# Chapter 23: Dumplings of a Broken Heart
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 23 of "The Untouchable Ex Wife." Oh, my dear readers, this chapter is a poignant rollercoaster of hidden identities, sacrificial love, and the crushing weight of misunderstanding. If you think the previous chapters were intense, wait until you feel the ache radiating from every single page of this one. So grab a warm cup of tea, find a cozy corner, and let's dive into this heart-wrenching encounter together!
---
The night air carried a gentle chill as Renee stepped out of the small restaurant, clutching the warm container of freshly made dumplings in her hands. The aroma wafted upward, and despite the heaviness in her heart, she couldn't help but inhale the comforting scent. A faint, almost imperceptible smile teased the corners of her lips. In a life that had become so complicated, these simple acts of quiet kindness were the only threads of warmth she could hold onto.
But fate, it seems, was never kind to Renee.
As she lifted her gaze from the dumplings, her entire world seemed to freeze. There he was—Stefan Hunt, standing only a few feet away, his tall figure silhouetted against the dim glow of the streetlights. His eyes were fixed on her with an intensity that made her breath catch. How long had he been standing there? Minutes? Hours? His posture suggested he had been waiting, watching, and piecing together a truth she had desperately tried to keep buried.
"You... you're the one who's been sending those dumplings all along, aren't you?" Stefan's voice cut through the silence like a blade. There was surprise in his tone, but beneath it lurked confusion, suspicion, and something else—something Renee couldn't quite name.
Panic surged through her veins. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs as every thought scattered like leaves in a storm. "I... I have no idea what you're talking about," she stuttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture that betrayed her composed facade. She couldn't meet his eyes. She couldn't let him see the truth that was written all over her face.
But Stefan was not a man easily deterred.
"Stop denying it," he said, closing the distance between them step by step until his shadow loomed over her. "The nurse told me everything." His eyes narrowed as he studied her like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "So, what exactly is your purpose for all this? What game are you playing?"
Renee's mind raced. Cornered with no escape route, she realized that the lie she had crafted so carefully was now crumbling around her. She had tried so hard to remain invisible, to help him from the shadows without leaving a trace. But fate had other plans.
Lifting her chin with deliberate defiance, Renee allowed the words to spill from her lips. "What else could it be? I was just worried that you'd starve!" The truth almost escaped her then, wrapped in flimsy justification.
"Starve?" Stefan let out a cold huff of air, his expression hardening. "Why would that even matter to you? Do I even know you?" He tilted his head, studying her with newfound suspicion. In that moment, something shifted in his gaze—a dark, calculating glint that made Renee's stomach churn. "Or is it that you know exactly who I am? That you've seen my power and status, and you're using food deliveries as some twisted way to get closer to me?"
*Narcissistic fool*, Renee thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. *This man received Jovan's transplants and suddenly believes the world revolves around him.* But even as she wanted to laugh at his absurdity, a deeper ache settled within her. If he could so easily believe she was a scheming opportunist, what did that say about the memories they once shared?
If he wanted to paint her as a manipulative seductress, then so be it. In her twisted logic, letting him believe the worst was the only way to keep him safe—the only way to ensure he wouldn't dig deeper and uncover truths better left buried.
A slow, charming smirk spread across Renee's face as she raised an elegant eyebrow. "Let's just say I did it to seduce you," she purred, letting her voice drop to a sultry tone. "Have I succeeded?"
Stefan's expression remained unreadable, but she saw the flicker of disgust that passed through his eyes. "Really now? Then try again, Renee. Seduce me."
The air between them crackled with tension. Renee's heart ached even as she leaned in, letting her slender fingers trail along his chin with practiced elegance. Her touch was featherlight, yet it carried the weight of a thousand unshed tears.
"Well," she began, her voice slow and deliberate, dripping with false honey, "I know you're a CEO. You're rich. Powerful. And I could never find a way to get close to you before. But then I heard from the nurse that your girlfriend ended up in the hospital after some tragic accident..." She paused for effect, tracing the line of his jaw. "So I figured it was my golden opportunity."
Her fingers lingered on his skin, and she watched his expression harden with every word. "People always say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, you know? So I sent you dumplings every single day. Before long, you'd get used to them—used to *me*. You'd never want to leave my side, right?"
