The CEO’s Ex-Wife Is A Famous Doctor

Chapter 45: Karise’s Reasons
“Adrian and Max are my best friends in
school,” Lucas defined with gleaming eyes. We have lunch together.”
“But sometimes, I avoid Max when it’s
snack time. He has crackers for snacks always. He often asked to try my sandwich, but I like my sandwich. I don’t want to give
him some,” Lucas said while pouting his lips.
Evan caressed his chin. He replied, “Lucas, maybe his parents don’t have time to make a sandwich. It could be that Max’s
parents don’t have enough means to buy the sandwich ingredients. Do you know it is more blessed to give than to receive?”
Evan, Lucas, and Shantelle were having dinner at the Scotts’ residence. It was during their meal that Lucas told his father about
his daily routine and his friends at school.
Some of Lucas’ stories surprised Shantelle. She realized that her son was so eager to chat with his father that he kept going and
going with whatever he could think of.
“More blessed to give than to receive?”
Lucas asked in complete bewilderment.
“Lucas, we talked about this. You should
always share your food,” Shantelle
reminded him.
“You should not worry about running out of sandwiches because your mommy and
daddy can make sure you have your favorite
sandwich every day, but others are not so
fortunate,” Evan explained. “Instead, we

should share our blessings because we have more to give. When you do, you will receive
more.”
“When you are being generous, it comes back to you in many ways,” Evan described.
He then told Lucas about his Lockwood
project and how it saved young children’s
lives with different illnesses. He explained, The community gave back to me. They highly visit the park, the people themselves
promote it, and the hospital always gets more and more patients because the
children and their parents share their good experiences.”1
Lucas had more questions after that, and Evan had to simplify things for him, but he was patient throughout.
“1
Across from them, Shantelle smiled. She remembered how Evan was always very generous. To help him convince Lucas, she
also shared her knowledge, “Also Lucas, being generous – everything from giving someone directions to helping a friend carry
his books – activates the part of the brain that makes you feel happy. They say giving is good for the health.”
“Really, mommy?” Lucas asked in surprise.
“Yes, honey,” Shantelle nodded firmly.
With his head down, Lucas said, “I feel bad
now. I will share my sandwich next time.”
“Better yet,” Shantelle recommended. “Let’s
prepare two sandwiches for your snacks
next time so you and Max can have one each.
After her words, Shantelle’s and Evan’s eyes met. He smiled, but her smile faded.

Shantelle avoided his gaze and instead encouraged her son, “Three more spoons,
and you are done with your meal. Go ahead
and finish that.”
“Wanna race?” Evan challenged Lucas.
“I’ll race you, daddy!” Lucas exclaimed. He put a spoonful of food in his mouth and chowed it down eagerly.
Evan only had two pieces of broccoli to
finish, but he ate slowly to let Lucas win.
“I win! I win!” Lucas exclaimed, showing off his clean plate. He turned to Shantelle and
asked, “Mommy, do I get a prize for finishing up my food?”
“Sure. Would you like a treat?” Shantelle
asked.
Lucas turned to Evan with bright eyes, saying, “I don’t want a treat! I want daddy to
put me to sleep!” 1
Evan’s eyes lit up, but Shantelle’s face paled.
Her mouth fell open as she said, “I – I think
your daddy is busy. Your grandpa is still in
the hospital, and he needs to take care of
your grandma.”
Shantelle turned to Evan and narrowed her
eyes. It was meant to be a warning, and she hoped he got the message. Unfortunately for Shantelle, Lucas was unknowingly
going against her.

“Please, mommy! Please, daddy! I want to
spend more time with daddy!” Lucas
declared. He directed his gaze to Shantelle and gave her his puppy eyes. “This is my
first time to see daddy. Can he, mommy?
Please.”
“Just put him to bed,” Evan said to Shantelle. “It won’t take long. I’ll leave after he falls asleep.”
***
While Evan was trying to convince Shantelle to spend more time with Lucas, back in Rose Hills, Keith went straight to his favorite
club, ready to drown his sorrows.
Keith was ushered into his usual seat.
Typically, he would go out with his friends, Sean, Wendell, and sometimes Evan, but not
that night. Not when he came because of
Shantelle. None of his friends knew that he
had always known where Shantelle was, not
even Sean.
After several drinks, Keith went around the dance floor to find a companion – someone to talk to. He needed to forget his pain.
He saw a sexy figure with long black hair
dancing with another man. The man was not as good-looking as him, so he figured he
would cut in. He walked up to the girl and said, “You want to spend time with a real man?”
The girl turned, and they both stilled upon recognizing each other. The girl said, “Keith Henderson?”
“Well. Well.” A hiss left Keith’s lips when he realized who it was. “Karise, right? Shantelle’s friend?”

Karise rolled her eyes and reminded, “Karise Myers, and yes, Shanty’s bestie.” She turned
to Keith, ignoring her previous dance
partner, saying, “Why are you here?”
“What do you mean?” Keith asked. They both started dancing together as they chatted.
“I thought you were now a busy man? Wait. Don’t tell me. Did you confess again to
Shanty? I remember the last time you got
rejected so badly. You were out here, too.” She shrugged and revealed, “I found out the next day when I called Shanty.”
Right. Keith remembered how Karise was also a regular at the club. He then offered, ”
Wanna have a drink?”
“Sure, why not? Your treat, of course,” Karise suggested, and Keith nodded.
11
Back at his table, Keith and Karise drank.
together. Keith revealed what had transpired in Warlington, including Lucas’ desire to meet his father. “So, yes, I got rejected
again, but this time, it’s worse. Evan is in Warlington. They met. Evan is probably visiting Lucas by now.”
“Oh,” Karise said before sipping on her
martini. She had that look of regret when
she added, “I guess I’ll need to talk with
Shanty soon – prepare my apology.”
“You know, I’ve always wondered, Karise. I
had reasons to keep things from Shanty, but

what about you? Why didn’t you tell her how Evan went all out searching for her?” Keith
asked.
Karise sighed. She finished up her drink and looked distantly. Without looking at Keith, she admitted, “At first, I was angry at
Evan for what he did to my girl. I wanted him to suffer. Plus, Doctor Scott had warned me against it. After some time, however, I
saw
another side of him.”
She looked down, reflecting on her choices, and resumed, “Evan constantly showed up before me, asking for Shantelle in the
first
two years. He sometimes would appear at my workplace. He would invite me for coffee
to get information out of me. My workmates teased me and suggested we looked good together. That somehow got to me.”
She gasped and admitted, “I ended up liking Evan.”
“Oh, fuck. You are some piece of work,”
Keith remarked.
1
“Excuse me?” Karise shot back. “You are the
bigger piece of work!” 1
“But that was over. Evan gave up on bothering me, and I realized that my infatuation with him wasn’t going anywhere. “Karise
looked at Keith and included, “In the years that followed, I just felt guilty that I did not have the heart to tell Shanty. Then she was
doing great. She was happy and had her life on track. I also figured... she will do
much better without Evan.”
“I.” Karise pursed her lips and resumed, “I did not want to disturb the peace that she
and Lucas had already found.” Her voice faded as she added, “But I guess I was

wrong. I should have considered a child’s longing for a father.”
There were moments of silence between
them. Karise was constantly in deep
thought, clearly bothered.
Keith, on the other hand, could not help but
+20 BONUS
Chapter 45: Karise’s Reasons
ask, “Karise, do you know if Shanty still has
feelings for Evan?”