Chapter 175: The Art of Ignoring an Ex

A simple golf game, and he had to run into his ex-wife. And as always, she didn’t know what was good for her. In fact, she had gotten worse. She didn’t even bother with the most basic social etiquette now. What did she think ignoring him was fun? He wasn’t some plague she had to avoid.

Without realizing it, Easton found himself walking toward her. Ellis was waiting for her food after placing her order. Before the food arrived, an unwanted presence did: Easton. He looked like someone owed him a few billion dollars, standing there with a stormy expression. Ellis’s face also darkened. The divorce was finalized—could he be a decent human and stay away? She had chosen to stay in Stonebridge because she had grown up here. If he was so unlucky to keep running into her, he could move somewhere else. Why was he here, whining to her about it?

If they weren’t in public, she would have thrown the cup of warm water in her hand right at his face. Let him be the Mr. Easton who made a fool of himself for once. “Disg—” She was just about to curse at him when Easton suddenly sat down right next to her on the sofa. The height difference between them was already close to eight inches. Physically, he was broader and taller, and with him sitting so close, it made her seem smaller in comparison. And the difference in physical presence? Definitely irritating. She shot him a glare before immediately standing up, putting distance between them.

“You’ve got the nerve to call me rude?” She fought the urge to jab a finger in his face. “Look at what you’re doing! Do you think this is polite?” She was almost certain he was doing this just to piss her off. Sure enough, being around her ex made her very close to cursing.

“Sitting next to you is offensive now?” Easton remained seated, looking entirely at ease. His gaze flickered up lazily. “Even without the marriage, we still have other ties, don’t we? What’s wrong with a casual conversation when we run into each other?”

“You’re crazy.” A smart woman didn’t waste her time arguing with a man. Especially this man. Ellis spat the words at him and turned to leave. Forget eating at this restaurant. There were other options at the golf course.

“Ellis, stop right there!” She had only taken a few steps before his voice rang out, filled with displeasure. At this point, she was convinced he was insane. It was getting hard to argue otherwise. Ellis acted like she didn’t hear him and kept walking. Watching her retreating figure, Easton felt a sharp wave of frustration.

Yes, he wanted Ellis to disappear from his world entirely. He didn’t want her disrupting his emotions. But now, he was realizing something worse—whenever they ran into each other, and she ignored him like he wasn’t even there, it triggered something in him. It got to him. He couldn’t stop himself from paying attention to her, noticing her every move. Why was she pretending not to see him? Why wasn’t she acknowledging him at all? Yes, they were divorced, but they had known each other for years. What was wrong with a simple hello? Why did she act like avoiding him was a matter of life or death? His eyes darkened as he watched her figure disappear. And all of this…was seen by the group near the restaurant entrance. Ellis, too focused on getting away from Easton, didn’t notice them.

As she walked out, she vaguely heard someone call out to her. “Mrs. Hudson, you—” But her mind was elsewhere, and by the time she processed it, she had already walked far past them. Had someone just spoken to her? She didn’t bother to check. That restaurant was bad luck anyway. She chose a different restaurant, finished her meal, and adjusted her mood before heading off to find Lois.

Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t done messing with her today. “Ms. Harper—” Lois glanced at Ellis, who had clearly noticed her but was walking at the slowest possible pace, obviously reluctant to come closer. Then Lois turned to look at the person next to her. Easton. Running into Easton at the restaurant wasn’t enough? Now she had to run into him while reporting to her boss? Ellis was beyond done. She wasn’t an actress, and her poker face wasn’t perfect. The stiffness in her expression and the frustration in her eyes were clear as day to the three people in front of her. Their reactions varied. But Easton’s was the most obvious—his gaze seemed to say, Let’s see how you get out of this one. She didn’t care about saving face for Easton.

And her boss’s acquaintance? That was different. Steadying herself, she plastered on a polite smile and greeted Lois. “Madam Lois.” Then, as if nothing had happened, she casually stood next to her boss. Lois was in a tricky position but didn’t show it. Running into her employee’s ex-husband—who happened to be acquainted with her own friend—made things just a little awkward. Especially when her employee was very clearly not acknowledging said ex-husband’s presence. The atmosphere grew slightly tense.

“Ms. Harper, the sun’s harsh today,” Lois finally said, pointing toward a shaded pavilion in the distance. “Your skin is delicate. Go sit under some shade and put on extra sunscreen.” Her meaning was clear. Stay far away from Easton.