotten everything because of amnesia. Since she had nowhere to go, she insisted on sticking by my side, and that was the story of how we got married. We had lived together for more than two years and even had a child. And yet, after all the money and time I had spent on her, she just up and left! The barrage of comments continued to swarm the screen. It was clear that they had something against me. Some claimed Bruno had generously given the person who saved Eunice two million dollars as repayment for their efforts. It was said that after taking the money, the Samaritan left and no longer bothered them. I knew for a fact that I had never received a single cent. Could someone else have claimed the money in my place? I looked down and gently caressed Eve’s soft, wool-like hair. When she slept, her cheeks became flushed with pink, and it occurred to me that her prominent eyelashes looked just like Eunice’s. She seemed to be dreaming about something, for she smacked her lips and mumbled, “Mama…” I slowly reached for the drawer and grabbed three items from within. The first item was the receipt for the eight-hundred-thousand-dollar surgery, whose edges had turned a sallow yellow because of age. The official stamp of the city hospital verified that it was dated from the fall season almost three years ago. It was the fateful day when I found Eunice collapsed and covered in blood on the steps behind my bar. I had hoisted her on my back and brought her to the hospital, where I paid for her surgery with every penny I had to my name at the time. The second item was a crumpled IOU penned in Eunice’s shaky handwriting when she was still recovering from amnesia. It read, “I owe Julian Vance eight hundred thousand dollars for the surgery. Signed, Eunice Latour.” The final item I retrieved was a stack of pictures we took during the time we lived together. One of the pictures was Eunice holding Eve, who was smiling from ear to ear, revealing rows of still-growing baby teeth. I tucked the items into my old bag, whose color had faded from the number of times it had been washed. Then, I helped Eve get dressed in her favorite dinosaur onesie. I took her in my arms before telling her gently, “Let’s go look for your Mommy to get child support.” The comments section lambasted me mercilessly. [How dare he still have the guts to ask for more money! I have never seen anyone more shameless than he is!] [I can't wait to see him getting tossed out of Carter Corporation lobby by the security guard!] Soon, I arrived outside the thirty-eight-story glass tower owned by Carter Corporation with Eve in my arms. A gust of evening breeze whipped up a pile of leaves and sent a chill up my spine. When I entered and went to the reception desk, I found a man in a suit and bow tie whose attention was fixed on the video playing on his phone. Upon hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, he looked up briefly to scrutinize the way I dressed. After noticing my worn-out pants and the child in my arms, his lips turned downward in what seemed like a scowl. Then, he turned his attention back to the screen without acknowledging me. Chapter 2 I asked in my usual slow, hesitant manner, “Hi, I’m looking for Eunice Latour.” Without even looking up at me, he asked, “Do you have an appointment?” “No, but if you tell her that a Julian Vance is here to see her, she should…” “You can’t see her if you don’t have an appointment.” After cutting me off impatiently, the irritation in his voice became increasingly pronounced. “Ms. Latour is very busy. She doesn’t have time to meet just any common nobody who waltzes in here.” I tried to reason with him, “I have something important to discuss with her. It’s about—” At last, he turned to look at me and informed me crossly, “As I said. No. Appointment. No. Entry.” He was relatively good-looking, if not for the scornful look. He even made a point of raising his voice to attract the attention of the other office workers waiting for the elevator in the lobby. Then, he fixed another look at me and went on cynically, “Look, mister. You look pretty young, and I get that it must be hard to make a living when you have a kid, but don't get any shady ideas. Do you have any idea who Ms. Eunice Latour is? “I’ve seen plenty of people like you making up excuses to get to her, in hopes of latching onto her and leeching off her wealth and status. Trust me, you’re not the first guy to bring a kid with you to get some easy pity points. “Here’s my advice. Take your kid and get out of here before you humiliate yourself any further if you don’t want me to call security. Would you rather get dragged out by force? That wouldn’t look very nice, would it?” The comment section erupted once he was finished. [Way to go, receptionist!] [What a brutal takedown! That’s right, there is no reason to be nice to a cheap gold digger!] [Go on and scram! What are you waiting for, the security guard?] Meanwhile, Eve appeared to be unsettled by his hostile voice and started to squirm in my arms. I gently patted her back to comfort her. It was only then that my delayed response kicked in and my anger started to flare up bit by