Lahat ng Kabanata ng Divorced My CEO Husband, He Came Begging: Kabanata 231 - Kabanata 240

AlexYes, I had pushed her.I could still remember the way the sunlight had looked on the water's surface, broken into a thousand dancing diamonds that made it impossible to see her beneath. The way my stomach had dropped when I realized she wasn't coming back up. The way her small hand had broken the surface, grasping desperately at nothing."Sarah!" I'd screamed, my voice cracking with panic. "Sarah, swim!"But she couldn't swim. Not without the water wings. That had been the whole point of her defiant gesture—proving she could do something she absolutely couldn't do.I'd jumped in after her, of course. Eight-year-old me thrashing through the water, barely able to keep my own head above the surface. I'd managed to grab her arm, drag her toward the shallows where we could both stand, both of us coughing up lake water and crying.She'd been fine. Scared and crying and probably traumatized, but fine. I'd been the hero for about five minutes, until Victoria found us both soaking wet and

MayaThe morning felt different somehow. Softer around the edges, like someone had adjusted the lighting in my apartment to something warmer. Alex had been watching me sleep—I could tell from the way his eyes were already focused when mine opened, like he'd been studying my face for hours."Isn't it too early?" I asked, settling back against his chest. His skin was warm, solid, real in a way that made the past two weeks feel like a fever dream I was finally waking up from."Yeah. It was."Something in his voice made me look up at him more carefully. There was tension in his jaw, the kind he got when he was working through a problem he couldn't solve with money or connections.But I didn't want to think about problems right now. For the first time in weeks, I felt almost normal. Almost like myself again. The isolation, the betrayal, Troy's cruel words—they were all still there, but they didn't feel so heavy anymore. Like Alex's presence had shifted the weight somehow, made it bearable.

MayaI didn't know how long I sat there holding Giuseppe's hand. Could have been minutes, could have been an hour. Time felt broken, like someone had smashed the clock and left me with just the ticking.His skin kept getting colder. That was the weird part. How quickly warmth left a body. Five minutes ago he'd been talking, breathing, dropping bombs about Troy being Lupe's son. Now he was just... gone. Whatever made him Giuseppe had evaporated, leaving behind this empty shell that looked like him but wasn't.The grandfather clock kept ticking. Loud as hell in the silence.I should call Vincent, I thought. Tell him what happened. But calling meant letting go of Giuseppe's hand, and letting go felt like abandoning him. Which was stupid. He was dead. He didn't care if I held his hand or not.

MayaRobert's study had always been forbidden territory growing up. The heavy oak door remained closed to everyone except visiting executives and the occasional politician. Even Mother knocked before entering. I'd spent years wondering what really went on behind the door.Now I pushed it open without hesitation, the hinges protesting as if offended by my audacity.Robert Kingston sat behind his massive desk, reading glasses perched on his nose, reviewing what looked like financial reports. He glanced up at the intrusion, his expression shifting from annoyance to something more calculated when he saw me."Maya." He removed his glasses carefully, setting them aside. "This is unexpected."“Is it not?" I remained standing, refusing the seat he hadn't

Maya"That's none of your business.""Excuse me?" The shock of her response snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. "You ambush me in a parking lot with life-altering information about my friend, and I don't get to know why?""I have my reasons." She looked away, staring out the window at the empty park. "They don't concern you.""Bullshit." I released the steering wheel and turned fully toward her. "Everything about this concerns me. You and Daniel have been working together to destroy me for years. Why the sudden change of heart? What game are you playing now?""It's not a game!" She turned back, color rising in her hollow cheeks. "Not everything is about you, Maya. God, you've always been so self-centered.""Self-centered?" I laughed, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "That's rich coming from you. The woman who slept with her sister's husband. Who tried to steal my designs, my career, my entire life.""I was there first!" Fiona's voice rose, cracking with emotion. "You're the on