My CEO HUSBAND sign the divorce novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Difficult to breath.

Alexander’s POV

Karen and I left the hotel as a driver from Whitemore Industries drove us to the airport.

I quietly watched Rosewood Town disappear through the car window.

It felt like only yesterday that I had arrived here, determined to complete the agreement and return to Velaridge City as quickly as possible.

If someone had told me back then that coming to Rosewood Town would become one of the most important decisions of my life...

I would’ve thought they were insane.

Yet here I was.

I found the woman I had spent two years searching for.

There were moments...

Moments when I was genuinely happy.

Moments when I watched Alicia laughing with Aimy and felt a kind of peace I hadn’t known in years.

Moments when I truly believed everything would work out.

That I would finally return home...

With my family.

Instead...

Only a few days later...

I was leaving Rosewood Town alone.

This time, however, the disappointment felt different.

Two years ago, I had been devastated because I couldn’t find Alicia.

Now...

I was devastated because I had found her...

Yet still couldn’t earn her forgiveness.

Couldn’t earn her trust.

I had finally found both my wife and my daughter...

Yet I was still returning alone.

Somehow...

That hurt even more than not finding them at all.

Before long, the car entered the airport.

Everything had already been arranged.

Our luggage was loaded onto the private jet while Karen and I walked toward the aircraft.

I hadn’t informed Herbert about my departure.

There was no farewell.

No one waiting to see us off.

Only the driver from Whitemore Industries remained behind before quietly driving away.

The crew were making their final preparations before takeoff.

I reached into my pocket to switch off my phone when it suddenly vibrated.

I frowned.

An unfamiliar number.

Since it was my business phone, I assumed it might be work-related.

I answered.

"Chairman Blackwood?"

A woman’s panicked voice came through the speaker.

My brows knitted together.

"Who is this?"

"It’s Anna... Anna Whitemore."

She sounded breathless, as though she had been running.

My expression immediately turned serious.

"What happened?"

There was a brief silence.

Then her trembling voice came again.

"It’s Aimy..."

"What?"

A wave of unease crashed over me.

"Aimy is sick. She..."

I didn’t hear another word.

For one terrifying moment, everything around me became silent.

How?

We had just been together yesterday.

"Chairman Blackwood? Are you still there?"

Anna’s trembling voice pulled me back.

"Where is she?" I asked, already shooting to my feet.

"They’re at the town hospital—"

I didn’t wait for her to finish.

The call ended the moment I hung up.

Karen looked up at me in confusion as I hurried toward the exit.

"Sir? Where are you going? The flight is about to take off."

"Cancel it."

I was already descending the aircraft stairs.

The driver from Whitemore Industries, who hadn’t left the airport yet, looked at me in surprise.

I hurried toward the car, barely slowing down.

"Take me to the hospital."

"Immediately."

The driver nodded at once and started the engine.

Karen could only watch as the car sped out of the airport.

The drive felt endless.

Every second seemed to stretch into an eternity.

My thoughts refused to settle.

What happened to Aimy?

She had been perfectly fine yesterday.

Had she fallen?

Was she injured?

Or...

No.

I forced myself to stop imagining the worst.

Then my thoughts drifted to Alicia.

Then, almost imperceptibly, she nodded.

I finally rested my hand gently on Alicia’s shoulder.

"Alicia..."

She stiffened beneath my touch.

The next second...

She broke down all over again.

Her sobs became louder, more desperate.

Anna slowly loosened her embrace before quietly standing up, leaving the space beside Alicia for me.

I hesitated only briefly before sitting down.

Seeing her shaking like that...

I couldn’t stay away.

I gently wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders.

Then...

She did something I never expected.

Without resisting...

Without pulling away...

She leaned into me.

Her forehead rested against my chest as she desperately tried to muffle her sobs against my shirt.

For a single heartbeat...

Everything around me disappeared.

A warmth spread quietly through my chest.

Not because everything was suddenly alright.

But because...

In the middle of the worst moment of her life...

Her instinct had still led her to me.

I slowly lifted my hand and stroked her soft hair.

"Shh..."

My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Don’t cry."

"Aimy is going to be okay."

"We’ll get through this."

She didn’t answer.

She simply remained against me.

Little by little...

Her sobs became quieter.

Her trembling gradually eased.

I held her a little more securely.

Watching her like this hurt more than anything I had experienced these past two years.

She had already endured so much.

And now...

She was watching the one person she loved most fight inside an operating room.

The thought alone made my chest tighten until it became almost difficult to breathe.