Semua Bab Dear Ex, I'm More Than Your Plan B: Bab 141 - Bab 150

Asher’s hand moved slowly, almost tentatively, across the space that separated them.It wasn’t much. Just a few steps.But it felt like miles.Vera saw it coming, the way his fingers curled slightly, his arm outstretched, reaching for her hand like someone desperate for warmth in the dead of winter.And she flinched.Not dramatically. Not as if she thought he would hurt her. But enough that the space between them suddenly felt like a chasm again.Asher froze mid motion. His eyes darkened, the pain behind them raw and immediate.“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice breaking with a quiet urgency that cracked through the tension in the room. “I didn’t mean to... Vera, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I just…”His arm fell to his side slowly, his shoulders sagging under the weight of what he had carried for six long years.“I don’t expect forgiveness. Hell, I don’t even know if I deserve to be standing here right now. But please, just let me say it.”Vera didn’t move. She couldn’t. Her body was to

Vera looked away, her shoulders sinking with the weight of it all. “She’s going to come after me.”“I’ll handle Sarah.”“You couldn’t handle her before.”“This time’s different.”“You’re still underestimating her.”“I’m not,” Asher said, eyes burning. “I know exactly what she’s capable of now.”They stared at each other for a beat too long,.A creak from the hallway signaled Eira’s return, barefoot and sleepy eyed, dragging her small blanket behind her like armor.She looked between them, sensing the change in the air but not the depth of it.“Are we going home now?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.Vera knelt beside her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “In a little while, sweetheart. Say goodbye to Mr. Droopy Eyes.”Eira frowned. “Do I have to?”Vera smiled tightly. “He’ll see you again soon. I promise.”Asher crouched beside them. “You’re really leaving?”“For now,” Vera said without meeting his eyes. “But I’m not taking her away from you again. You’ll see her. I’ll make sure of it.”H

The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of Eira’s nightlight.Vera watched from the door as Dorian knelt beside the bed, brushing a curl from her forehead with the tenderness of a man who had memorized every inch of this child, her bedtime rituals, her fear of thunder, the way she hated brushing her teeth but loved reading two books back to back.His throat moved as he swallowed.Then he leaned down, pressed a gentle kiss to Eira’s head, and whispered something Vera couldn’t hear.When he stood, he turned back to Vera, his eyes suspiciously glassy.“I’ll go now,” he said. “I just… thank you for letting me see her.”“Dorian,” she said softly. “You’re not losing her.”His eyes flickered.“But I can’t promise you anything yet,” she added quickly. “This… everything is moving too fast. I need time.”“I know.” He gave her a strained smile. “I’ll give you all the time you need. Just don’t shut me out.”“I won’t.”He started to walk past her toward the front door, but then paused.“I stil

Vera barely had time to breathe before she heard the light, familiar knock on her door.Dorian.She glanced down at her robe, quickly adjusted the tie around her waist, and pulled the door open.There he stood, hair slightly tousled from the breeze, dark blue shirt rolled at the sleeves, and a bouquet of daisies in one hand. His eyes immediately softened when they met hers.“I know it’s early,” he said, offering the flowers with a sheepish smile. “But I missed you. And her.”Vera stared at the flowers for a moment, then stepped aside to let him in. “You didn’t have to bring flowers.”He stepped past her with ease, like he belonged there, and for six years, he had.“Of course I did. It’s not every day I get ignored over pancakes and dreams,” he teased lightly, the sting of yesterday’s call unreadable in his eyes.“Eira’s in the kitchen,” Vera said gently. “Finishing her breakfast.”“I figured.” He stepped in and caught sight of Eira just as she was plucking a strawberry off her plate.

Asher returned then, Eira bouncing in his arms, giggling as she told him about how one duck had tried to steal her snack last time.“Uncle Dorian got mad,” she added with a grin.Asher raised a brow. “Did he?”“Yup. He yelled at the duck.”Dorian laughed under his breath. “It hissed at her.”Vera, unexpectedly, laughed too. And for a second, a single suspended moment, it almost felt like something normal.Until Eira said the next thing.“Can we do this every weekend? Me, Mommy, Uncle Dorian, and Daddy?”The three adults froze.Asher’s grip on her shifted.Vera blinked, her smile slipping.And Dorian looked up at the sky like he needed divine intervention.“We’ll see, baby,” Vera said softly, brushing hair from Eira’s forehead.But the little girl was already distracted again, wiggling out of Asher’s arms to chase a squirrel that had scurried past the playground.The moment shattered.The quiet returned.And the three adults stood there, not quite a family, not quite strangers, and not