My Blind Ex-Husband Is a Billionaire CEO

"My sisterinlaw died not long ago. My brother cried himself blind over her." My boyfriend's fingers dug into my wrist. His voice dropped low. I looked up.

Straight into a pair of dead, unfocused eyes. The "average" exhusband I'd walked out on three years ago. He sat at the head of the table, our daughter in his arms.

Back then, for the System's mission, I'd forged a cancer diagnosis, left a goodbye note, and vanished into thin air. Except now he was my boyfriend's big brother. Blind. Sinister.

Obscenely powerful. Chapter 1 The male lead finished his sentence, and my mind went blank. The nobody I'd dated back then. How was he the male lead's brother??

The System heard the question in my head and started shrieking. [System: WHAT?! The nobody you dated was Callum Thorne?] I gave a heavy nod.

The System spun in frantic circles. [System: Are you trying to blow this whole thing up?! He's no nobody.

He's the biggest boss in the entire book!] [System: You can't let Callum find you out. Not now. It ruins everything.] [System: To the male lead, you're a clueless little sweetheart.

He can never know you and his brother had a thing!] I listened, and my eyes drifted to the kid in Callum's arms. She had to be about two.

Round cheeks, pink and healthy, clearly well cared for. Same cold little face as her father. When I looked at her, she blinked back, curious.

Then the male lead, Spencer, caught my hand and called out, bright and clear. "Bro, I brought my girlfriend.

Her name's Wren Quinn." At the name, something stirred in Callum's dead gray eyes. Back when I dated Callum, I'd used my real name. The one from before I fell into this book.

Wren Sutton. Different last name. He wouldn't put it together… right? Spencer caught me going quiet and tugged my arm. "Say hi.

This is my brother, Callum." In the scramble, the System scrambled my voice on the spot. To everyone else I sounded the same. But Callum couldn't hear the real me.

I let out a breath and echoed, "Hi, Callum." At the strange voice, he finally pulled his eyes away. A flat "Mm." Introductions done, we took our seats.

Callum ended up right across from me. The less said, the better. I sat still and small and tried to disappear into the chair. Spencer turned to me anyway. "You're allergic to mango.

Don't touch that dessert." He didn't say it loud. But it carried, clear as day, straight to Callum across the table.

Then Spencer pulled on a glove, set down a plate of shrimp, and started peeling. "Shrimp's your favorite, right? Let me get you more." Mango allergy. Loves shrimp.

I'd told Callum every bit of it too. Every food I skipped, everything I liked. His fork slowed to a stop. He forgot to blink. Those dull gray eyes fixed on me and wouldn't move.

He was blind. He couldn't see my face. Didn't matter. His stare crawled up the back of my neck and stood every hair on end.

Chapter 2 Nerves screaming, I just prayed Spencer would say less. Instead he scanned the table and landed on the sweetandsour ribs. Another thing I loved. His mouth opened again.

Forget the sweetlittlegoodgirl act. I kicked him under the table. Spencer didn't seem to feel a thing. He reached for the ribs anyway. I panicked and kicked twice more.

I wasn't even done when Callum, silent the whole meal, finally spoke. His gaze drifted, unfocused. His voice stayed calm. "Ms. Quinn.

You're kicking me." Spencer's attention snapped over. The ribs forgotten. Wrong man. I'd kicked the wrong man. I shut my eyes and forced out the only thing left to say. "I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to." Callum didn't answer. He stood, our daughter in his arms, cold as ever. "Take your time. She's due for a feeding. I'll head out." His assistant led him away.

From the window, I watched him climb into a car that cost a fortune. By now, trailing after Spencer, I'd picked up my share of luxury car names and designer labels.

But Callum's car nagged at me. I'd seen it somewhere before. It took a while. Then it came back. The day Callum and I first met. I hadn't been in the book long then.

I knew nothing about this strange new world. Only that I'd landed inside a novel. No System. No cheat code. Out of options, I rolled with it and settled in.

First rule of survival: steer clear of anyone who might be a main character. Too pretty a name? Avoid. Too rich? Avoid. Too pitiful on the street corner? Avoid them too.

Then a customer gave me a hard time at my coffeeshop job, and Callum stepped in. His lowkey luxury car had been parked right out front the whole time.

I just didn't know what I was looking at. Nobody would ever guess a plain black car like that was anything special. An Aston Martin. So I asked his name. "Callum," he said. Oh.

A perfectly ordinary name. I relaxed a little. Then he asked, "They gave you a hard time. Why didn't you fight back?" I told him the truth. "They were wearing Nike and Adidas.

They looked rich." "I don't mess with rich people." What could I do? I was supposed to dodge rich people, and those were the only brands I knew. Callum went still.

Gave a flat "Huh." Then, easy as anything, slipped the watch off his wrist. I noticed and asked, "Why'd you take it off?" "It's a fake," he said. "Runs slow.

Don't feel like wearing it." I nodded, deeply sympathetic. Because I was always ending up with knockoff hair clips myself. That sealed it. My guard came all the way down.

