My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 12 VIP

I walked into the room, my gaze casually sweeping over the table of people, finally landing on Alexander. In that moment, I could almost feel the weight of his stare. Our eyes met, his expression cold, yet somehow carrying an imperceptible depth.

I forced a faint smile, steeling myself. "I ran into Victor in the hallway and thought I’d stop by to say hello." My words were casual, but my eyes quickly scanned the faces around the table. Then, I turned to Alexander, asking casually, "Did you come with friends?"

"Mm," he muttered, his response brief, as if he wasn’t interested in saying much more.

Maximus Sterling, ever the smiley charmer, asked, "Vivienne, what have you been up to lately?"

"V&R’s brand endorsement," I replied, my voice steady, though I hesitated internally. Maximus quickly sensed the topic was a bit sensitive and smoothly shifted focus. He gestured toward Isabella and said, "Isn’t the brand ambassador right here?"

I smiled lightly, unfazed, and walked over to the table, pouring myself a glass of water from an empty wine glass. "We just happened to cross paths today. I need to get back to work, so I’ll toast with water instead of wine. Cheers, everyone." I took a small sip of water and scanned the group. "Sorry for the interruption. I’ll invite you all to dinner another time. Second Brother, this one’s for you."

I pronounced "Second Brother" clearly, with just the faintest trace of coldness in my voice.

After finishing my drink, I set the glass down gently and prepared to leave. However, Victor, ever persistent, said, "Vivienne, you can’t leave like this! Your sister-in-law is sitting right here. Aren’t you going to toast her?"

Internally, I sighed, knowing this situation wouldn’t be easy. Maximus quickly tried to ease the tension, but others around the table started teasing, "Vivienne, why aren’t you toasting your sister-in-law? You two are working together, after all. Come on, have a drink."

I lowered my gaze, pressing my lips together.

How could I toast to Isabella?

"Maybe we should just skip it," Maximus suggested, sensing the discomfort.

Victor, with a teasing smirk, chimed in, "What’s this? Is Vivienne unhappy with her sister-in-law? After all, this is the woman your cousin has chosen as Mrs. Alexander Hawthorne."

His words were laced with hidden meaning.

How could I, an adopted girl in the Hawthorne family, dare disrespect the future Mrs. Hawthorne?

On the other hand, if I didn’t acknowledge Isabella as my sister-in-law, how much authority would she really have in society?

Grandpa had always been kind to me. Did my attitude reflect that?

Everyone’s eyes were on me.

Isabella smiled gently, playing peacemaker. "Vivienne didn’t mean anything by it. Victor, stop making things difficult for her."

"Isabella, you’re as understanding as always," Victor said, turning to Alexander. "Alexander, Isabella’s your girlfriend. Aren’t you going to say something?"

All eyes shifted to Alexander.

I watched him, my hand unconsciously clenching into a fist.

Alexander raised his eyes to meet mine. Our gazes locked, intertwining.

He leaned forward, picked up a glass from the table, poured a small amount of wine into it, and placed it in front of me. "Vivienne, give me some face and toast your sister-in-law, will you?"

Hearing "sister-in-law" come from his lips was like a knife to my heart.

He wanted me, his wife, to toast Isabella in front of all his friends?

Did he even see me as his wife?

Or was I just some passing amusement to him?

I froze, the chill sinking deep into my bones, as if I had fallen into an ice pit. My teeth rattled from the cold.

Alexander adjusted his tie, narrowing his eyes. "What’s wrong? Don’t want to? Or is it that you don’t acknowledge your sister-in-law?"

His nonchalant tone made my throat tighten with bitterness, and the corners of my mouth involuntarily turned down.

Alexander, you really know how to hurt someone.

You always seem to drive a knife right into my heart.

"Vivienne, it’s just a toast to your sister-in-law. What’s the big deal?"

"Miss Blackwood is so understanding. What’s wrong with offering a toast to Sister-in-law?"

I tightened my expression, pressed my lips together, stepped forward, and picked up the glass. Raising it in front of Isabella, I downed it in one go.

I placed the glass down without a word and turned to leave.

"She didn’t even call her ’Sister-in-law,’" Victor chuckled, shaking his head.

"She really thinks she’s the heiress of the Hawthorne Dynasty, throwing a tantrum in front of Alexander."

"At least she’s got her place in Vanguard Global Enterprises now. Miss Blackwood is the future lady of the company, but still, she dares to ignore her? Alexander, are you really going to let her be mistreated like this?"

Maximus cleared his throat, noticing Alexander’s increasingly dark expression. "You all better stop."

Seeing Alexander’s displeasure, everyone assumed it was because of Vivienne’s behavior, so no one pressed further.

But one person, seemingly eager to flatter Alexander and Isabella, loudly remarked, "CEO Hawthorne, Vivienne came into the Hawthorne family as a teenager. She’s not even really the adopted daughter. You can’t keep indulging her like this. Look at her—she doesn’t respect you or Miss Blackwood. Isn’t she relying on Chairman Hawthorne to back her up? If you don’t discipline her, she might even try to take the shares in Chairman Hawthorne’s hands."

"Oh?" Alexander’s voice darkened, and he casually swirled his glass. "What kind of lesson do you think she needs?"

"Isn’t it simple? She’s not married yet, right? You could just find her a man to marry. Won’t her husband try to please you?"

"Not a bad idea," Alexander said with a sly grin.

Hearing the compliment, the man beamed.

Then, without warning, Alexander stood up and kicked the man in the knee.

The man, caught off guard, collapsed to the floor with a loud thud, his knees buckling in pain.

Everyone was taken aback.

Alexander shot a cold glance at the man. "Vivienne is still part of the Hawthorne Dynasty. Don’t let me hear such words again."

"Y-yes, of course," the man stammered, quickly agreeing.

"Let’s go." Alexander turned to CEO Hawthorne. "I’ll have Jim take you back."

...

I returned to the private room, trying to appear composed on the outside, but inside, the pain was overwhelming, and I had no energy left to push through it.

The next day, the three of us had work, so we didn’t stay out too late.

Julian paid the bill, and the three of us headed toward the garage.

Ariana waved at us. "My car’s over there. I’m heading out."

"Alright." I nodded politely and turned to Julian. "I’m leaving too."

Julian reminded me, "Don’t forget to come over to my place for dinner in a couple of days."

"I’ll remember."

Not far behind, Ariana nearly spit out her drink, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Vivienne. She had said there was nothing going on between them, but now they were talking about meeting the parents.

Could it be that Vivienne’s boyfriend was actually Julian?

Julian was at the height of his career now. Perhaps, to avoid any disruption to his business, Vivienne had kept their relationship under wraps?

Ariana thought she had it all figured out.

Vivienne, however, had no idea that in such a short time, Ariana had come up with so many theories.

...

I pulled into the garage of the villa and, handbag in hand, made my way into the living room. I froze when I saw Alexander sitting on the sofa.

He was still dressed in his suit, leaning back against the couch, his arm draped over his eyes as if he were asleep.

At the sound of my footsteps, he slowly lifted his arm, opened his eyes, and fixed me with an intense, penetrating stare.