The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 141: Finally, a free woman

"It was positive," Ethan confessed, his voice thick. "He’s mine... Lucy’s baby. I swear, Mara, I don’t know how this happened. I didn’t—"

"You don’t need to explain," she interrupted quietly, her voice even but hollow. "You have your answers now."

Ethan’s eyes welled. He stepped closer. "I wish it wasn’t true. I wish—"

"But it is," she said, cutting him off again. She finally met his eyes, and in hers was a storm of sadness, betrayal, and resolve. "You have a son with her. And I have a son who’s missing. That’s the truth we both have to live with."

Ethan’s breath caught.

Mara stood up slowly, walking over to Audrey’s cradle. She looked down at her baby girl with so much love and sorrow that it cracked something inside Ethan.

She whispered, "I have no more space left in me for lies, Ethan. Only truth. And the truth is—this... us? It’s over."

Ethan stepped forward. "Mara, please. Don’t do this now. We can—"

She turned to him. "I need you to show up at court. Finalize the divorce."

Her words landed like a hammer.

Ethan looked at her like she had just stabbed him, but he nodded. Slowly. Because he knew he had no right to fight her decision.

"I’ll be there," he said, voice hoarse. "But I’ll never stop being here for Audrey. Or for you... if you ever change your mind."

Mara’s eyes softened just slightly, but her lips stayed firm. "Thank you. Just be a good father. That’s all I ask of you now."

There was nothing left to say. Ethan glanced one last time at Audrey, then at Mara—the woman he would always love but had lost.

Then he walked out, quietly closing the door behind him.

-----

The courtroom was quiet, the kind of quiet that hums beneath formality and heartbreak. A few hushed whispers echoed from the back rows where reporters and spectators sat, sensing the weight of the people in front of them.

Mara walked in first, poised, elegant, and composed in a soft navy dress. Her hair was tied back, her eyes tired but determined. Audrey wasn’t with her—her brothers had insisted on staying with the baby.

Then came Ethan.

He looked sharp in his suit but not collected—there was something haunted in the way he kept adjusting his cuffs, glancing around, but never quite at Mara.

Their eyes only met once, and it was brief. No anger. Just acceptance of a Chapter closing.

When the judge asked the routine questions, their responses were quick and emotionless. The paperwork was signed.

They were officially divorced.

And just when the court was ready to adjourn—

Lucy walked in.

Dressed like a woman entering a gala, not a courtroom. Her heels echoed as she approached, cradling the baby boy in a designer carrier, and an air of smug entitlement.

She made no attempt to hide her smirk as she sat near Ethan, placing the baby right in front of him like some sort of prize.

"I thought it was only right to bring your son," she purred.

Ethan didn’t even glance at her. He looked at the baby for a moment—conflicted, loving, torn—and then turned to Lucy, his voice cold.

"You left him alone last night while you were out wasting money on bags," he said sharply. "You think a few designer clothes make you a good mother?"

Lucy flinched, caught off guard.

"I— It was just a few hours, and the nanny was—"

"I don’t care," Ethan snapped, not raising his voice but letting the steel sink in. "You don’t get to flaunt your way in here and pretend you’re some savior and now you want to parade a child like he’s a trophy?"

Lucy glanced at the people around them, noticing the eyes. She looked back at Ethan, trying to soften. "I only came here to support you... to show you we’re a family."

Ethan’s jaw clenched. "We’re not a family, Lucy. This boy is my son. But you and I? We’re nothing."

Mara, sitting still in her seat, kept her eyes forward. She didn’t turn. Didn’t watch. But she heard everything. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Lucy tried one last time, voice smaller now. "You named him Andrew. After... Mara’s son."

Ethan looked her dead in the eyes. "You name our son Andrew. Don’t act like it wasn’t your idea like you didn’t make him a replacement."

The room felt heavy with silence only the cry of baby Andrew maybe he could sense his real mother close by.

The judge gave a final nod, confirming the divorce ruling. And just like that—it was done.

Mara stood and walked, head held high. Ethan watched her go, a storm brewing in his chest, while Lucy sat back down with shaking hands and was unable to make Andrew stop crying, he wanted to stop Ethan from going after Mara but she couldn’t while the baby was still crying.

