Dumped By Ex Married To CEO

There was no longer any warm pile of french fries served on the plate. That fried snack remained untouched, still whole.

"Cel, why are you daydreaming? What's wrong?" Jenny asked worriedly, placing her hand on Celine's shoulder.

"Is there a problem?" Tiffany chimed in, sensing that Celine was holding something back. It wasn't like Celine to space out like this.

Celine lowered her head, hiding her tear-filled eyes. She looked up at her two best friends. "I... miss Zack," she whispered, her voice weak. Her heart pounded, struggling to contain the longing.

Jenny and Tiffany exchanged glances.

"Zack again? Still no word from him?" Jenny asked as if this wasn't the first time. Something felt different now.

Celine nodded weakly. "His number's not active. It's been over two days. I've sent him countless texts, but all of them failed to go through. I just hope he's okay, if he's really that busy lecturing at campus."

"Take it easy, Cel. Don't overthink it," Tiffany said, trying to calm Celine's growing panic. "Maybe once he's less busy, he-" Before Tiffany could finish, Celine cut her off.

"Busy? Or just no signal? We're in a modern age, Tiffany. Surely he could send one chat in a day. I'm just... worried. What woman wouldn't be? Once you're comfortable, once you care, once you love-you need reassurance!" Celine's voice rose slightly. She was frustrated, disagreeing with what Tiffany had said.

"And... I'm jealous of you both. You're always texted back, loved, celebrated. Meanwhile, me? Hah, I only felt all of that at the beginning. It hurts! Is this what falling in love is-just temporary?" All the emotions Celine had been suppressing finally broke through. Without realizing it, tears streamed down her cheeks.

"But... didn't you already introduce Zack to your parents? He must be serious about you-Om Adiwangsa has high hopes for him," Jenny reasoned, trying to reassure Celine that everything would be fine.

Tiffany's phone rang. She answered the call, and her face-once calm-instantly turned pale. She pulled the phone away from her ear as if the voice on the other end had dealt her a crushing blow.

"Wh...what? My mom got into an accident?" Tiffany screamed in shock. Her eyes immediately welled up. Her grip on the phone tightened, her knuckles turning white. Her mind raced, imagining the worst-case scenario. She prayed her mother would be okay.

Tiffany looked at Jenny and Celine. She stood up from her chair. "I'm sorry, I have to go to the hospital," she said coldly, her voice trembling with unshed tears.

"Cel, maybe you should head home too? I want to follow Tiffany to the hospital," Jenny said uneasily. She couldn't let Tiffany go through this alone-Tiffany needed support, strength.

"Y-yeah, I'll head back to the office too. I'll go now, Jen," Celine said, excusing herself. She felt guilty. This wasn't the time to be selfish. Things had gotten complicated-Zack's silence and now Tiffany's mother's accident.

---

Footsteps echoed through the hospital corridor as Jenny ran, searching for Tiffany in the waiting area. Finally, she spotted her-leaning against the wall, staring blankly into space.

"H-how's your mom?" Jenny asked nervously, sitting down beside Tiffany.

Tiffany remained silent.

"Tiffany? You can hear me, right?" Jenny tried again. She could tell something was wrong from Tiffany's stillness.

But then, a doctor stepped out of the room.

Tiffany immediately stood and bombarded him with questions. "How is my mother? Is she okay? She'll recover, right, Doctor?"

The doctor sighed, and the sound alone made Tiffany's heart race. She wasn't ready.

"I'm sorry, but your mother has fallen into a coma. Her condition is critical. Please be patient, and pray for a miracle. Excuse me." The doctor delivered the devastating news and walked away.

Tiffany covered her mouth, her tears breaking free. Jenny immediately pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her fragile frame close.

Jenny herself was swept up in Tiffany's grief. "Shh... your mom is strong. She'll make it."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the dark hospital corridor, a man paced in confusion, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He bit his fingernail, anxiety and fear hitting him hard.

"Damn it! Why did I have to hit that woman!" He shouted angrily. It was his fault-speeding recklessly just to avoid traffic.

"Argh! I don't care! What matters is I don't have to pay damages." He planted his hands on his hips, a smug smile curving on his lips.

Click.

The voice recording had finished. A figure dressed entirely in black, standing from behind the wall, slipped the phone back into their pocket.

Having finished recording the confession, the figure-hood pulled over their head-curled their lips into an arrogant smile. They pulled out a photograph.

"Just wait. I'll have my revenge. Your life will never be at peace." After muttering that, they quickly shoved the photo back into their pocket and hurried away, unknowingly dropping something behind.

---

Grabbing her phone, Celine checked the last message she had sent. She let out a tired sigh. Zack still hadn't come online. Cold sweat beaded on her back. Her thoughts spiraled into dark speculation.

"What if Zack just... disappeared?" Celine muttered, shaking her head. No. That couldn't be.

That afternoon, Celine still had four documents piled on her desk to finish. She was almost done. She'd be going home soon.

"You're still not done?" A familiar deep voice. A tall man in a black suit-Adiwangsa, her father.

"It's already late afternoon, and you're the only one still in the office. Why is your performance so slow?" Adiwangsa asked, half irritated. He hadn't been able to leave because Celine hadn't finished the documents.

"Be patient, Father. I'm trying-" Before she could finish, Adiwangsa cut her off.

"Trying? You're useless, Celine! Aren't you embarrassed? Even an intern can finish ten documents in three hours. And you?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at her with disdain. "You're far behind them!"

"If this continues, don't ever expect to inherit this company, Celine! Or maybe-are you deliberately ruining the family reputation over some worthless man?" Adiwangsa accused, his anger simmering. Zack had clearly clouded Celine's judgment to this extent.

Celine's slender fingers clutched the documents tightly, channeling her frustration. Her position was at stake. Inheriting Adiwangsa Property had always been her dream.

"Why do you keep comparing me to an intern?" Her gaze was filled with disappointment. This was the first time Adiwangsa had spoken to her like this-not encouraging her, but belittling her abilities.

"I just don't understand who you've become, Celine. You used to be fast, professional-never this slow. What's going on? What are you even thinking about?" Adiwangsa's breath came fast and heavy.

Celine stayed silent.

"It's your boyfriend, isn't it?" Adiwangsa guessed, as if he could read her mind.

"Don't just blame Zack, Father!" Celine snapped, standing from her chair. But she knew what Adiwangsa said was partly true-she couldn't focus because she'd been too preoccupied thinking about Zack.

"I don't care! If you stay like this, don't expect me to give my blessing or accept Zack!" Adiwangsa delivered his painful ultimatum, then turned and walked away, slamming the door behind him.

Celine clenched her fists. Damn it. There was no way she was losing Adiwangsa Property.

Her phone buzzed. She grabbed it from the desk. An unknown number.

Curious, Celine opened the message-there was a photo attached.

The image loaded, revealing the face of the man she had been longing for.

**Unknown Number**

[Photo of Zack]

Zack is fine.

That place... Celine recognized it. So Zack hadn't disappeared after all.