My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 103

I followed Alexander step by step as we left the interrogation room, our eyes briefly meeting Graham Blackwell’s.

Alexander gave a slight nod toward Graham and patted him on the shoulder. "It’s on you now. We’ll head back."

"Got it," Graham replied, his voice steady.

I gave Graham a small nod in return.

Although I wasn’t very familiar with Graham, I knew he was the top lawyer in Vanguard Global Enterprises’ legal department, and his reputation in Virellia City was well-known. He was likely here to handle the breach of confidential information, with rescuing me probably being more of a secondary task.

"We can go now," Alexander said, glancing back at me.

I followed him, lowering my gaze. "Didn’t you say you’d be staying in New York for two days? Why are we heading back so soon?"

Alexander’s eyes darkened as he slipped an arm around my waist and chuckled. "You’re asking me? Were you really planning on staying overnight at the police station? Two days was just an estimate. Once the issue was settled, I took the first flight back."

"After the plane landed, I turned my phone back on. Jane had called and left a voicemail. As soon as I knew what was going on, I had James come to the police station and contacted Graham on the way."

I bit my lip. "Jaxon said all of that in front of so many people at the company. There wasn’t much I could do..."

Unless I revealed our marriage to everyone.

"Stubborn," Alexander remarked, shaking his head. "You could’ve called Grandpa or even Sebastian, and they would’ve gotten you out."

Anyone else would have been out by now, living comfortably, but Vivienne had stayed behind. In a high-society circle, she still longed for a simpler life. No matter her status, any disruption in her life would be fuel for gossip.

When I first joined the company, plenty of people claimed I only got in because of connections. So, for these years, I’ve worked harder than anyone else, determined to clear those rumors and prove myself.

I fell silent, contemplating whether to ask him what he would’ve done if I revealed our relationship at the company, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

It was clear that his frustration stemmed from me not reaching out for help—not from my failure to publicly clarify the truth or prevent the situation from escalating to the police station in the first place.

I decided to change the subject. "Have they found the person who leaked the information?"

"They’ve been confirmed. Don’t worry."

"That’s good."

By now, I was running on pure willpower. Once we were out of the police station, the tension in my chest finally eased. In the car, I leaned against Alexander’s shoulder and quickly drifted off to sleep.

I don’t know how much time passed before I groggily woke up and realized we had already arrived at The Crescent Estates.

Alexander was carrying me upstairs, and when he noticed I was awake, he softly reassured me, "We’re home. Let’s get you to bed."

"Mm..." I mumbled, closing my eyes again and quickly falling back to sleep.

Alexander’s POV

I gently pushed open the door to the master bedroom and carefully laid Vivienne down on the bed. Slowly, I removed her clothes and covered her with a blanket.

The entire process was slow and deliberate; I didn’t want to wake her.

I moved to her vanity and began examining the bottles and jars, finally finding a bottle of makeup remover. I took a few cotton pads, dampened them, and gently started wiping away Vivienne’s makeup.

The coolness of the remover made her frown slightly as it touched her skin, and she instinctively waved her hand to push it away.

I gently pressed her hand down, holding the cotton pad, and softly continued wiping her face.

Vivienne, still half-conscious, turned her head away.

With only one hand free, I carefully cupped her chin and continued removing her makeup.

This was the first time I had ever done something like this for someone else.

When I finished, I sat on the edge of the bed, unable to resist leaning in closer to admire Vivienne’s face. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her long, curled lashes cast delicate shadows along her eyelids.

Her skin was pale and smooth, so flawless that, unless you looked up close, you wouldn’t see any pores—just the fine hairs on her face.

Suddenly, the sound of my phone ringing broke the quiet.

I snapped back to reality, quickly pulling the phone from my pocket and answering it. Glancing over at Vivienne, still undisturbed, I quietly left the master bedroom.

"Hello, CEO Hawthorne?"

It was Jaxon calling.

At first, Jaxon didn’t hear me, creating a brief moment of unease on his end. He called my title for a third time before I finally responded.

"Director Jaxon Aldridge, what’s the matter?"

I closed the bedroom door softly behind me before speaking.

"CEO Hawthorne, you’ve returned from New York? I heard from Jane and the others that something went wrong there again. Some of the staff weren’t doing their jobs properly, which caused a bit of a mess, but thankfully, with you handling things, it didn’t escalate," Jaxon began, trying to butter me up.

I interrupted him. "Director Jaxon, just get to the point."

Jaxon finally explained the reason for his call. "Company secrets have been leaked, and I’m concerned. In my urgency, I may have overstepped with Director Vivienne. I’m loyal to the company, but if I’ve made any mistake, could you please speak on my behalf to Director Vivienne?"

I had just returned home with Vivienne when Jaxon’s call came through. It was clear he’d been keeping an eye on me.

If Jaxon truly believed he had overstepped, he should have called Vivienne directly. The fact that he called me instead was a clear attempt to gauge my response.

If I wasn’t concerned, he’d be relieved. If I was, he’d have the chance to show his sincerity, in case I chose to address the matter later.

"Jaxon, you’re overthinking it. Your actions were entirely in the interest of the company; it was your duty. It was done with integrity. Vivienne isn’t unreasonable—she’ll understand your position," I said, though my tone made it clear that Jaxon wasn’t entirely off the hook.

"She will understand, but still... you’ve upset Director Vivienne. An apology is in order."

"Since you’re apologizing to Vivienne, why are you calling me instead?"

"..."

It wasn’t that I was intentionally favoring Vivienne.

It was simply clear that she couldn’t have been the one to leak the confidential information.

She was the adopted daughter of the Hawthorne Dynasty, and had no motive for such an act.

She had no connection to the leaked project, no knowledge of its progress, and no ties to the cooperating company.

Accusing Vivienne, just because she had taken a nap in his office, was completely unreasonable and smacked of personal bias.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, I suddenly asked, "Is Olivia Reynolds adjusting well at the branch office?"

Jaxon fell silent for a moment, caught off guard, before responding, "Thank you for your concern, CEO Hawthorne. She’s an adult; she’ll manage." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

After that, Jaxon didn’t say much more—just a brief greeting before hanging up.

I stared at the phone screen, my expression dark and unreadable.

Jaxon and Olivia were closely connected—he was the vice president, and she was a director—so they likely supported each other.

Now, with Olivia suddenly transferred from the headquarters, no matter how well she performed at the branch office, it would be hard for her to return to the center of power within the group, all because of me.

Jaxon’s actions toward Vivienne were likely a result of his dissatisfaction with Olivia’s transfer.

I held my phone and walked back to the master bedroom.

After days of traveling between cities, I was drained. After a quick wash, I slipped under the covers and tried to get some rest.

At four in the morning, the world was still and silent.

The room was dim, with moonlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains, just enough to faintly illuminate the scene inside.

On the large bed, two figures lay, their breaths steady and calm.

And then, the phone rang—a sharp, clear sound that cut through the stillness of the night.

I opened my eyes, reached for the bedside lamp, sat up, and glanced at my phone screen. I pressed the answer button. Only after stepping out of the master bedroom did I speak. "What’s going on?"

Knowing Jane’s nature, it had to be something important for him to disturb my rest at this hour.

On the other end of the line, there was a serious tone in his voice. "Boss, we’ve got a problem..."