บททั้งหมดของ THE WIFE YOU LEFT: บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

AXEL’S POV:Avery’s body kept brushing against mine. It wasn’t deliberate, I knew that much, but I still noticed every single time it happened. Like when she reached past me to grab something from the counter, the warmth of her arm grazing mine. Or when she bent down to pick up a spoon and stood too fast, bumping straight into my chest. She’d gasped, startled, and I’d felt the soft press of her back against me before she quickly stepped away. It wasn’t just me. Sea, being the little menace she was, decided to start a flour fight while we were cooking. One handful in Avery’s direction, then one at me, until all three of us were caught in a mess of white dust and laughter. Avery had fought back, smearing flour on Sea’s cheeks, and Sea had squealed, darting between us like a tiny whirlwind. At some point, I’d lost track of how it happened, but I ended up on the floor with Avery sprawled on top of me, and Sea collapsed onto her back, giggling. It didn’t feel awkward. It didn’t feel

AXEL’S POV: Sea would one day ask for my already dying heart, and I wouldn't hesitate to give it to her. First, she asked for a baby brother or sister while we cooked yesterday. And today, just as I settled into my home office to review the documents from my lawyers concerning the Grayson empire—my gift to Avery—Sea walked in with her usual sunshine. After wrapping her little arms around me in greeting, she made her requests. “Daddy, let’s have a family day today. I want to spend time with you and Avery. Also… I don’t like being far from Avery. I need to be close to her,” she said, pouting slightly. “Could you get her to move closer to us? Maybe into the empty room next to ours?” It was impossible to deny her. So here I was, already dressed and heading out to meet them by the car. The shock on Avery’s face when she spotted me was satisfying. No one had expected me to tag along, and I kept our security detail minimal—Devon, Baron, and five others. I didn’t want Sea to feel o

AXEL'S POV:The more I tried to run from this little, 4-foot-8-inch woman, the more she dragged me in. Trapped me. Like gravity itself had shifted and Avery was now the center of it all. I've sat at tables with men who built empires and women who could make nations bend. But none of them ever made me pause. None of them ever made me watch the way Avery did. Tonight, power looked good on her. Too good. The way she stood behind that podium, shoulders square, chin tilted slightly upward as if daring the room to challenge her—God, it was magnetic. The chandeliers above across the room couldn’t outshine her. Arms folded across my chest, I observed her every move with rapt attention. She exuded power—elegant yet unyielding—and it was as if the entire room had shrunk in comparison to her presence.A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. I already knew she was going to turn this room inside out. And when she greeted Chase with, “Hello, ex-husband,”—just like that, I knew the game w

AVERY’S POV:The enmity between us was thick enough to choke on—and I could feel every single eye in the room pinned on our collision. My voice cut through the tension like a razor. "You're not my mother. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you’re even a mother. Which mother sleeps with her son-in-law?" My words thundered over the murmurs. "I should've known something was awry all those times you and that radical went on 'business trips.' They were nothing but excuses—a time and place for your adultery. You deserve to be skinned alive and tossed into a hole with the wolves. You’re a filthy whore." Before her venom could settle, she spat back, voice dripping with rage, "Just because some man is in your life, you think you're untouchable? Avery, I'll destroy you." Her threat barely had time to echo when a deep, authoritative voice interceded. "At least you got one thing right—she’s untouchable." I turned slowly toward the source, and there stood Axel. His eyes burned with fu

AXEL’S POV:I turned slowly, my eyes narrowing with sorrow and steely determination. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention—the missing piece. Laurent is my father. And Zora... she was the one who orchestrated the plan to have both my mother and me killed."Memories rushed back in, reminding me why I became a kid who grew into an adult haunted by nightmares. "he tailed my mother and me until she found us. Zora paid a truck driver to crash into our lives. She's the reason I lost my eyes. They made it look like an accident, covering up her ways."I detailed everything that happened on my birthday to him. "I survived, but my mother wasn't so lucky. Everyone was against us – my mother was just a low-class maid, and Zora came from a family that was meant to rule. But once I got my resources and money, I dug up all these details and vowed to take down every one of them."Ryan's chest rose and fell with a slow, deliberate breath. His voice was barely above a whisper when he finally spoke as if he w