A guy who wears a fake watch? No way he's part of the main cast. But if I saw that watch today? I'd know it in a second. A Patek Philippe. Worth nearly a million.

And the logoless clothes on his back? Custom. Handtailored. Later, the more I learned about him, the more it added up. He worked a regular office job. Just another employee.

Always getting squeezed by his boss. Always stuck late in meetings. Chapter 3 Even that "plain" black car? Borrowed from a friend. Ordinary background. Ordinary name.

Just a ridiculously handsome face. But I didn't think much of it back then. The world's full of hot guys. They can't all be main characters. And a broke, overworked wage slave?

No way he was part of the main cast. So. Me and this painfully handsome nobody. We started dating. He was gentle, attentive, always waiting on me hand and foot.

Three sweet years, just like that. Then, the year our daughter turned one. That's when I found out I had cancer. That's also when the System finally showed up.

It told me I was the villainess. That the cancer was written into the villainess's fate in this book. The only cure was getting back on the main plot.

I was so mad I wanted to scream that the thing was basically a kidnapper. The System added, quick and guilty: [System: Finish the mission and I'll send you back to your world.

And you get a hundred million dollars!] A hundred million. My eyes went wide. Callum and I were both honest working stiffs. We'd never seen that kind of money.

So, for the cure, and for the cash, I left the two of them a goodbye note. Gone to get treatment. I'll come back when I'm better.

After that, the System swapped my identity, moved me to a new city, and switched me into full simp mode for the male lead.

And Callum, after I vanished for so long, figured the treatment had failed. That I was dead. But now, by some rotten stroke of luck, I'd run right back into him.

I was falling apart inside. Terrified the whole mission would blow up because of it. Once Callum left, the table finally loosened up. I played sweet, and it worked. Mr. and Mrs.

Thorne warmed right up to me. By the end of the meal, they'd invited me to the house. Spencer nodded along. "I need to grab something from home anyway.

Come with me, Wren." So I did. But when we got to the family estate, Callum was there too. Blind or not, the company couldn't run without him.

Everything got reported to him out loud, by his assistant. He listened while his hands worked two little pigtails into Vivi's hair. Easy. Practiced.

Vivi got bored of the report fast and fussed to go play. Callum let her. She still wobbled when she walked, tipping side to side, and wouldn't let the maid steady her.

She finally made it out. And ran right into me. She looked up, still staring, curious. Then she lost her footing and started to go down. The maid lunged to catch her.

The girl shoved her off. A few clipped little words. "No. No…" She teetered, about to fall, and I caught her before I could think. Her voice cut off. She froze.

The maid explained, sheepish. "Sorry, miss. She's shy with strangers. Usually only lets Mr. Callum hold her…" Then, next second, she burrowed deeper into me.

One small hand fisted in my shirt. Her eyes squeezed into happy little slits. "Like… like you…" The whole room stalled.

Spencer laughed. "Wren, it's rare to see my niece take to anyone." I didn't blink. "Yeah. Kids have always liked me." Spencer didn't think twice.

He wandered off to deal with something. Vivi stayed buried in my arms a while, then tipped her face up. Those round, dark eyes locked on me. She'd stared too many times now.

It put me on edge. Chapter 4 Did she recognize me? No way. She wasn't even one when I left. She couldn't have any memory of me.

Then Vivi dug into her pocket and pulled out a tiny photo. I followed her hand and looked. It was a shot of me in profile, holding her as a baby. Callum must've taken it on the sly.

Thank God the light was bad. It came out blurry. Vivi looked at the photo. Then at me. Like she was working through the puzzle of the century. But she was barely two.

Couldn't really walk, couldn't really talk. No way she was matching me to that smudge of a picture. Callum and I both hated cameras. We'd left behind almost nothing.

Still, I had to ask, nerves prickling. "Have you seen any other photos?" Vivi barely got it. She shook her head, indignant. "Daddy… stingy… won't show me!" That did it.

I finally breathed. Good thing she hadn't. One more photo and she might've actually placed me. Footsteps behind me.

Callum had finished up and come straight out to find his daughter. When he found her tucked in someone else's arms, something rare crossed his face.

Surprise. "You're letting the maid hold you now?" His assistant cut in, awkward. "Mr. Thorne, that's not the maid. That's Mr.

Spencer's fiancée." Callum's brows drew together, barely. He opened his arms to Vivi. "Come to Daddy." But Vivi, who usually stuck to Callum like a burr, didn't budge.

She shook her head and pressed deeper into me.

Buried her face in my chest, pulled in a big breath, and mumbled. "Smells good… like you!" Callum's face gave nothing away as he turned toward me.

His voice went a notch harder. "Vivi. Come." I took the hint and stood, carrying Vivi over to him. Time to hand her back. Which meant we had to get close. Very close.

My hair actually brushed against Callum's face. I set Vivi in his arms and looked up. He'd gone rigid. Still hadn't said a word. I stood there, thrown.

Then his voice came, low and rough