bit. Around the same time, a group of executives all dressed handsomely in suits emerged from a private elevator. They were all surrounding a woman and were taking turns reporting to her in hushed voices. It was Eunice. In the month since I last saw her, her rigid aura that cautioned anyone from approaching her intensified. Everywhere she looked, people bowed their heads to avoid eye contact. Right next to her was a tall, impeccably groomed man, dressed in a striking white shirt matched with well-tailored black trousers. He was speaking faintly to her with a tablet in hand. The live-stream comments erupted again. [Here comes Mr. Bruno! The man himself is here!] [It’s time to put the pathetic supporting male lead in his place!] [He’s so cool! I can’t handle it!] When Bruno glanced up and noticed me, his expression stiffened visibly for a moment before he assumed his usual composed smile. Then, he leaned in toward Eunice and whispered something to her, which caused her to slow down for a moment and cast a look in my direction. Her gaze was utterly menacing. It was a look I could not recognize. I felt as if I was looking at a stranger. My heart dropped for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure. If she forgot about me, then so be it. At this point, all I wanted was for her to repay the money she owed me. Her gaze lingered on me for less than two seconds before she turned away and continued advancing toward the exit. When they walked past me, Bruno, who was walking alongside her, flashed a coy grin and seemed to relish the experience. The comments section approved of the gesture. [Look, Mr. Bruno ignored him!] [Awesome! You get nothing, you bastard!] [Go on, get lost!] Just as Eunice was about to step through the revolving door, Eve, who was in my arms, suddenly jerked to life. She had been rubbing her eyes, but the moment she caught sight of Eunice’s figure, her tiny body jerked with a tremendous amount of energy. With her tiny arms outstretched, her voice rang across the tranquil lobby. “Mommy! I want hug!!” Chapter 3 It was so quiet inside the lobby that you could hear a pin drop. All the executives stopped in their tracks and turned to face me, astonished. Eunice had halted as well. She turned around and set her eyes upon Eve, whom I held in my arms. For the first time, I noticed a sheer bewilderment in her eyes. It was a complete departure from her usual cool and unemotive self. Before anyone could react to what was happening, she turned around and marched toward me in fewer than a handful of wide strides. Then, she collected Eve from my arms in one swift, practiced gesture. Based on her practised ease, one could easily tell it was something she was accustomed to. With one hand firmly supporting Eve from below and the other palming her back, she managed to position Eve perfectly and let the child nestle against her shoulder. All the colour drained from Bruno’s face. Even the comments in the livestream paused for a moment before another barrage followed. [Huh???] [Is it just me or… Ms. Latour looked a little too adept at handling the kid?] [Wasn’t it Mr. Carter who said that she hated children?] As soon as Eunice took Eve, the child immediately wrapped her arms around Eunice's neck before nuzzling herself into the crook of her mother’s neck while mumbling dearly, “Mommy…” Her voice was sweet, tender, and sounded as if she was in between waking and sleeping. Eunice’s body visibly stiffened. When she looked at the child whose features resembled hers so closely, her brows were locked in a frown. It looked like she was trying to recall something, but was only drawing blanks. Bruno was the first to snap out of his trance. When he rushed over, he put on his most Hollywood-worthy performance. “Sir!” He shouted sternly while jabbing a finger at me, “How could you teach your child to lie?” The comment sections sprang to life at the same time. [I knew it! He’s a scammer!] [Mr. Carter says that he has already paid this guy!] [Ms. Latour, put the kid down! Don’t let yourself get tricked by him!] [What a wretched man! I can’t believe he trained a toddler for his scam!] Eunice did not respond and held onto Eve. Eve was lying soundly against her shoulder and was curiously inspecting the lapel of her suit as if trying to make sense of her new surroundings. Then, Eunice looked away from Bruno before fixing a look on me. Her beautiful eyes held my gaze for a long time, and the longer she did, the deeper her frown became. “Have we…” Her cool voice was tinged with uncertainty when she spoke, “...met somewhere before?” My first thought was to try to take Eve back from her. However, Eve insisted on clutching onto Eunice and refused to let go. Her expression had turned into a pout, and she looked to be on the verge of tears. Upon noticing this, Eunice instinctively patted her back. It was a gesture so natural that it seemed as if she had done it a thousand times in the past. She tenderly soothed Eve, “There, there, don’t cry.” Just like that, Eve dropped the pout before nuzzling into Eunice’s neck again. Then, I slowly turned toward Bruno, whose expression was dark like the night