Semua Bab A Divorce He Regrets: Bab 11 - Bab 20

ALEXANDERThe party was in full swing, a grand celebration of my business deal with the Grahams. A cascade of murmured conversations, soft clinking of glasses, and the glow of chandeliers cast an opulent sheen over the room. As Raina walked in with her lover, I knew this was the last place I wanted to be, and yet, here I was. Raina was relentless, determined to force my hand, and while the stakes couldn’t have been higher, it grated on me that I’d have to concede. I am sure she’d be a match.With each demand Raina had made, I’d countered with one of my own, carefully balancing the scales, keeping her on her toes. But today…. was no different. With Liam’s life hanging in the balance, I’d resolved to meet her terms in as much as she is ready to save Liam’s life. My lawyer’s carefully drafted agreement had been rock-solid, everything air-tight, as it needed to be. I didn’t trust Raina as far as I could throw her, and yet she’d been alarmingly quick to sign. I should have known it was all

DOMINICAs I watched the city lights flicker past the window, a strange heaviness settled in my chest. The hum of the engine filled the silence between Alex and me, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the thoughts swirling in my head. Each light, every passing landmark we drove by felt like a tick of a relentless clock counting down—and the words I held back lodged painfully in my throat. The temptation to tell Alex the truth—it clawed at me. If he knew the reality of my relationship with Raina, the years of assumptions and anger would crumble. It would all finally make sense. He’d see how twisted and backward his thinking had been. I’d clear it all up with a single confession: Raina and I were family, tied by loyalty, not by blood. We were each other’s shelter through every storm, but never anything more.The words hovered at the edge of my tongue, heavy and eager to break free. I felt that pulse of anger, a sharp, hot urge to spit out the truth so he’d be forced to choke on it. Maybe

RAINAI woke up slowly, my body heavy, pain pulsing through every part of me. The dull ache in my ribs sharpened as I tried to shift, but a voice stopped me.“Don’t move.”I turned my head slightly to see Dominic standing beside the bed, his expression a mix of relief and worry. His voice had a calm but firm tone, one I’d come to trust.My first thought was Liam. My heart raced. “Where’s Liam?” I managed to whisper, though panic crept into my voice.“Raina, he’s fine,” he reassured me. “You don’t need to worry. Just rest for now.”I felt a wave of relief, though the lingering fear gnawed at me. But before I could press further, the doctor entered the room. He wore a gentle smile, nodding as he approached my bed.“Good to see you awake, Ms. Raina,” he said warmly. “You took quite a hit. You have a mild concussion, a few fractured ribs, and some bruising, but thankfully, you’re going to be all right.”I absorbed his words, but they felt distant, overshadowed by the urgency building insi

RAINAI was discharged yesterday, but the hospital still felt like home—or at least more of one than my own house did lately. Since leaving, I’d been back almost every hour, staying by Liam’s side while the doctors ran test after test, desperate to find something that could explain everything. Nothing had surfaced yet, and the weight of that uncertainty sat heavy on my chest.The evening felt quieter than usual as I slipped back into the house, feeling the familiar warmth in the walls that I knew I should find comforting. Ava had just been tucked in, and I’d asked Agatha, our housekeeper, to let me take over tonight. I hadn’t been around enough, and Ava deserved the time I had to give, I hadn’t been giving her much attention lately. I quietly made my way to her room and settled in beside her, brushing the stray curls off her forehead as I read her bedtime story to her. But instead of sleeping, she looked up at me with those wide, curious eyes.“Mama,” she said softly, her voice sleepy

RAINAAlex had to have gone mad. Completely unhinged, and he seemed barely able to recognize it. His anger, though, wasn’t what had thrown me off balance—it was the regret flashing in his eyes. Regret, as if he had the right to feel any of it after all this time. I had no use for his regret now. If anything, I wanted him to regret nothing, to see his mistakes clearly so that his guilt wouldn’t interfere with what needed to be done. I’d made a grave error myself, though.Why, why, did I have to let it slip? Dominic was my brother, not some stranger or lover for Alex to fight over, but that fact had been meant to stay buried until I’d gotten Liam out of his life entirely. There’d been no other way to ensure he wouldn’t pull something at the last minute, some sudden moral epiphany that would make him claim I had no right to keep his son from him. But now it was out. He knew Dominic was my brother. And the look in Alex’s eyes told me he would use this knowledge somehow, that he’d use it t