His Mistress is His Ex-Wife
Chapter 297: Cutting Ties

Chapter 297: Cutting Ties

The sound of glass breaking caught the attention of Miguel and Vladimir. They turned to the source of the sound only to see Athena standing by the entrance door.

A light gleam flashed through Vladimir’s eyes the moment he spotted Athena. Without further ado, he strode toward her, grabbing her hand.

"Athena is now my girlfriend. She is the only woman I will marry!" Vladimir made a bold declaration in front of his father. He intertwined their hands, showing them to Miguel/

Miguel’s expression turned ashen. He clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes on Vladimir.

"Are you trying to defy me, Vladimir Ivankov?" Miguel roared, veins bulging in his rage.

Athena flinched at Miguel’s words. She instinctively moved closer to Vladimir. In response, he held her hand tightly, reassuring her.

"Stop this nonsense, Vladimir." Miguel shot Vladimir a warning glare.

Vladimir just sneered at his father. "All this time I’ve never disobeyed you. But Father, this time I want you to respect my decision. You can’t control my life forever. And I’m old enough to choose the woman I will marry."

The father and son were still arguing when Lanny arrived. She immediately ran to her father’s side, wondering what was going on.

"Father, what’s going on here?" Lanny asked.

But Miguel just ignored her. His gaze was fixed on Vladimir.

"Fine. I will make you choose. If you choose her, I will strip you of your right to succession. I will disown you as my son. Can you live with that, Vladimir? Everything you have right now is mine—your power, your wealth. Without me and the Ivankov Clan, you are nothing." Miguel started to threaten Vladimir.

Lanny gasped when she heard that. She knew that their father was not bluffing. However, could he really do that to his only son?

Meanwhile, Athena felt guilty for this. She didn’t want Vladimir to cut ties with his father just because of her.

"V. Listen to your father. Apologize to him. Don’t make these unnecessary sacrifices." Athena whispered, convincing Vladimir to change his mind and stop fighting his father.

However, Vladimir had already made up his mind. He could throw everything away. But not Athena.

"I’m not afraid of losing my power and wealth. All I want is to be with Athena." Vladimir declared stubbornly.

"V, No!" Athena couldn’t believe it.

"Dad, stop this. Vladimir is your only son. Can you really disown him?" Lanny also spoke up to dissuade Miguel.

Miguel laughed mockingly. "Do you really think I can’t find a successor other than my biological son? No! I also have an adopted son, and I believe he is better suited to lead the Ivankov Clan. At least he has never betrayed me."

Lanny, Vladimir, and Athena were rendered speechless upon hearing that. All along, Miguel had been planning to pass the succession to his adopted son—the one he had been hiding from them for so long.

"I don’t care about those things. You can give him all your wealth. Just stop meddling with my life. My decision is final. I’m choosing Athena!" Vladimir declared with finality.

"Very well. Then starting today, you are no longer a member of the Ivankov Clan. Don’t crawl back to me. I hope you will not regret your decision. You’ve been fooled and bewitched by that woman." Miguel shot Athena a cold sharp glare. He didn’t hide his hostility toward her. He felt like Athena had stolen his son from him and that was something he couldn’t forgive.

After declaring those things, Miguel turned to Lanny. "You and the children will come with me. We are going back to our country and you will marry Dmitri. Vladimir is not allowed to get near my grandchildren. Take them away right now!"

Athena panicked the moment she heard that. Aaron was her son.

Without a second thought, Athena moved, grabbing Miguel’s elbow. "Sir, please don’t do this. I promise. I’ll talk to Vladimir. Please don’t take the children away." She begged him.

But Migule just pushed her. "Don’t you dare touch me! You don’t have the right here. I’ve given you the Ivankov’s surname. But I didn’t expect that you would become the reason for my strained relationship with my son."

"If I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed you to enter the Ivankov Clan."

Athena shook her head. She didn’t expect things to escalate like this. Before she could speak another word, Vladimir already held her in his arms.

"Don’t worry, Athena. I’ll find a way to get Aaron," he whispered to her.

Athena could only nod, relying on Vladimir’s promise. She couldn’t live without Aaron. After achieving her goal, she wanted to have a fresh start with her son.

"What are you waiting for, Lanny?! Go and get the children!" Miguel commanded her in his stern cold voice.

Lanny didn’t want to defy her father. Looking at Vladimir and Athena, she gave them an apologetic smile. Then she entered the house to pick up the children. It did not take long, Aaron and Kimmy stepped out of the house together with Lanny.

"Grandpa! You’re here!" Aaron and Kimmy yelled in unison as they ran toward Miguel.

The two children were completely unaware of the heated argument that had just taken place there.

Miguel also concealed his negative emotions as he faced the children with a gentle smile. "Let’s go home now."

Athena’s heart constricted as she watched Aaron being taken away by Miguel.

’He is my son. I have to take him back.’ She thought, holding back her tears.

Before Aaron entered the car, he turned to look at Athena one last time. Then he smiled while waving his hand.

"Aunt Athena! We will visit again next time!"

Athena could only bob her head as she smiled back at her son. "Yes, Aaron. You can always come here. Any time you want!"

"Aaron. We have to go now." Miguel intervened right away.

When the roll-Royce disappeared from their sight, Athena broke down. She started sobbing in Vladimir’s arms.

"V. I can’t lose Aaron. I want to take him back. But Lanny will be in trouble if Miguel finds out that Aaron is not his grandson. What should we do now?"

Vladimir’s expression hardened. He was cursing his father in his mind. Miguel just made things more complicated.

"I promise Athena. We will retrieve Aaron. Trust me. Okay?" Vladimir reassured her, wiping her tears.

"What will you do now? Are you not afraid of losing everything because of me?" Athena didn’t want him to make this sacrifice. Vladimir had done enough for her.

Vladimir cupped her face. "I am more afraid of losing you, Athena."

"So... I won’t regret this decision."

Athena didn’t know what to say. She had conflicting thoughts about this. She wasn’t certain if she could make Vladimir happy.

"Thank you, V... for choosing me." That’s the only words she could utter.

Vladimir looked at her with love and tenderness. He slowly moved his head, attempting to kiss her lips. However, before his lips touched hers, Athena’s phone rang, interrupting them.

Athena answered the call. And in just a few seconds, she heard a piece of terrible news.

Seeing her face turning pale, Vladimir knew that something was wrong. "Athena, what is it?"

"V... my brother... he got into an accident in Vozton City! We need to go there right now!"