Chapter 174: Manners, My Ass

If anyone was doing the dumping, it should have been Easton kicking Ellis to the curb.

Hungry and in no mood for small talk, Ellis had no patience for the group in front of her. She walked around them and headed straight into the restaurant. What she didn’t expect was to immediately run into another familiar face.

Easton.

For the first time, she found herself agreeing with her adoptive mother’s philosophy—if you want to change your luck, go to the right temple and pray. At this rate, she needed to find a temple that specialized in getting rid of bad energy. Specifically, the kind that made her keep running into her ex-husband.

Easton’s stride slowed as an all-too-familiar face suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

Ellis.

She was dressed in a pink-and-white athletic set, her hair tied back in a low ponytail. She wasn’t even wearing makeup, yet she looked fresh and full of life, like a college student on campus. She looked…good. Happy.

Meanwhile, he hadn’t been sleeping well, hadn’t been eating right, and had been in a miserable mood for a while. Comparing the two of them, Easton’s lips pressed into a thin line. She divorced him, and she was this happy?

The last time she ran into him in public, she avoided him. This time, Ellis couldn’t be bothered. Avoidance could become a habit, and she wasn’t going to spend her life running away. The upper-class social circle was small. Sure, she had been kicked out of it, her status plummeting, but her boss was still part of that world. That meant she had to navigate it too. She couldn’t run away every time she saw Easton.

The best way to handle it was to act like he didn’t exist. Ellis immediately shifted her gaze and pretended not to see him, walking straight ahead. But just as they were about to pass each other, a hand landed on her shoulder.

She glanced sideways. Easton had grabbed her.

She frowned, annoyed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Her voice was filled with impatience, and her bright eyes reflected nothing but irritation toward him. Even so, seeing himself in her gaze, Easton felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction, snuffing out the frustration that had been building inside him. At the business forum dinner last time, he had seen her from a distance. She hadn’t seen him. That was understandable. But today, they were face to face. And yet, she acted like he wasn’t even there.

“Shouldn’t you at least acknowledge me when you see me?” he asked flatly.

Ellis stared at him like he had lost his mind. “Why the hell should I?” She had been called rude so many times by this man that she no longer cared. A social obligation?

“Because I’m Easton, your—”

Ex-husband.

The words weighed a ton. He found himself unable to say them. Their divorce was a fact. Calling himself her ex-husband was accurate. Yet, for some reason, the words just wouldn’t come out. His voice, his entire body, felt like something was stopping him.

After a moment, he said instead, “Point is, you should say hello when you see me. Don’t act like I don’t exist.”

Ellis couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her fingers curled slightly into fists. Did he think he had some divine authority over her daily life now?

“Mind your own damn business,” she scoffed.

“Do you not understand basic social etiquette?” Easton shot back. He knew she did—she was an intelligent, well-educated woman who had spent years in high society. But for some reason, he couldn’t stop himself from pushing the point. Seeing her pretend not to see him, watching her ignore him entirely, made something inside him twist. It was like a pressure in his chest, something that needed to force its way out. Simply put, he wanted to teach her some damn manners.

Ellis was genuinely starting to think a horse must have kicked him in the head. Did he seriously grab her just to give her a lecture on greetings?

“When you see someone, you say hello,” Easton continued like a kindergarten teacher explaining to a child. “Not saying hello is rude.”

“You’re insane.” Ellis shoved his hand off her shoulder. “What does it matter to you if I greet you or not? Who the hell do you think you are, giving me etiquette lessons? You think you’re someone important?”

“You do, actually, bother me.”

Ellis was left speechless by how ridiculous that sounded. Easton realized the phrasing was off too. She wasn’t actually doing anything to him. There was no real reason for him to say that. As he spoke, he caught a few lingering gazes. Some people were standing near the entrance, obviously eavesdropping. Their faces were full of curiosity, their intentions clear as day. Easton’s gaze darkened as he shot them a cold glare.

At the same time, he turned back to Ellis and asked, “Back to the main point. Why are you here? Who are you with? Did you come alone?”

“If you can be here, why can’t I?” Ellis shot him a glare. “Mind your own business and stay the hell away from me.”

With that, she turned and walked off quickly, as if afraid his bad energy would rub off on her. Easton didn’t chase after her. He stood where he was, tugging at his collar in irritation. His eyes swept across the restaurant before finally settling on Ellis, who was now at the counter, ordering her food.