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Home / Romance / Dear Ex-wife, You're More Than A Substitute / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Dear Ex-wife, You're More Than A Substitute: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

202 Chapters

Chapter One

TESSA’S POVThere’s something about the cold air at the orphanage that always stings my eyes, maybe it’s the wind or maybe it’s just me being overly emotional again. I come here every December, like clockwork. It started as something... something to keep my hands busy. I told myself I was just dropping off knitted scarves and cookies. But really, I think I just needed to be around kids, any kids. Even if they weren’t mine. “Miss Tessa!” one of the little girls called as she ran up to me, her boots crunching in the gravel. Her name was Lila. She couldn’t be more than six years old, with messy pigtails and a chipped front tooth. I knelt down to her level and held out a soft pink scarf. “This one’s yours.” Her face lit up like I’d just handed her gold. “It’s so soft!” she squealed, wrapping it clumsily around her neck. “Did you really make this?” “I did,” I said with a smile. “All by hand.” “It smells like cookies,” she added, sniffing it. I laughed a little. “That’s probably beca

Chapter Two

Back home, the warmth of the mansion did little to thaw the chill that had settled in my bones. My cheek still throbbed, and the scratch beneath my eye was beginning to swell. The maid, Lydia, met us at the door, her eyes darting to my face before quickly looking away. She didn’t ask what happened, she never did. Instead, she quietly led me to the kitchen and placed a warm bowl of tonic on the marble counter. “Madam,” she said gently, “this was specially requested by Madam Clarisse. She said you should take it before resting. It will help… with your cycles.” Cycles. That was her polite way of saying contraception. I stared at the bowl, a thick, almost black liquid steaming faintly. Bitter roots, boiled herbs, and whatever else Richard’s mother believed would keep me from “accidentally ruining my health with a pregnancy.” I forced a small smile. “Thank you, Lydia.” She bowed her head and left me alone. The first sip turned my stomach. By the third, I felt the now-familiar

Chapter Three

I woke up to the sound of Richard’s phone buzzing against the nightstand. It was still early, too early. The sun hadn't even filtered in through the curtains yet, but he stirred beside me, blindly reaching out for the device. I didn’t say anything at first. I just watched him from the curve of the pillow, my cheek pressed against the cool linen, eyes half-lidded. He squinted at the screen, then smiled. Not just a twitch of the lips, not the half-hearted grin he gave me when he was trying to humor me. This one was real. Bright, even. It made something in my chest twist. "Good news?" I asked softly, my voice raspy with sleep. He looked startled like he’d forgotten I was there. Then he smiled again, the one he meant for me this time. “Yeah. Work stuff. Just a project finally coming together.” I gave him a small nod, forcing my voice to sound light. “That’s great.” I didn’t push. I didn’t ask to see the message. I never did. I was Mrs. Anderson, after all... the wife. Not the investi

Chapter Four

By the time Richard got home, I had already curled up in bed, too drained to pretend anymore. The candles had long melted down to nothing, the food sat untouched on the counter, and the wine remained unopened. I lay in the dim glow of the bedside lamp, staring at the ceiling, wrapped in silence and a sinking ache I couldn’t name. I heard the door click open, his familiar footsteps on the hardwood, and then the soft creak of the mattress as he sat beside me. “Tessa,” he said gently, his voice warm against the cold wall I was building inside me. “I’m sorry.” Before I could turn, he slid beneath the covers and wrapped his arms around me from behind. His scent, that familiar mix of cedar and bergamot, filled my lungs. He pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, then held something out in front of me... small, velvet, and unmistakably expensive. A jewelry box. I hesitated. My fingers brushed against the fabric before I slowly opened it. Inside lay a bracelet delicate white gold enc

