My CEO HUSBAND sign the divorce novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316: You’re so pretty.

A moment later, Sophie finally pulled away before gently cupping Aimy’s little face in both hands.

"You’re so pretty, little one."

Aimy smiled shyly, making Sophie laugh before pulling her into another warm hug.

After what felt like an endless embrace, Sophie lifted Aimy into her arms while I picked up both my shopping bags and hers.

Together, we walked into a nearby café.

Once we found a table and settled down, I noticed two security officers standing outside.

I immediately recognized them as the men who had accompanied us from the villa.

They seemed to be looking for us.

Probably because we had stayed inside the plaza much longer than expected.

"I’ll be right back," I said to Sophie, who was now helping Aimy choose what they wanted to order.

I walked over to the officers.

"We’re just going to stay here for a little while before returning to the villa," I explained.

One of them nodded respectfully.

"Alright, ma’am. We’ll wait here."

As he spoke, he and the other officer moved to stand near the entrance of the café.

"You really don’t have to wait here," I said.

"It’s fine. You can....."

"Don’t worry, ma’am," he interrupted politely. "We’re only doing our job and following orders. We won’t interrupt you."

Seeing they had no intention of leaving, I let out a quiet breath and returned to our table.

By then, Sophie had already placed our orders.

The moment I sat down, she leaned forward and lowered her voice.

"What’s with all the security?"

She glanced discreetly toward the entrance where the two officers stood.

"I don’t know," I said with a helpless shrug.

"They just insist that I can’t go anywhere without them."

Sophie frowned thoughtfully.

"They’re dressed just like the security..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

A look of realization slowly spread across her face, and her eyes widened.

"Wait..."

She looked at me.

Then at Aimy.

Then back at me again.

"Are you... living with him again?"

Before I could answer, she leaned even closer, lowering her voice another notch.

"Was he the one who found you and brought you back?"

She didn’t need to mention Alexander’s name.

I already knew exactly who she meant.

After a brief pause...

I nodded.

"That jerk really doesn’t know when to stop. Don’t tell me he’s forcing you to live with him now. Is that why you have all these guards following you around?"

I couldn’t help laughing at her assumptions.

After all, Sophie had always held a grudge against Alexander because of everything that happened with Lilian.

"Relax, Sophie. No one is forcing me to stay, and absolutely no one forced me to come back in the first place."

Just then, our orders arrived, forcing her to lean back into her seat.

After the waitress served our food and walked away, Sophie leaned forward again, clearly unwilling to let the matter go.

"Really?"

She looked genuinely surprised.

Before she could ask another question, my phone suddenly rang.

The sound interrupted us both.

Sophie frowned in annoyance before glancing at my phone.

At the same time, my eyes landed on the screen.

Alexander.

"Talking about the devil..." Sophie muttered.

Trying not to smile, I answered the call.

"Alicia?"

Alexander’s gentle voice came from the other end.

"Mm."

There was silence for a brief moment.

"Hello?" I called softly.

"Did you go somewhere?" he suddenly asked.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah... I came out to buy a few things for Aimy and me."

Another brief silence followed.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"I’m fine."

I smiled faintly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

He let out a quiet breath.

"I just wish you had told me before leaving. I would’ve asked someone to get whatever you needed."

"I wanted to choose them myself."

"Then you could’ve waited for me. I would’ve come with you."

A soft smile found its way onto my lips before I even realized it.

"It’s okay, Alexander. We only bought a few things."

I glanced down at the shopping bags beside me.

"And besides... I didn’t want to disturb you while you were working."

"What about Aimy?"

"I brought her with me."

"I see."

There was another brief pause before he spoke again.

"Where are you right now?"

"At the plaza. We ran into Sophie, so we’re having lunch together."

"I’m done with work."

His voice softened.

"I was just about to leave the company anyway."

He paused.

I laughed softly.

She finally started eating, but every now and then, I’d catch her stealing curious glances at me, as if she still couldn’t believe the woman sitting across from her was the same Alicia who had disappeared two years ago.

Seeing her reaction...

the smile on my face only grew wider.

We continued eating while chatting casually, and Sophie filled me in on everything that had happened in her life over the past two years.

"Really? That’s wonderful to hear. Congratulations, Sophie," I said sincerely after she told me how successful her career had become.

She grinned proudly.

"I know, right? Ever since that scandal with Blackwood Dominion and that psychopath, Lilian Sum...."

She stopped abruptly, her eyes widening.

"I’m so sorry, Alicia. I completely forgot..."

"It’s okay, Sophie," I said between soft laughs.

"Really?"

She looked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah."

I smiled.

"It’s all in the past now."

Somewhere along the way, I had already let go of everything involving Lilian.

Besides...

It was all in the past.

"And please," I added, narrowing my eyes playfully, "stop calling people psychopaths."

Sophie immediately returned to her usual self.

"Normal people?" she scoffed.

"What normal person does the things she did?"

I couldn’t help agreeing.

Two years ago, Alexander had only told me Lilian had been involved in an accident.

Later, I overheard some of the staff saying she had grabbed the steering wheel herself after Alexander insisted on sending her abroad.

At the time, I had been too overwhelmed by everything to think much about it.

But now...

Looking back...

It really wasn’t something a normal person would do.

"What are you thinking about?" Sophie asked, pulling me back.

I blinked before smiling.

"Nothing."

"What were you saying?"

"I was saying that woman was truly a piece of work."

She leaned forward.

"Can you believe she was actually involved with Daniel Caldwell?"

My brows knitted together.

"Daniel Caldwell... from Echelon Industries?"

"Exactly."

Sophie nodded.

"She was found hiding in his apartment two years ago."

My hand froze halfway to my plate....