Lahat ng Kabanata ng TAKE ME BACK EX WIFE: Kabanata 211 - Kabanata 216

212 JOANA’S POV The house was unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon. The kind of quiet that felt loaded. Intentional. Like the walls were holding their breath. Normally, weekends at our place were loud and unpredictable—filled with Mirabel’s endless curiosity, Japheth and Jake’s wrestling matches, and the occasional crash followed by a “We’re okay!” from somewhere down the hall. But today? Today was different. Today was Clinton’s return. The kids had taken it upon themselves to transform the living room into what they called “Daddy’s Welcome Palace.” Streamers hung unevenly from the ceiling fan. Bright paper crafts dangled from picture frames. However, there was glitter, not the fun kind, it was all over the coffee table, like a fairy crime scene. And central in it all was this new masterpiece of Mirabel, a colossal signboard which ran: WELCOME BACK SUPER DADDY ...in large bubble letters outlined with purple stars and crooked sparkles. I was standing there at th

214JOANA’S POVThe room became silent for a while, it wasn't the awkward kind.“Oh?” Clinton leaned forward slightly. “Good one, I hope?”“A very big one.” Caleb smiled, but again—it felt too manufactured. “It’s a long-term expansion deal. Overseas. Possibly in Europe. Might take… a while.”I frowned. “How long is a while?”He shrugged, eyes darting away. “Months. Maybe longer. Could be… years.”I sat forward. “Caleb, that’s… that’s big.”“Yeah.” His voice dropped. “It is.”There was a beat of silence before he added, more quietly than before, “I’ll be leaving next week.”Clinton blinked. “That soon?”“Negotiations just wrapped. I need to be there to finalise and oversee the groundwork.”I studied him carefully. His body language wasn’t just that of someone preparing for a business trip. There was weight in his voice—farewell weight. The kind people use when they’ve already decided they won’t be coming back.“You’re not planning on returning, ” I said, not as a question but a truth.

216JOANA’S POVThe garden never appeared so enchanted.The sunlight streamed through the willow upon the white-covered chairs, wove through the aisle sprinkled with petals of the flowers, and above the small arch of vines and rose blush. And the air filled my nostrils with lavender and fresh earth, a mingling scent, reminding me of peace.Soothing music was in the background. A gentle piano melody—the one Clinton had chosen.The seats were full and people attended it quietly. Caleb was standing beside the archway in a grey suit, which rounded off the angularity of his character. His eyes took a moment to meet mine through the distance and he nodded at me encouragingly. Ciara whirred through, just putting the final touches, clutching her clipboard like a relic of the holy. Mirabel, Japheth, and Jake were giddy in their mini-formals, fidgeting with their roles but glowing all the same.And I?I stood, as inaudible as possible, with a beating heart hidden behind the curtain of my veil,