All Chapters of Not His Wife Anymore: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Naya couldn’t sleep.She had taken the little paper cup of pills at lights-out, swallowed them under the nurse’s stare, and returned to her room like always. But hours later, her eyes stayed open. The ceiling hummed with the low buzz of electricity. Her body twitched with restless energy that the meds hadn’t dimmed.Finally, she gave up. Pulling the thin blanket aside, she slipped into the hallway barefoot, careful to avoid the squeaky patch of tile outside her door.The ward was quiet in that heavy way only nights could manage with muffled snores behind closed doors, the occasional shuffle of a nurse’s shoes somewhere distant. She hugged herself, walking slowly, aimless, until a faint smell caught her nose. Smoke.Her brows knitted. Nobody was supposed to smoke in here.She followed the smell down the side corridor near the laundry chute. The dim light barely reached there, but she saw him, leaning against the wall, a cigarette glowing faintly between his fingers.“Seriously?” she wh

Halloween was a few days away.The ward had gone heavy on the decorations, as if paper bats and plastic pumpkins could hide the smell of bleach.Orange streamers drooped along the hallway ceiling. A lopsided scarecrow slouched by the nurses’ station. Someone had taped a crooked paper ghost to the day room door, its mouth wide in a permanent “O.”Naya barely noticed, until she was handed a pair of rubber gloves.“You and Cole,” the nurse said, nodding toward the tall man leaning against the wall, “kitchen duty.”Zipper.Of course.He pushed off the wall, sleeves rolled up on his gray sweatshirt, revealing bruised knuckles and strong forearms. His dark hair was messy, like he hadn’t bothered with the comb he definitely had. The stubble on his jaw shadowed sharp cheekbones, making him look both tired and dangerous.He caught her staring and smirked. “Scared of soap and water?”She tugged the gloves on, snapping the band at her wrist. “No. Scared of being stuck with you.”“Harsh.” He pres

The ward was dead quiet after lights-out.The hum of the fluorescent bulbs overhead faded to black. Footsteps of the night nurse passed once, then silence swallowed everything.Naya lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, counting the cracks she couldn’t see. Her chest felt too tight, like there wasn’t enough air in the room.The door clicked softly.Her heart jerked.“Naya.” His voice was low, almost a growl.She sat up fast. “What the hell are you doing?” she whispered.Zipper slipped inside and shut the door behind him, careful, like he’d done this before. The dim security light from the hall spilled over his shoulders, outlining the sharp line of his jaw.“You miss me?” he teased.Her pulse raced. “You’re insane. If they catch you—”“They won’t.” He crossed the short space to her bed and leaned against the wall like he had all the time in the world. “Relax.”She hugged her knees to her chest. “I am relaxed.”“Yeah? Then why’s your voice shaking?”She scowled, trying to hide the f

The envelope came after dinner, slipped under her tray like a cruel surprise. Naya almost didn’t open it. Almost.Her name was typed on the front in stiff legal font, but the handwriting on the flap was unmistakable, and rounded, with careless loops. Chloe’s.She tore it open with trembling fingers.The letter was short and mocking.Hope you’re adjusting to your new “home.” Daniel says hi. Oh…and Sammy? Don’t worry about him. I sold him. He deserved a family who wasn’t a circus act.Naya’s stomach dropped. Her throat burned.Sammy. Her cat. The only living thing that had stayed by her side after the divorce, after the cameras, after everything. Chloe knew exactly what she was doing.The page shook in Naya’s hands. Her vision blurred. She crumpled the letter, shoved it in her pocket, and left the cafeteria before anyone could notice.****By lights-out, she couldn’t breathe in her room anymore. The walls pressed in too tight, the fake pumpkin cutout on the door grinned like it knew her

Zipper's PovZipper Cole didn’t scare easily.Not cops, not fights, not even the locked doors of this place. But when the fire alarm blared and staff started herding patients into lines like panicked sheep, one thought slammed through him hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs.Where’s Naya?He scanned the courtyard as people stumbled out into the night. Paper crowns soggy from sprinklers. Patients shouting, coughing, some laughing because they didn’t know any better.No Naya.“Move it!” a nurse barked, pushing at his arm.Zipper smirked, though his stomach twisted. “Easy, sweetheart, I’m not exactly sprinting shoes here.”“Line up with the others.”He shuffled toward the group, eyes darting over every face. Not hers. Not her.The nurse turned her back for half a second, shouting at someone else. That was all he needed. He slipped out of line, slow and easy, like smoke curling out of sight.Inside, the hallways were chaos—sirens wailing, water dripping from the ceiling, the sti