Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 12

Emmy’s eyelashes fluttered, but she didn’t say a word.

Ivy reached for another pair of earrings from the box. “And these fiery passion earrings. You pulled all-nighters coding that AI demo for Mr. Sparrow, worked yourself sick, and he stayed by your side for days. When you finally felt better, he bought these earrings for you.”

“He said they’re the fire you burned for him, and the love he’ll never let die.”

Emmy’s fingertips curled slightly.

One by one, Ivy went through the jewelry, each piece holding a story. They were tiny time capsules of love and promises that once felt unbreakable.

All those moments that made Emmy believe in forever, that made her heart race and her head spin, now felt like sugar-coated knives digging into her chest.

Her eyes burned as tears threatened to spill over.

She just didn’t get it.

How could a man who used to worry over her period cramps, who awkwardly made her ginger tea, who’d run out in the middle of the night to buy her tampons, just turn so cold after seven years?

How could he stand by and watch her go through surgery after surgery, each more painful than the last, and not even flinch?

Emmy shut her eyes, and when she opened them again, the warmth was gone. All that was left was ice.

She took a deep breath and interrupted Ivy’s gentle recounting. “Ivy, it’s over.”

Ivy looked at her, sadness and confusion clouding her face. She couldn’t bear to see a couple like them fall apart. “Miss, are you sure there isn’t some misunderstanding? Maybe you should talk to him, just in case?”

A bitter smile tugged at Emmy’s lips.

If she hadn’t lived through all of this twice, she might’ve been just as naïve as Ivy—thinking there was some huge misunderstanding, something to fix.

She probably would’ve gone to Dean in tears, begged him not to leave, convinced herself it was all her fault.

But now, she knew better. This wasn’t a misunderstanding.

It was seven years of careful lies. She’d traded her youth and her health for one enormous, unforgivable betrayal.

Then her phone buzzed. The word “Babe” flashed on the screen, and her heart dropped.

Crap!

She’d forgotten to cancel the surprise wedding gift she’d planned for Dean.

Sure enough, she answered, and his low voice came down the line. “I got the gift.”

Emmy’s grip tightened around her phone.

She’d spent half a year designing that chip. It’s a smart AI assistant, hidden inside his favorite collectible figure. It could chat, answer questions, even crack a joke. It was a one-of-a-kind wedding gift, made with every ounce of love she had.

In her last life, when he got it, he was over the moon. He spun her around, laughing, so happy.

But now…