My CEO Ex: Let Me Go.-Chapter 56

Today, Alexander drove himself to the hospital. I opened the passenger door, sat down, and fastened my seatbelt.

He sat in the driver’s seat, not in a hurry to start the car.

He lifted a hand to loosen his collar and casually asked, “Did you tell the doctor I’m your ex-husband?”

At those words, my heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Alexander already knows I’m pregnant?

I glanced at him cautiously, and my hands, which had been resting on my lap, instinctively moved toward my stomach, tightening into a fist. I decided to take control of the situation.

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid people will find out that Isabella was the one who came between us and caused our divorce?”

“Vivienne, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

Alexander pressed his lips together. “I’m not blaming you.”

As my husband, he obviously felt uncomfortable hearing me tell the doctor I was divorced.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking things,” I said, pretending it wasn’t important. “When I had the car accident, I told them we were about to divorce anyway. I’m almost an ex-husband already.”

Alexander: “...”

He didn’t say anything more. He started the car, and we drove off.

I stole a glance at Alexander’s face and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He probably still doesn’t know about my pregnancy.

I closed my eyes and fell into deep thought.

Grandfather’s health was improving, and for the short term, Alexander and I wouldn’t divorce. As the months went by, my pregnancy would eventually be discovered. But by then, the bump would be bigger, and with my grandparents around to protect me, Alexander wouldn’t be able to force me to terminate the pregnancy.

The car stopped in the underground garage of Vanguard Global Enterprises.

We both got out, one after the other, and entered the elevator together.

The elevator ascended slowly.

Neither of us spoke.

With a soft ding, the elevator arrived at our floor.

I stepped out first.

On the way to the office, we passed through the office area. A few employees spotted me and greeted me.

“Director Vivienne!”

“Director Vivienne, are you feeling better now?”

“...”

I smiled and nodded at them. “Thank you for asking. I’m almost fully recovered.”

I continued toward my office.

Behind me, I could hear some hushed whispers.

“Hey, let me tell you something. I just saw Director Vivienne come out of the elevator with CEO Hawthorne.”

“Those media reports are nonsense. Director Vivienne and CEO Hawthorne are siblings. Don’t read too much into it.”

One of them snorted. “What siblings go out together to watch a play late at night? What siblings get into a car drunk in the middle of the night? They didn’t grow up together, so I don’t buy that they’re just siblings.”

“I’ve got some insider info. Want to hear it?”

“Really? Tell us!”

“Word is, Director Vivienne was never supposed to join the company. Chairman Hawthorne only let her in out of respect for her father. There’s no way he’d let her get involved in the Hawthorne family business. But Director Vivienne didn’t accept that. Now that Chairman Hawthorne is getting older, she’s technically the adopted daughter of the Hawthorne family, but once he’s gone, she’ll be nothing. So, she had to find a way into Vanguard Global Enterprises to secure her position.”

“And then?”

“And then? Can’t you see it? She got close to CEO Hawthorne. Chairman Hawthorne is elderly, and no one knows when he’ll pass. Vivienne needed a backup plan, and this whole ‘sibling’ story? It’s just for show. In these rich families, even real brothers can end up turning on each other. Plus, by the time Vivienne came here, CEO Hawthorne was already an adult. Siblings? Please.”

“That’s impossible. I don’t think Director Vivienne is like that.”

“Impossible? Haven’t you heard? Art imitates life. In rich families, even the most impossible things can happen.”

“What are you all talking about?!” A stern voice suddenly came from behind.

The employees fell silent at once.

“Mr. Smith,” Jane Smith said coldly, her gaze sweeping over them one by one. “Have you all forgotten the company rules? Gossiping during work hours, talking behind your superior’s back—if I catch any of you doing this again, you’ll all be out!”

The office area fell into a heavy silence. Not a single person dared to speak.

Vanguard Global Enterprises had an internal WhatsApp group for all employees, mostly used for announcements.

The group was primarily managed by Penelope, the Director of the CEO’s Office Team.

Alexander was also in the group, though he had never posted anything.

Normally, the group was quiet. Despite the large number of members, the leadership was in the group too, so the employees didn’t dare chat freely. The most common posts were just “Got it” or similar acknowledgments.

Today, however, everyone received a notification in the group. At first, they thought Penelope was announcing something important. But when they opened the message, their eyes widened in surprise.

The person posting was an administrator with a green badge, and the name was clear and unmistakable—Alexander Hawthorne.

The CEO, Hawthorne, was speaking in the group?!

Vanguard Global Enterprises had a strict employee code of conduct, which included Rule 53: Maintain a serious work attitude and refrain from gossiping, discussing non-work matters, or spreading rumors. Any violations would result in a warning for the first offense, a 10% deduction from the monthly bonus for the second, and a 20% salary cut for the third. A third offense would lead to termination and permanent disqualification from rehire.

Soon, the group was filled with acknowledgments: “Got it.”

As for the rumors, they’d started when Isabella came to the company to see Alexander. Employees had been whispering about it ever since. Later, when Alexander and Isabella were caught together a few times, some employees even started shipping them as an OTP. Then, when Alexander and Vivienne were spotted together, the gossip never stopped.

But no matter how much the rumors spread, they never reached Alexander directly.

And Alexander had never cared about such trivial matters.

Yet today, the one person who had always stayed silent in the group finally spoke up.

Although he only quoted Rule 53, no one dared to ignore it.

Those in the know quickly realized that Director Vivienne had just returned to work after her leave, and Alexander’s message seemed to be a defense of her against the rumors.

I was also in the group and saw the message.

I stared at my phone for a moment, feeling a bit dazed.

Suddenly, I remembered when I first joined the company. I had gone to report to the CEO’s office, and Jane had been with me. I had addressed him directly as “Alexander.”

He had sternly corrected me, telling me that, regardless of whether anyone was around, I should always address him as “CEO Hawthorne” within the company.

At work, he always maintained a strictly professional attitude, treating me no differently than any other employee.

I had thought that was just his personality.

It wasn’t until Isabella came back that I realized Alexander could show favoritism at work as well.

But the person he favored wasn’t me.

Today, when Alexander spoke in the group, he was standing up for me.

But oddly, I didn’t feel as happy as I’d imagined I would.

I didn’t need it anymore.

When the news first broke, he hadn’t defended me. Now, it felt too little, too late.

The rumors had already spread.

The insults had already been thrown.

The gossip had already been talked about.

His defense now didn’t really matter. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I put my phone down and saw that I had an email from Director Penelope.

Opening it, I found a disciplinary notice.

Yesterday, a public relations intern from the media operations department had made a mistake, causing some damage to Vivienne’s and the company’s reputation. As a result, the company had decided to terminate the intern’s internship early. Olivia Reynolds, the PR director, had failed in her oversight and would have 50% of her year-end bonus deducted as punishment.

I read through the email and continued with my work.

I didn’t fool myself into thinking Alexander was seeking justice for me.

After all, it was the company’s official Twitter account. Every action and statement on it represented the company.

Olivia had abused her power for personal reasons, and she deserved to be punished.

Vanguard Global Enterprises had strict rules, and with so many employees, no one wanted to get caught violating them and have their actions reported to the higher-ups. Most people preferred to avoid idle gossip.

But when I went to the break room for a coffee or to the bathroom, I always felt eyes on me, following me wherever I went.

As I came out of the bathroom, I bumped into Olivia.