The courtroom doors had barely shut behind her when Mara excused herself, her voice too steady for the storm brewing inside. Her guards flanked her instantly—four of them, each trained, professional, and ready to protect the most guarded woman in the city. But they couldn’t protect her from this.

From heartbreak.

The restroom was quiet—sterile and cold, with dim lighting that buzzed slightly overhead. Mara stepped in alone and the door closed behind her with a soft click. She leaned against the sink, one hand gripping the porcelain edge like it might anchor her to something solid. Her other hand instinctively rested on her abdomen, though it was flat now. Empty.

A cruel contrast to what she had just witnessed.

Lucy.

Waltzing into the courtroom like she owned the place. Holding her child. Parading him like he was a medal she’d earned. And Ethan—Ethan had the nerve to name him Andrew.

Andrew. The name she had whispered into her belly. The name she had dreamed of calling out during bedtime stories. The name she still cried into her pillow at night.

Her knees buckled slightly. She turned on the tap to drown out the sound, and a gut-wrenching sob escaped her lips. The mirror in front of her fogged slightly as her breath grew shallow, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She pressed her fist against her mouth to stop the sounds from pouring out of her, but they came anyway. Broken, raw sounds that carried every ounce of pain, anger, and betrayal she had buried since that day. The day her son was taken.

And now... this?

Now, every time she heard them call that baby Andrew, her heart would tear open again. Would her baby hear it too? Somewhere out there, would her Andrew hear someone else being called by his name? Would he know it wasn’t meant for him?

"I can’t breathe," she whispered, staring into her reflection.

Her makeup was ruined tears streaking down her cheeks, her eyes red, but there was a fire behind them. One that wasn’t there before.

A war had begun inside her and this time, she was done being broken.

Ethan stood outside the restroom door like a man possessed, arguing with the stoic wall of security that was Mara’s protection. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cracked with urgency.

"I just need two minutes," he said, almost pleading. "Please. Let me talk to her." The guards remained still, arms crossed, eyes forward. Trained. Unmoved. Mara had given strict instructions, and they would follow them to the letter.

Inside, Mara heard the soft scuffle through the thick wooden door. Her breath caught for a moment. She knew that voice anywhere. It still echoed in her memories. She quickly turned on the tap again, letting the water rush over her trembling fingers. Her heart warred with her mind. But she was no coward. Not anymore.

She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and composed herself. She wiped her face harshly, refusing to let Lucy’s face haunt her longer. Refusing to let the pain choke her. She reached into her purse, fixed her lipstick, and combed her hair back.

The door opened moments later.

Mara emerged regal in her quiet poise, her chin lifted just enough to mask the hurt behind her eyes. Her guards stepped aside instinctively, making space but not distance.

Ethan turned. His breath hitched when he saw her. There were a thousand words he had rehearsed, a hundred apologies waiting at the edge of his tongue — but none of them made it out. Not a single syllable. She was standing in front of him, and suddenly, language failed.

"Mara, I—" he tried the words a whisper. She didn’t speak. Just looked at him, as if bracing herself for whatever would come next.

Ethan searched her face, trying to read her, trying to find the woman he had once promised forever to. Her silence felt louder than any scream.

"I didn’t... I didn’t mean to name him Andrew," he confessed finally, his voice hollow with regret. "It just came out. At the hospital when they asked, my mind was blank and that was the only name that came out. I’m sorry. I swear to you, it was never meant to replace our son."

Mara’s eyes glistened, but she didn’t cry.

"I haven’t stopped looking for him," Ethan continued. "And I won’t. I swear to you, I won’t rest until I find our son. I will turn this entire world inside out if I have to."

Mara nodded slowly. Her expression was unreadable. There was no hate in her eyes. But there wasn’t forgiveness either. Just... something like understanding.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

And then, without waiting for more, she stepped past him and walked toward her car. Her security followed like shadows, leaving Ethan standing there in the echo of his guilt.

He watched her climb into the car and close the door gently behind her. No slamming. No final words.

Just silence.

In the car, "You alright, ma’am?" the driver asked gently. She nodded once. Cold. Composed. And terrifying in her grace. "I’m fine," she said, her voice hoarse but steady.