before, asking, “On what grounds can you claim that this child does not belong to Eunice?” He seemed caught off guard by the sudden question, not expecting such a bold confrontation. However, it did not take long before he assumed his usual haughty demeanor, as if he had seen through my ploys. With that, he announced loudly for everyone to hear, “On what grounds, you ask? On the grounds that Ms. Latour has been working for an entire month and never said anything about having a child! She has gone on record saying that she hates children, so how could you explain her suddenly having a young daughter?” Then, he turned to the group of employees and executives gathered around to rally their support. “I want you all to think about it for a second. If this was truly her daughter, why would she leave them hanging for an entire month to a point where they had to show up in such a poor state to find her?” Then, he gave me a once-over to regard my outfit, whose colors had faded from the amount of washing. He noted with clear contempt in his voice, “Sir, if you want money, you should just say it outright. Why bother spinning such an outrageous lie? To go as far as to teach a child to do something like this… Have you thought about what you are doing to an innocent child?” The employees began to exchange hushed whispers among themselves and look at me with suspicion. The executives were exchanging glances as well and seemed to be actively evaluating the situation. Meanwhile, Eunice tightened her grip around Eve and observed the child’s gestures. Eve was playfully toying with the brooch on Eunice’s jacket, completely unaware that she was at the center of a storm. At last, Bruno reached for his phone and threatened to call the police, “Sir, if you’re going to keep up this farce, I’m going to report you to the police for fraud and harassment! Ms. Latour is very busy with work. She doesn’t have time for someone like you!” At the same time, he signaled the bodyguards with a cursory look. Soon, two menacing security guards were approaching me. The commenters in the livestream had turned rabid. [Call the police! Call them right now!] [This greedy bastard belongs behind bars!] [Boot him out of here already!] I looked at the guards closing in on me, then turned to Eve, who was still clinging to Eunice and was clearly refusing to let go. “I never taught her to lie.” My voice remained calm as I spoke with a cadence slower than usual. “The first time she called out for Mommy, she said it to a picture of Eunice we had hung at home.” With that, I reached for a tablet inside my bag, whose colors had faded completely from overwashing. Chapter 4 I unlocked the tablet and proceeded to open an encrypted folder. It contained the daily vlogs I had filmed over the past three years. All sorts of snippets of life were captured. There was footage of Eunice when I brought her home following her amnesia, of her pulling faces when she was pregnant, of Eve’s birth, and of her learning to help Eve change her diapers. More than seven hundred days of memories had been recorded in a series of montages. I turned the tablet toward Eunice and Bruno before hitting play. It was a video of Eunice in an apron with dinosaur motifs printed on it. She was trying to help Eve change out of her diapers. She was slightly hesitant, but also very cautious with every move she made because she was afraid of hurting Eve. After she managed the task, she affectionately kissed Eve’s soft, tender cheek. Then, her eyes turned crescent when she smiled at the camera and said with delight, “My sweet daughter is so beautiful.” My voice could be heard off-screen. “Careful you don’t wake her up, dear.” The joy in my voice was unmistakable. Then, I played another video taken some time at three in the morning. Eunice was in the kitchen making milk for Eve. Her hair resembled a bird's nest, and her eyes were still bleary with sleep. Even with her eyes barely open, she could find the can containing the milk formula. She skillfully dripped a drop of water on the back of her palm to make sure the temperature was right before mixing it with the formula. Once the formula was ready, she ambled back to the bedroom where she cradled Eve in her arms to feed her. Her movements were very delicate and gentle. The third video I played was of me applying cream to Eunice’s lower back. The camera zoomed in on a roughly three-centimeter-long scar across her right lower back, which looked slightly inflamed. My voice could be heard nagging at her when I applied the cream, “Your scar gets inflamed easily, especially during the rainy season. Be careful of the temperature when you shower, or else you’ll irritate it.” Meanwhile, Eunice was lying on the sofa and turned toward me with a smile, “I’ll be fine, just be gentle with the cream. By the way, Eve learned to roll herself over! Did you see it?” Her profile looked especially gentle because of the warm hue. With that, I turned off the video. An oppressive silence dominated the lobby. All of the executives, security guards, and the receptionist were staring blankly with their mouths agape. They looked at the darkened screen of the