Lahat ng Kabanata ng After Forgetting Me, My CEO Ex-husband Regrets: Kabanata 421 - Kabanata 430

(Jack)The mansion loomed large and imposing as I pulled up, the gates creaking open just a little too loudly for my liking. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to go in there and face mother, but I promised Thomas I’d spend some time with the kids today. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about them, Miles and Mabel were practically family, and I knew Lydia and Thomas needed some help right now, but the last place I wanted to be was here, surrounded by all the tension and the strange atmosphere that had been hanging in the air since everything went down.Stepping out of the car, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I hated the way things had changed, how everything felt out of place. It was like a shadow had fallen over the whole house, over everything. But I had a promise to keep, and I wasn’t about to break it.When I walked inside, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. Too quiet. Maybe it was because Lydia wasn't here, or maybe it was just because I hadn’t been around much latel

(Jack)The sterile smell of the hospital hallways clung to me as I paced the waiting room. My mind was still a tangled mess of thoughts, unsure of where to go or what to do next. I hadn’t expected to end up at the hospital today, let alone feel so helpless while Lydia and Ruby dealt with everything. My thoughts were a bit all over the place, drifting from Adeline’s surgery to the unspoken tension in the air between Ruby and me.Then my phone rang. The sudden buzz in my pocket startled me, and when I glanced at the screen, I saw Amanda’s name. I hadn’t heard from her in hours, maybe even a day. I pressed the phone to my ear, half-expecting her usual cheery voice, but instead I was met with an edge of panic in her voice.“Jack,” she said, her voice shaking, “Jack, I think someone’s been following me.”My stomach dropped. The way she said it made everything feel wrong, and I couldn’t ignore the knot that formed in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was just the fear I could hear in her voice

(Margaret)The minutes seem to stretch into hours, each one slower than the last. I walk through the empty halls of the mansion, my heels clicking against the polished floor, but the sound feels distant, almost muffled by the restless thoughts churning in my mind. The air is thick with an uncomfortable silence, the kind that only comes when something heavy is hanging in the air. Lydia is not at home and Thomas is busy with the kids. Jack….well, Jack ran away at the sight of me. He still thinks that I am out to make his life more miserable. Truth is, I didn’t try hard enough to make him believe otherwise. In his mind, I still am the villain that destroyed everything.Adeline’s surgery is tomorrow. My mind keeps circling back to it. I’ve been thinking about it more than I should, more than anyone should. It’s strange, really. I’ve never been one to let myself get too caught up in other people’s drama, especially not when it’s family. But seeing Lydia struggle, seeing her face so worn

(Lydia)I watch as they wheel Mama through the double doors toward surgery, my heart sinking with each squeak of the wheels against the sterile hospital floor. I’ve seen her face dozens of things with more courage than most people could muster, but something about this, knowing she’s going in for surgery, knowing she’s been fighting so hard against cancer, against the odds, it makes me feel helpless. I grip the edge of the chair, struggling to hold on to something real as she disappears around the corner.Even with Ruby beside me, staring straight ahead with a tightness in her jaw that matches my own, and Margaret across the room, flipping through her purse for tissues, I feel like I’m floating on some isolated, vast ocean. The faint hospital smells, the sounds of hushed conversations, the clattering of metal from a distant surgery room, they all press in around me, adding to this thick fog of helplessness. Mama’s always been my rock, my unfailing source of strength, and as I sit he

(Lydia)Dr. Roberts walks out of the double doors leading from the operating room, his expression serious. My heart skips a beat, and I immediately rise from my seat, Ruby standing beside me, both of us desperate for any news. I hold my breath as he approaches, bracing myself for what he’s about to say. "Lydia," Dr. Roberts begins, glancing between Ruby and me, "We’ve run into some complications."I feel a tightness growing in my chest, and I can barely speak. “What happened?” I manage to ask, my voice shaking.Dr. Roberts sighs, looking down briefly before meeting my eyes again. “The cancerous growth was larger than we initially anticipated. It was intertwined with more tissue than the scans showed, which means it’s going to take us longer to remove it all safely.”I feel the words hitting me like weights, each one heavier than the last. More invasive. More complex. Longer. This isn’t what we wanted to hear, not after all the worry that led up to today. I search his face for any hi