Each syllable felt like swallowing glass, but Renee forced the words out with honey-sweet venom. This was working. She could see the contempt building in his eyes like a storm. This was exactly what she needed—for him to hate her, to push her away, to believe she was nothing more than a calculating opportunist unworthy of a second thought.
For a long, agonizing moment, Stefan said nothing. His jaw tightened beneath her touch. Then, with sudden, brutal force, he pushed her away, his features twisted with undisguised revulsion.
"Get lost!" The words shot out like poison darts. "I hate manipulative women like you. You're nothing—*nothing*—compared to my fiancée. And yet you think you can just waltz in and replace her?" His voice rose with contemptuous fury. "Why don't you take a good hard look at yourself?"
Renee bit her lower lip so hard she tasted copper. The sting of his rejection pierced deeper than any physical wound, but she refused to let it show. Instead, she summoned every ounce of strength within her and managed to flash a smile—a fragile, trembling thing that barely concealed the shattering heart beneath.
"You say you hate it, but you looked absolutely intoxicated whenever you were eating my dumplings." Her voice was steady even as her world crumbled around her. "If I'm despicable, then you're nothing but a man who lies to himself."
The barb struck true. Stefan's eyes blazed with fury, his entire body tensing with barely contained rage. Without warning, he snatched the container of dumplings from her hands and hurled them to the ground with savage force. The dumplings scattered across the pavement—their warmth seeping into the cold, unforgiving ground.
"I'd rather starve to death than eat a single bite of your food!" he spat, his words cutting deeper than any knife ever could.
Then he was gone.
He turned without hesitation, without a backward glance, leaving Renee alone in the darkness with nothing but the scattered remnants of her efforts—and her heart—strewn at her feet.
For what felt like an eternity, Renee remained frozen in place, staring down at the ruined dumplings glistening under the streetlights. A bitter smile twisted her lips. Her chest felt hollow, her throat tight with unshed tears she refused to release.
*Hate me all you want, Stefan*, she thought silently as the night wind bit at her skin. *Hate me. Despise me. Believe every horrible thing you want about me.*
*It's better this way.*
*For both of us.*
---
**Reader's Impressions & Star Rating:**
Oh, my heart! This chapter is absolutely devastating in the most beautiful way possible. Renee Everett continues to be one of the most compelling heroines I've ever encountered—her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness, to let the man she loves believe the absolute worst about her, all to protect him from truths that would only complicate everything, left me breathless. The scene where the dumplings scatter across the ground felt almost symbolic—her love, nurturing and warm, destroyed and trampled by the very person she was trying to save.
Stefan's cruelty was painful to witness, but deep down, I can't fully blame him. He doesn't remember who she is. He sees only a stranger's inexplicable kindness and reads it through the lens of his wealth and status. Yet, there's something poignant about his anger—almost as if some buried part of him senses the connection and fights against it.
The way this chapter highlights their emotional chasm—she remembers everything, he remembers nothing—creates such profound dramatic irony that I found myself aching for both of them. Renee's strength, her decision to shoulder his hatred as a form of protection, is simultaneously heroic and heartbreaking.
This chapter earns my highest recommendation for its raw emotional depth and masterful tension building.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
---
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
What a painful place to leave off! Based on Stefan's explosive reaction and the shattered remains of their encounter, I suspect the next chapter will see Stefan wrestling with a strange unease he cannot explain—perhaps memories threatening to resurface or a restless feeling that his reaction was somehow... wrong. Meanwhile, Renee will likely retreat deeper into her shell, nursing wounds that no one can see. But a chance discovery lurks on the horizon: could a hospital surveillance camera capture Renee being bullied by others? Will Stefan witness something that shakes his perception of her entirely? Or will someone from Renee's past identify her and expose her secret, forcing their paths to collide more violently than before? With buried memories and unspoken love simmering beneath the surface, the next confrontation promises to be even more explosive!
---
To listen free the next reviews chatpers, please access website novelsaudio.com and search keyword: The Untouchable Ex Wife or click the link in the description of this video or if you want to listen or read full the The Untouchable Ex Wife please access website novelsaudio.com