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13

Penulis: Tamara Knox
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-02-15 12:07:07

The divorce. Detectives who looked at me like I might be guilty. Maxwell choosing Selene over and over. My siblings treating me like a ghost. Juliana's cruelty turned legal.

And Dad.

He'd finally seen me. Finally apologized. Finally tried.

And now I couldn't see him.

My phone was in my hand before I realized what I was doing.

I scrolled past Maxwell's name, past my siblings who never called, past people I used to think were friends.

And stopped at Durrell.

He'd tormented me in high school. Sing
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  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   219

    ARIANARelief barely has time to appear before she continues. "But you must know what they are."I stare at her. "Why?""Because ignorance will make you vulnerable." Her fingers tighten slightly around mine."You are going to be responsible for this family, Ariana. That means you cannot afford to know only the parts that make you comfortable."I swallow. "What exactly are you asking me to do?""Learn." Her voice is weak, but the word carries the same authority I've heard from her a hundred times."Learn the businesses. Learn the people. Learn who answers to whom. Learn where the money moves. Learn which doors should never be opened and which ones must never be closed."I remain silent."And learn the parts you don't want to see."My throat tightens. "I don't know if I can.""You can." The certainty in her voice catches me off guard. "Why are you so sure?" My eyes search hers, looking for some proof that she actually knows what she's talking about. That the certainty in her voice isn

  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   218

    ###218: What You GetARIANAI watch Selene go, the door swinging shut behind her, and then I turn back to the woman sitting across from me.Linda. My mother. The woman who encourages her own daughter to chase after men twice her age for the sake of a name, and somehow still manages to look at me like she's the one who's owed something.If I had to choose between her and Juliana, the woman who raised me without love, who saw me as a burden she never asked for and wished, more than once, that I simply hadn't existed, I might genuinely end up with no mother at all. Neither version is exactly the one you dream about as a child.But you don't get to choose your family. You only get to decide what you do with the one you're handed.I pick up my glass, take a slow sip, and set it back down."Can we do this again?" I ask. "Just not here."Linda looks up, surprised. "Not here?""Somewhere ordinary. Somewhere that actually tells me something real about you, instead of a menu with no prices on i

  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   217

    SELENE"Why is it just appearing now?" she finally manages.Ariana half-turns to me, “Why did you hide the ring in the first place?”"I wanted to control how she got the news."Ariana laughs under her breath. "Smart."Linda straightens, composing herself with visible effort, though her eyes stay fixed on the ring like it might disappear if she looks away. "Who is he?" She raises her drink to take a sip.Ariana starts laughing again before I've even opened my mouth, which earns her a sharp look from me.I smooth the tablecloth in front of me, deliberate, unhurried. "Victor Cox."Linda chokes on her drink and shoots halfway out of her seat, the sound that comes out of her somewhere between a laugh and a cough.It’s loud enough that two nearby tables glance over before politely looking away again. She sits back down slowly, composing herself, though the delight she's clearly feeling is written all over her face, unmistakable, undisguised."Victor Cox," she repeats, like she needs to say

  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   216

    SELENEI put off the call for another four days before I finally make it."We need to talk," I tell her, the moment she picks up."Of course, sweetheart. What's going on?"I hesitate, not ready to say it over the phone. "Can we meet? In person.""Actually, perfect timing." Her voice brightens immediately. "I'm in Lakebridge this week, visiting someone. It would save you the drive to Blackbridge. I'll send you the address.""You're in Lakebridge?""Just for a few days."I don't think anything of it. She sends the address a moment later, a restaurant I don't recognize, and I tell her I'll see her there Thursday.I have no reason to suspect anything else.***The restaurant is the kind of place that makes you lower your voice just walking in, soft lighting and white tablecloths.The hostess looks at my jeans like they've personally offended her before she catches herself and smiles."This way, ma'am. Your party's already seated."I follow her through the dining room, and I see them befor

  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   215

    SELENE"Have you informed your family?" Victor asks, not looking up from the report on his desk."I'm in the process of it.""You've been in the process of it for over a week."I don't answer that, because there isn't a version of the truth that makes me look particularly good. I know exactly why I haven't called my mother yet, and it has nothing to do with logistics.Victor finally looks up. "Selene.""It's complicated.""It's a phone call.""Not with my mother, it isn't." I fold my arms. "You don't understand what you're asking."He studies me for a moment, the way he does when he's deciding whether to push further. "Best you do it soon. We can't set a date for the dinner until both families are actually aware there's a wedding to attend.""Don't fix a date yet," I say firmly enough that he pauses. "I'll tell you when I've told her."He's quiet a moment, something reluctant in his expression, but he nods eventually. "All right."The truth, which I'm not about to explain to him, is t

  • After the Divorce, My Ex Husband Came Crawling Back   214

    ARIANAI'm halfway through a call with Greg about quarterly logistics numbers when my phone buzzes with a second incoming call, and I nearly ignore it until I see the name.Linda.I let it ring twice more before I mute Greg and pick up. "Hello.""Ariana." Her voice comes through warm, careful, the particular tone of someone who's rehearsed the opening line more than once. "I hope this isn't a bad time.""I'm working." My voice is clipped and straight to the point."Of course. I won't keep you long." A pause, brief enough to be deliberate. "I was hoping we could have dinner. Just the two of us."I don't answer right away, and she seems to expect that, waiting me out without filling the silence herself for once."You're not obligated," she adds when I've let it sit a beat too long. "I know that. I just thought it would be nice to actually sit down and talk. It's been a long time since we saw each other properly. Since the day I found out you were my daughter."Something in my chest tigh

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