Escaping My Possessive Billionaire Ex-Husband

Althea's hand trembled as she smoothed down the front of her dress for the tenth time. It was a simple navy sheath, the most expensive thing she'd bought in two years, but standing in the plush corridor of The Carlyle, it felt hopelessly cheap.

Her palms were slick with a cold sweat.

She checked her phone again, the screen illuminating a text from her friend, Krissy.

"The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, Trianon Suite. Dr. Ian Foster. He's a neurosurgeon! Go get him, honey!"

Althea took a shaky breath. The air smelled of money-a faint, clean scent of lemon polish and old leather that made her stomach clench.

Ahead, a discreet brass plaque read Trianon Suite. The heavy wood door was slightly ajar, a sliver of darkness visible within.

Shouldn't a waiter guide her? But asking felt like admitting she didn't belong. She couldn't afford to look out of place.

She pushed the door gently. It swung open with a silent, well-oiled motion.

"Excuse me, Dr. Foster?" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

The room was dark, lit only by a few candles flickering on a low table. The air was thick with the scent of cedar and expensive whiskey, a smell so familiar it made her heart stop for a second.

Her eyes struggled to adjust. She could make out the broad silhouette of a man on a sofa, and across from him, the elegant shape of a woman.

The man didn't move, but she felt his gaze. A sharp, cold stare that cut through the dim light and pinned her in place.

Her breath caught in her throat.

That gaze. She knew that gaze. It was a physical weight, pressing down on her, squeezing the air from her lungs.

The woman on the other side of the table spoke, her voice laced with the bored annoyance of the very rich. "I believe you have the wrong room."

Althea's vision finally cleared. The candlelight carved out the man's profile-a hard, unforgiving line from temple to jaw. A profile she had traced in her sleep for years.

It was Damarcus Everett.

Her ex-husband.

Her mind went completely blank. A hot rush of blood flooded her cheeks, then receded just as quickly, leaving her skin feeling cold and tight. She was frozen in the doorway, a specimen under glass.

Damarcus slowly placed his whiskey tumbler on the table. The soft clink of glass against wood was unnervingly loud in the suffocating silence.

He didn't look at her. His attention remained on his companion, the socialite Tiffany Kensington.

"Give her a moment," he said, his voice a low, smooth rumble that vibrated through Althea's bones. "She seems lost."

It was calm. It was polite. And it was the cruelest thing he could have said.

Her eyes were drawn to his wrist. He was wearing the Patek Philippe watch she'd given him for his thirtieth birthday. The one she'd saved for a year to buy. The second hand was still sweeping, precise and relentless.

A wave of humiliation, so powerful it was nauseating, washed over her. She had stumbled, like a beggar, into her billionaire ex-husband's date while on her way to her own desperate, budget-friendly blind date.

She tightened her grip on her small clutch, her nails digging into the cheap faux leather. The small, sharp pain was a welcome anchor in a sea of shame.

She forced her eyes away from Damarcus, focusing on Tiffany's perfectly sculpted face.

"I am so sorry," Althea said. Her own voice sounded foreign, a dry, cracking sound. "My mistake."

She didn't wait for a response. She turned and fled, pulling the door closed behind her.

Her back hit the cool wood of the door, and she leaned against it, gasping for air. Her heart was a wild bird beating against her ribs, frantic to escape.

She looked down at her dress. The fabric over her stomach was wrinkled from her nervous hands. A sudden, sharp sadness pierced through the shame.

From inside the suite, she heard Tiffany's light, musical laughter.

A passing waiter paused, his expression concerned. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

Althea forced herself to stand straight, to smooth the frantic pulse in her throat. She pointed to the door next to the Trianon Suite. "Is this the Versailles Suite?"

The waiter nodded. "Yes, ma'am. The Trianon Suite is that one." He gestured to the door she was still leaning against.

She glanced back at her phone. Krissy's text. Versailles Suite. Not Trianon.

A dizzying wave of anger at her own stupidity swept through her. How could she have made such a mistake?

She took one more deep, shuddering breath, pushing the image of Damarcus's mocking eyes from her mind. She walked the few steps to the correct door and pushed it open.

A man with kind eyes and a warm smile stood up from a small table. He was handsome, in a gentle, academic way.

"Althea?" he asked. "I'm Ian Foster."

Althea pasted a smile on her face. It felt brittle, like a mask that might crack at any moment.

"It's so nice to meet you," she lied, stepping into the room.