THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 81

Dalton just stared at Julian for a long moment before finally speaking. "Julian, you've got it all wrong. I waited for her all night, but Caitlin never showed up."

She didn't show up.

Caitlin actually didn't come.

For a second, Julian was so stunned he wondered if he'd misheard. "You must be mistaken. There's no way Caitlin wouldn't come."

"She really didn't," Dalton said quietly.

Julian's temples throbbed with a sudden headache. Then, as if a thought struck him, he snapped, "She must have gotten into an accident! Caitlin was probably rushing to see me and got into a car crash on the way!"

Yes. That had to be it.

"Julian, she wasn't in an accident. Stop lying to yourself."

"How would you know? You're not her!"

Dalton sighed. "Because I called her from the café. Here, listen." He pulled out his phone. "I recorded it. You should hear this."

As both his friend and business partner, Dalton needed Julian to face the truth and get his head straight. If they had any hope of saving Chandler & Co. and winning the Celestial Awards, Julian had to let go of Caitlin.

He hit play, and Caitlin's voice filled the room, sharp and unmistakably irritated.

"I've said everything that needs saying. Stop calling me from different numbers—just leave me alone! I'm not interested in fighting Sophie for a pile of crap. Do me a favor: tell Julian to look in the mirror and get over himself."

Crack!

Julian hurled a vase across the room, shattering it against the wall.

She's lost her mind. She must be saying the opposite of what she means—she has to be trying to get a rise out of him.

Dalton let out a heavy sigh. "Julian, maybe Caitlin really has moved on. Bringing her in to buy out Apex isn't going to work anymore."

"No way!" Julian lunged at Dalton, grabbing his collar, eyes blazing. "You have no idea how much she used to love me! You don't get it. She loved me so much she would have died for me! Do you understand? You don't understand a damn thing!"

"But love doesn't last forever!" Dalton shot back, voice rising. "She would have done anything for you when she loved you, but you never appreciated it! That's over now, Julian. She's done with you. Face it." The words were harsh, but they had to be said.

Dalton needed Julian to finally understand: chasing after Caitlin was a dead end.

Not love him? How could Caitlin not love him?

She hit save, then logged onto WhatsApp and messaged Victor: [Game development is eighty percent done. Let PR know—they can start posting teaser videos on our website to build momentum for the launch.]

She attached a zip file full of highlight clips from the past few days of work.

She assumed Victor would be asleep by now, but he replied instantly: [Got it, Miss Kensington. I'll handle it right away.]

The next morning—

Apex Game Studios' new trailer hit the top of the trending list.

Holy crap! Did Apex just have some kind of breakthrough? They've pulled off triple-A tech that only studios abroad could manage!

Looks like the Celestial Awards are as good as theirs this year!

Don't get ahead of yourselves. It's just a highlight reel—the full game isn't out yet. For all we know, it could be smoke and mirrors.

Exactly. We've seen this kind of hype from other studios before. We won't know if it's the real deal until we play it ourselves.

I bet Apex is just like those other companies—stirring up buzz to grab attention. Triple-A games aren't something you just whip up, not even in the West. Only a handful of studios in the world can really do it.