Semua Bab Waking Up As the Villain's Mother: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Chapter 20. Even if others saw that Gwyneth had recently turned over a new leaf and was genuinely trying to become a good mother, Ajax Montclair didn’t dare raise his hopes.Habit was a terrifying thing. It entrenched itself like roots in dry earth—hard to dig out, harder still to ignore. And Ajax’s impression of Gwyneth had been shaped over four long years of cold shoulders, emotional distance, and polite indifference. The scars left behind by their hollow marriage didn’t vanish just because she had suddenly decided to smile more and pack lunchboxes.She said she wanted them to be a “plastic couple”—to maintain appearances for Dylan’s sake—but Ajax had drawn that line years ago, and he had no interest in repa

Chapter 22.Ajax and Miranda were the last to arrive at the gathering.Aaron had booked a private room at one of the city’s most renowned seafood restaurants for the occasion. Two large round tables filled the room, packed with friends catching up over drinks and the aroma of grilled fish and steamed crabs. The atmosphere was lively, full of laughter and clinking glasses. Ajax’s arrival, slightly delayed, became a minor climax of the evening.Despite reminding Ajax to bring his wife, Aaron wasn’t particularly surprised to see him arrive alone. It had happened too many times before. He welcomed Ajax with a warm smile, patting his shoulder in greeting, then gestured toward an empty seat near the head of the table.

Chapter 24.On the other side of the city, Miranda couldn’t fall asleep. Her phone was still clutched in her hand, screen long dimmed, but she hadn’t moved. The soft glow of the bedside lamp painted shadows on the walls, but all she saw was the aftermath of a moment she couldn’t take back.Her fingers tightened around the cold device, knuckles white. She couldn’t understand why she had made that call.No, perhaps she did understand. It wasn’t the wine, though she had drained a glass too many. It was loneliness. It was the months of pent-up emotions she had carefully tucked away in the shadows of her heart. It was the unbearable sight of Ajax, the man she ha

Chapter 26.I didn’t want to go. Honestly, I didn’t. But Ajax had already said something in front of Dylan, and there was a bright-eyed little boy tugging on my sleeve, begging me to go along. So in the end, I could only sigh and nod.“Okay then.”In the original owner’s memory, she’d never gone out with Ajax to a gathering of his friends—not even to something casual like a dinner party. The number of times they’d made a public appearance as a family of three could be counted on one hand. Maybe even one finger.Ajax never required her to accompany him. And the original owner never offered. It was like they existed on parallel tracks that only in

Chapter 28.Ajax hadn't brought up divorce, and he never tried to control my personal life. We lived like polite roommates—distant, harmonious, and each keeping to our own lane. Plastic couple was the best way to describe us. I don’t love him, and he didn’t pretend to love me either. We were the textbook definition of a plastic couple.There was no love between us. No shared dreams or pillow talk. Just this quiet, strangely fragile balance we both tiptoed around. And I didn’t dare disrupt the balance between us.Some people might say I lacked self-respect, that I was clinging to a shell of a marriage like some pitiful character too scared to move forward. Maybe they were right. Maybe this was cowardice, not stability. But from where I was standing, this half-marriage, half-truce arrangement worked just fine.I have money and freedom.I was comfortable. Dylan was safe and happy. Ajax seemed content enough in his emotional icebox. No fights. No cold wars. No sharp words or slammed door