The Ex-Wife’s Billion Dollar Comeback Novel

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Chapter 165: Give Soraya Custody

~ Amanda ~

“Do you know why your mommy did not reply to your

messages?” Amanda asked, and Sage shook her head.

Amanda showed Sage the tablet and said, “Your mom has

been blocked.”

Sage looked puzzled. “What does that mean, Grandma?”

“It means your mom wasn't allowed to receive messages from

you or send you messages,” Amanda said. She showed Sage

how to unblock Soraya’s name from the messaging app. “You

do it here.”

Sage frowned. “How did that happen?”

“You didn’t block your mom?” Amanda asked.

“No, Grandma,” Sage shook her head.

“So, you see, Sage, your mom wouldn't have been able to reply

to you, because she was blocked,” Amanda explained.

Amanda stared at the screen and noted how Sage had sent

four messages over the past few weeks.

Sage: [Mommy, why did you never come?]

Sage: [Are you mad at me again?]

Sage: [Hi, Mommy.]

Sage: [I guess you are still busy.]

“And about what you said, it's not true. Your mommy doesn’t

love you less. It’s just that she and your dad are separated, so

she can't always show you how much she loves you,” Amanda

said.

Sage looked down. “Mom has been so busy. She changed a

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little.”

“Do you know when that started?” Amanda asked.

When Sage looked guilty, Amanda reminded her, “It started

when you didn’t invite your mom to your birthday. How would

you feel if your mom didn't invite you to hers?”

Sage looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers.

“Your mom gave up a lot to take care of you,” Amanda said

softly. “She's really smart with computers. She can make

them do things other people can't.”

She showed a news article featuring Soraya. “Some people

even write about her in the news because she's that good. But

when you were little, instead of doing all that, she worked

with your daddy at the company and took care of you. To her,

you were more important than her dreams.”

Amanda smiled kindly. “So when you didn’t have your birthday

with her, it made her very sad. That's why she started working

again... because she needed to feel happy too. But that doesn’

tmean she loves you any less. She loves you more than

anything.”

Sage didn't answer. Instead, she cried.

“Do you want to make it up to your mommy?” Amanda asked,

and Sage nodded. “How about living with your mom instead?”

Sage opened her mouth and closed it again. “But if | live with

Mom, | can’t be with Daddy. | also want to be with Daddy and

Aunt Rose.”

“But...” Sage paused, admitting, “I also miss Mom.”

Now, that was the challenge.

Amanda realized that even if she opened doors for Soraya,

Sage might not be ready to let go of her father. And, just as

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she feared, Rose had already rooted herself in Sage's heart.

When they had breakfast, Amanda was thinking hard. After

they finished, she proposed to Sage, “Let’s start by

connecting with your mom. You can begin by chatting with

her again.”

Sage smiled. “I'll do that.”

She grabbed her tablet and sent Soraya a message, to which

Soraya immediately replied.

“See? | told you,” Amanda said with a smile.

“| told her she can visit me—" Sage said, but just as a smile

formed on her lips, she frowned. “Oh, Mommy said she’s

leaving?”

Amanda sighed. She said, “Yes, your mommy is going on a

trip for a long time, just like your dad. But when she comes

back, I'm sure she will visit you.”

tok

~ Rose ~

The first few days of their honeymoon weren't as pleasant as

Rose had hoped. Calum kept checking the news about Soraya.

He tried to hide it, but she saw.

A few times, Calum stared blankly at his phone, his mind

drifting somewhere Rose couldn't reach.

It angered her, of course.

Why was Soraya's innocence proven? Why had she suddenly

gained recognition?

On the fifth day of their honeymoon, Rose told herself she had

had enough.

----

While they were sunbathing outside their water villa, Rose

turned to her husband and confronted him, “Calum, why are

you so bothered by Soraya? Should | be worried that you keep

checking on your ex-wife?”

The look of guilt reflected on his face. He sat up and turned to

her. “I'm sorry. | did not mean to.”

“I'm just... surprised by how much I'm finding out about her.

And I guess | feel guilty, too,” Calum said. “Maybe | should give

her more properties.”

Rose's nose almost flared, but she sucked in a deep breath

and thought deeply. She was now pregnant—for real. Maybe

she didn’t need Sage anymore.

She paused, dramatically blinking. “Look, this is hard for me,

because | love Sage so much, but if you really want to repay

Soraya, you could consider giving her custody of Sage.”

Calum looked surprised. “I did not expect that to come from

you. Didn't you want Sage to stay with us?”

“Correction, Calum. You wanted Sage to stay with us. Do you

remember how you asked me to do whatever it took to win

your daughter's favor?” Her tone was even, almost patient. “

Just because you've realized you misjudged Soraya doesn’t

mean you should forget whose idea it was.”

“Don't turn this against me. From the start, this was your plan,”

Rose added.

“| did as you asked, and | was happy to do that—for you, and of

course for Sage,” Rose said. “Because, more than anything, |

didn’t want Sage to lose a father, and to me, she's also like my

daughter.”

“If she is with Soraya, she'll only have her mom. But if she

stays, she'll have both you and me. Honestly, she will do better

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with us, but—” Rose paused, wiping fake tears from the

corner of her eye. “If that’s what it takes for us to move on

with our marriage, then so be it.”

‘Besides, | don't need Sage anymore, she thought, but what

she voiced was different. “Sage is the one thing that Soraya

wants, so if guilt is eating you up, then maybe she should

have Sage. | can learn to share Sage. No matter what, | will

always love her.”

Rose knew it was going to be difficult, though, because she

had conditioned Sage to believe that if she stayed with Soraya,

it meant losing her father... and that was partly true. If Sage

were to stay with her mother, Rose would never allow

moments between Calum and Soraya alone.

What if Soraya tried to seduce Calum? That was the last thing

she wanted.

Calum exhaled slowly, pressing his lips together. He didn’t

look at her right away, his gaze drifting past their private pool.

“|... [don't know,” he admitted. “Sage already made a choice. |’

m worried we'll confuse her.”

He thought deeply for minutes. Then he said, “But maybe you’

re right. Maybe letting Soraya have Sage is the only way to

settle things. | suppose we can slowly reintroduce Soraya

back into her life.”

They were in the Maldives, oceans away.

This was Rose's dream honeymoon destination. It would have

been such a waste if they didn’t enjoy the trip.

Thankfully, things turned around after Calum made a decision.

It helped that the resort had many romantic activities for

honeymooners, which brought Calum back to focusing on her.

And every night since their confrontation, Rose made sure to

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connect with Calum intimately.

She turned their honeymoon into her stage, drawing Calum

back with every glance, every touch, every calculated move.

She knew exactly how to please him, how to make him forget

Soraya, and she used it without hesitation.

Everything turned out great... until they returned to Cedar

Heights.

On a Saturday afternoon, Calum and Rose arrived at the

Montclair mansion. They were there to fetch Sage and take

her home.

But just as they made it to the living room, Amanda stormed

up to Rose, seething. Before she could react, Amanda's hand

cracked hard across her cheek.

“Ahhh!” Rose gasped.

“How dare you try to turn Sage against Soraya?” Amanda

hissed.