tablet, then to Eunice, who was still holding Eve, and at last, to Bruno, who had turned pale. Though Eunice was still holding onto Eve, her gaze was fixed intently on the tablet. “When…” Her voice, filled with disbelief, cracked slightly. “When were these videos taken?” “As long as almost three years ago.” I stated plainly while keeping the tablet in the bag, “After you lost your memory and fainted behind my bar, covered in blood, I rushed you to the hospital and paid for the eight-hundred-thousand-dollar surgery for you. “When you woke up, you couldn’t remember anything from the past, so I let you work at my bar to slowly pay off your debt. “That was up until a month ago, when you said you were heading out to buy something for Eve, only to never come back.” I spoke slowly and with great emphasis on every word, “I have kept two years and seven months of footage.” Eunice’s brows furrowed tighter with every word I said. When she looked down at Eve, Eve was looking back at her and blinking her large, jet-black eyes, which looked like orbs. Then, Eve reached forward to graze her hands against Eunice’s chin. It was a soft, delicate touch. Eunice felt herself stiffening involuntarily. Meanwhile, Bruno’s knuckles had turned white from gripping his hands too tightly. He quickly composed himself by forcing a strained smile and told Eunice, “Don’t listen to what he’s saying. Think about it, you can fake any kind of video with advanced AI technology these days. He must have done some research on your background before making these videos to trick you!” Then, he turned to me with a sharp look in his eyes, “Since you claim she’s been living at your place for over two years, do you have any proof of that? Other than these videos that could very well have been faked, do you have any substantial evidence?” The commenters were not sure what to believe. [That’s true, the videos can be faked.] [AI face-swapping can pull it off very easily.] [Sure, but the kid does look like her…] [She looks like she’s held a baby many times in her life too.] I watched the way Bruno’s face had been twisted in a grimace before producing two more items from my bag. The first was the payment receipt amounting to eight hundred thousand dollars dated three years ago. Even though it had turned yellow, it still bore the hospital’s official stamp. The second item was a crumpled piece of paper with a few meager lines scribbled across it in crooked handwriting. “I owe Julian Vance eight hundred thousand dollars for the surgery. Signed, Eunice Latour. 17 May, 2023.” I presented the IOU to Eunice. “You could barely remember your own name at the time. When I noticed you were wearing a custom-made watch, I figured you must be someone of status, so I had you write an IOU, thinking that you should be able to pay me back what you owe.” Eunice stared at the IOU. The handwriting was indeed rather crooked, but some of the minor details, such as certain strokes at the end of certain letters, were characteristic of her style. The look in her eyes tightened. Bruno gathered himself and tried to protest again, “Well, an IOU could be faked too! You could have forged her handwriting!” “Oh.” I kept the IOU before shooting him a look. “Mr. Carter, you’ve been making claims about me faking the video and the IOU.” The pace I was speaking at was so aggravatingly slow that it unnerved everyone listening. “In that case, would you tell me where the scar on Eunice’s waist is? Is it on the left side or right side of her waist, and how long is it? Did you know how she got it?” Bruno’s expression stiffened completely. His lips quivered as if he was trying to say something, but no sound escaped his lips. Everyone in the lobby was staring at him. Even Eunice was watching him with an inscrutable look on her face. Fine beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He blinked frantically before finally stammering, “H-how would I know about something so private about her? She wouldn’t expose... expose herself in public.” “On the right side of her waist.” I interrupted him curtly, “It is three centimeters long, and whenever it rains, it would itch.” I then turned to Eunice, “Whenever you shower, you like to run hot water over it because it helps relieve the itch. Am I right?” Eunice instinctively reached around her back to feel the skin on the right side of her waist. There was indeed a scar right underneath the layer of her shirt and suit jacket. When she felt it, her expression changed. The commenters were in a riot. [She touched her waist! She felt it!] [So he wasn’t lying?] [It was the right side of her waist! He had the location down to a T!] [What’s the deal with Bruno, then? He said that he knew everything about her!] [How could he not know about her scar?] [Look at the way she holds the child and the scar on her waist... How did this guy manage to get so many details right?] Bruno turned pale when he observed Eunice’s gestures. He was shaking all over by this point. It was hard to tell whether it was from sheer anger or fear. “You... you…” He jabbed his shaking finger at me. “You’ve gone and invaded her privacy just to pull off your devious scam!”