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Chapter 42

Author: lady.serene
last update publish date: 2025-12-29 21:11:08

Isabella

The morning began quietly.

Too quietly.

Sunlight crept in through the curtains, pale and unhurried, settling gently across the room. I woke with that familiar awareness before anything else—my body, the steady rhythm of my breath, the subtle reminder that I was no longer living just for myself.

I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, listening to the city wake up outside. Cars passed. Voices echoed faintly below. Life continued, as it always did.

I had just swung my legs ove
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  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 137

    Isabella “Excuse me,” I say quietly, setting my fork down. “I’ll just go to the restroom.”Mia nods absentmindedly, still mid-story, while Elias laughs at something she just said.Gabriel glances at me for a second.“Don’t get lost,” he mutters lightly.I give him a look. “I won’t.”Then I turn and walk away before he can say anything else.The restroom is quieter than the main dining area.The noise from outside fades into a soft blur the moment I step inside, replaced by the faint sound of running water and the low hum of the lights overhead.I move toward one of the cubicles and step inside, locking the door behind me.For a moment, everything is still.Just silence.Then the door to the restroom opens again.Voices follow.Two girls.“…I’m telling you, that was him,” one of them says, her voice slightly hushed but still excited.“Are you sure?” the other asks. “Like, sure sure?”“I’ve seen him before,” the first insists. “That’s Gabriel Thorne.”I pause.My hand still resting lig

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 136

    Isabella For a moment, the table goes quiet—Then Elias suddenly lets out a small laugh and shakes his head. “Alright,” he says, glancing at Mia. “You’re starting early tonight.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mia replies immediately, flipping open her menu like she didn’t just say anything questionable.“Of course you don’t,” Elias says dryly.Gabriel chuckles under his breath, leaning back slightly in his chair. “This is entertaining.”“You haven’t even heard the worst of it,” Elias says, nodding toward Mia. “Give her ten minutes.”“Excuse me?” Mia looks up, offended. “I am perfectly normal.”“That’s not true,” I say calmly, picking up my menu.Mia gasps. “Isa!”Elias laughs. “See? Even she agrees.”“I do not agree,” I correct, though there’s a small smile tugging at my lips.“You just said I’m not normal,” Mia insists.“I said you’re not perfectly normal.”“That’s worse.”Gabriel lets out a quiet laugh. “I’m starting to see what you mean.”“Thank you,” Elias says.“Wo

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 135

    Isabella By the time we reach the restaurant, the sky has already turned fully dark.Gabriel pulls the car smoothly into the valet lane in front of Aurelio, the warm lights from the entrance spilling across the polished pavement. Through the glass walls I can already see a few familiar faces inside, waiters moving between tables while soft music drifts out each time the doors open.I gather the cake boxes carefully from my lap just as Gabriel shifts the car into park.Before I can even reach for the door handle, he’s already stepping out.A second later the passenger door opens and he offers his hand like this is some kind of formal event.I stare at him.“Really?”Gabriel tilts his head slightly. “What?”“I can open the door myself.”“I know,” he says calmly. “But I was already here.”I shake my head but take his hand anyway as I step out, making sure the cake boxes stay balanced in my other arm.Once I’m standing, I turn toward the entrance.“Alright,” I say. “You can go.”Gabriel

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 134

    I cross my arms. “The deal was never officially confirmed.”Gabriel lets out a quiet laugh under his breath. “Oh, it was confirmed,” he says, stealing another glance at me. “Very clearly.”“I don’t remember agreeing to anything.”“You leaned closer,” he says.“That doesn’t mean anything.”“It means a lot.”I shake my head and look out the window, watching the passing streetlights blur into long streaks of gold. “You’re making things up.”Gabriel chuckles softly. “You’re avoiding the topic.”“I’m not avoiding anything.”“You are,” he says easily. “You just don’t want to admit you owe me.”I turn back to him with a flat expression. “I owe you nothing.”“Isa.”“Yes?”“You bought me a cake,” he says, nodding toward the small box sitting beside him on the console. “You clearly felt guilty.”“I did not feel guilty.”“Then why did you buy it?”I hesitate for half a second before shrugging. “You looked pathetic.”Gabriel laughs.Actually laughs.The sound fills the car, warm and amused.“Path

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 132

    Isabella I stay near the counter while the shop assistant carefully writes the message on the chocolate cake.The display lights reflect softly against the glass case, illuminating rows of smaller pastries and neatly arranged mini cakes on the lower shelf. The smell of cocoa and vanilla lingers in the air, warm and comforting in a way that almost makes the small shop feel quieter than it actually is.Outside the glass window, I can see Gabriel standing a few meters away from the door.One hand is tucked into the pocket of his coat while the other holds his phone to his ear. His posture is relaxed, but there’s a slight tension in his shoulders that tells me the call is probably work.He turns slightly as he speaks, pacing once along the sidewalk before stopping again.For a moment, I just watch him.Then the shop assistant slides the finished cake box toward me.“Your order will be ready in just a minute, ma’am,” she says politely.I nod absently.My attention drifts back to the displ

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 131

    Isabella The road leading into the city is relatively quiet, the fading sunlight stretching long shadows across the pavement as Gabriel drives.For a while, the only sound inside the car is the low hum of the engine and the occasional passing vehicle.Then Gabriel clears his throat slightly.“So,” he says, glancing at the road ahead as he adjusts his grip on the steering wheel, “you’re meeting Elias later.”I turn my head toward him, raising an eyebrow. “Meeting him?”“The dinner,” he adds casually, though there’s something in the way he says it that makes the word casual feel a little forced.“Oh.” I shift slightly in my seat. “Yes.”A brief silence follows.Gabriel slows the car slightly as we approach a traffic light, tapping his fingers lightly against the steering wheel before continuing, “That sounds… planned.”I study his profile for a moment. “What does that mean?”He shrugs one shoulder, eyes still on the road. “You said you’d meet him at a restaurant. Mia even booked it.”“

  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 6

    IsabellaSleep wouldn’t come.The clock on the wall blinked quietly in the darkness, red numbers slicing through the silence: 2:47 AM. I had been lying in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment from earlier — the clipped tone in Gabriel’s voice, the way he refused to look at m

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 11

    IsabellaMy fingers curled around the edge of the couch, grounding myself as my thoughts spiraled. The room felt smaller, too warm, too close—like Gabriel was suddenly everywhere, even when he wasn’t here.Mia watched me carefully, frustration simmering beneath her sharp gaze.“Isa,” she said slowl

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 8

    IsabellaThe fluorescent lights above me buzzed faintly, a soft, steady hum that blended with the occasional beeping from nearby machines. The emergency room smelled like antiseptic and cold metal—sterile, sharp, too bright for the hour. I sat upright on the hospital bed, one hand resting over my a

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
  • After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back   Chapter 12

    IsabellaTen minutes.That’s all he gave me.Ten minutes to brace myself.Ten minutes to make sense of a man who never made sense.Ten minutes before Gabriel Thorne walked through my door again, stepping back into a life he once walked out of without looking back.My heartbeat drummed against my ri

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
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