Seducing my Ex-husband back (Claire) novel Chapter 9

BREAKING THE INTERNET

~CLAIRE’S POV~

The notification sound had been going off for the past three minutes straight.

I stared at the tablet Marcus had push into my hands, watching the numbers climb in real time. Shares, likes, comments—all exploding across every social media platform like digital fireworks.

“BILLIONAIRE ALEXANDER HAYES ENGAGED TO MYSTERY WOMAN”

“From Divorce to Dynasty: Claire Winfred’s Stunning Comeback”

“The $50 Million Ring That Broke the Internet”

I had always fantasized about breaking the internet.

But sitting here in this exclusive Geneva restaurant, surrounded by my carefully curated circle of wealthy friends, watching my engagement announcement send shockwaves across Manhattan—it felt surreal.

“Who knew Alexander had such dramatic flair cooking up this surprise?” Marie teased, raising her champagne flute.

Her eyes sparkled with the kind of mischief that came from knowing secrets.

“You should have seen your face during the proposal. I thought you might faint.”

I smiled, taking a measured sip of my wine. The Château Margaux tasted like victory.

This was more than any fantasy I had taken in during those dark months of healing. The engagement wasn’t just an opening move in my revenge—it was a complete rewrite of the narrative.

Claire Blackwood, the pitiful abandoned wife, was dead. In her place sat Claire Elizabeth Winfred, soon-to-be Hayes, the most talked-about woman on the internet.

Sarah leaned forward, her designer bracelet catching the afternoon light.

“The girls who thought Alexander was playing games with them must be sobbing into their Hermès bags right about now.”

“They never had a chance,” another voice chimed in. “A billionaire like Alexander doesn’t get on one knee for just anyone.”

“What about the minister’s daughter?” Isabella added with a knowing smirk. “Wasn’t she practically planning their wedding after that charity gala?”

I listened to their chatter, but inside, a darker satisfaction was blooming.

‘Is this how Monica had felt?’ The thought struck me like lightning.

‘When she succeeded in stealing Richard, when their engagement was announced, when her friends congratulated her on landing the CEO of Blackwood Industries?’

Had she sat in a restaurant just like this, surrounded by admirers, while I was somewhere crying over the ruins of my marriage?

Had she felt this intoxicating mix of triumph and vindication while I was reduced to begging Richard to choose me?

The memory made my stomach churn. Marie must have noticed my brief discomfort because she smoothly changed the subject.

“Claire, you haven’t touched your appetizer. The engagement nerves getting to you?”

I turned to her gratefully. “Just dazed by all of this. A year ago, I never imagined…”

“A year ago, you were a completely different person,” Marie said firmly. “You’ve earned every bit of this happiness.”

‘Happiness.’

The word felt foreign on my tongue. Was this happiness? Or was this just the first taste of revenge, sweet and addictive?

My eyes drifted to my tablet, still buzzing with notifications.

The news had definitely reached New York by now. Somewhere in Manhattan, Richard was seeing these headlines.

Was he in his corner office, watching his ex-wife claim a victory he had never thought possible?

I scrolled to the business section, and my pulse quickened. Blackwood Industries’ stock had dropped another three points since this morning.

The company Richard had inherited from his father, the empire he had chosen over me, was slowly crumbling.

Soon it would be nothing but bankruptcy papers and liquidation sales. The thought should have brought me pure joy, but instead, I felt a hollow ache.

“My husband’s friend works at Blackwood,” Sarah said suddenly, as if reading my thoughts.

“Says the company’s hemorrhaging money. Thomas Blackwood must be rolling in his grave watching his son destroy the family legacy.”

“I heard the current CEO got remarried,” Isabella added with surprising horror. “To his first wife’s best friend, no less. Can you imagine?”

The table exploded in gasps and sympathetic murmurs.

I kept my expression carefully neutral while my friends dissected Richard’s betrayal like vultures picking at a corpse.

“How disgusting,” Marie said, her voice dripping with distaste.

“What kind of friend seduces her best friend’s husband? I could never forgive something like that.”