Chapter Five

I couldn’t ignore the growing storm inside me anymore. At first, I tried to silence it. I distracted myself with chores, tried to focus on meals and anniversaries and the way Richard smiled when he walked through the door. I told myself I was overthinking, that maybe I was just too sensitive. I blamed my hormones, the medication, even the tonic that upset my stomach. But deep down, something had shifted. I no longer felt seen... just watched. As if I were being studied… or guarded. Especially when he kissed my eyes. That should’ve been the first real clue, shouldn’t it? No matter how passionate or rushed our nights were, Richard never forgot to cup my face gently, lean in, and kiss my eyes like they were sacred. Like they were the best part of me. I used to find it romantic. Now, I wasn’t so sure. The message from the hospital 'Miss Stacy has finally woken up' had haunted me for days. It clung to the back of my mind like cobwebs I couldn’t wipe away. I had wanted to ask him outri

Chapter Six

The first thing I felt was the heaviness in my chest. A dull, pressing weight like something had been sitting there for hours. Then i heard the sound, it was steady and mechanical. Beep. Beep. Beep. Each tone pulled me further from the darkness, from whatever corner of unconsciousness I’d been stuck in. My throat was dry. I felt weak. When I finally forced my eyes open, everything was too bright. White walls. The stiff sheets of a hospital bed. The sterile scent of antiseptic and alcohol stung my nose. I turned my head just a little, and a wave of nausea followed. I froze, breathing slowly, trying not to move again. Where was I? Then it hit me like a punch to the gut. Stacy Rowe. Richard. The words I overheard in that hospital room. The way he said he had kept her eyes safe. Her eyes. Not mine. I remembered running. My legs giving out on the staircase. T

Chapter Seven

RICHARD’S POV Tessa had left for errands. I watched her from the upstairs window as she drove away, until the gates closed behind her. I should’ve told her. I wanted to. But every time I looked into those eyes, I lost my nerve. She trusted me. And I was betraying that trust in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain. I picked up my keys from the console. My hands were steady, but my chest wasn’t. It had become a ritual I hadn’t meant to form, visiting Stacy whenever Tessa wasn’t looking. Just to be sure she was safe. Breathing. Still fighting. It wasn’t just love but was guilt... guilt that never left. The drive to the hospital was quiet. Familiar. I knew the route too well by now. I parked in the farthest corner of the lot where no one would recognize my car and slipped through the back entrance, avoiding eye contact with the front desk nurse. The staff d

Chapter Eight

When I got home, I was greeted by the maid at the door with a polite bow of her head. “Welcome, sir.” I gave a distracted nod and walked past her, my mind still clouded by the earlier visit to the hospital. My legs carried me up the stairs on instinct. I needed to talk to Tessa. Needed the grounding of her presence to silence the noise in my head. But the room was empty. No shoes by the side of the bed. No sound from the bathroom. Her bag wasn’t on the couch, and the lingering scent of her perfume had faded with time. Frowning, I descended the stairs again. “Lydia,” I called out sharply. The maid appeared almost immediately, drying her hands with a dish towel. “Yes, sir?” “Where’s my wife?” I asked. She blinked, caught off guard. “Madam is not yet back, sir.” I checked the ti

Chapter Nine

TESSA'S POV I walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped tightly around my chest, water still clinging to my skin. The room was dim, only the bedside lamb that casted a soft glow across the space. Richard sat on the edge of the bed, scrolling through his phone, but he looked up the moment he heard me. "How do you feel now?" he asked, his voice low. "Better," I said, offering a soft smile... lovely on the outside, hollow on the inside. I waited for him to say something more. Anything. Maybe a mention of the hospital, of Stacy. Something that would confirm the gnawing suspicion crawling beneath my skin. But he said nothing. No tension in his tone. No guilt in his eyes. Just calm, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened while I was gone. I stood there a little longer, expecting... hoping. But still, nothing. He reached over to the nightstand and handed me something.

Chapter Ten

The next day, I made up my mind. I’d tell him about the pregnancy. No more secrets. No more pretending I was fine. If there was anything left to save in this marriage, I had to try. And maybe... just maybe, if I showed him how much I still wanted this family, he’d start to come back to me.... completely. I sat on the edge of the bed for a while before going downstairs, my hand resting gently on my stomach. A life was growing inside me, one that didn’t ask to be part of this mess. Would he love the baby? I could still remember that look on his face whenever I even hinted at wanting one. Not anger. Not indifference. Just fear. What if he said it was too much? What if he asked me to get rid of it? That thought made my whole body stiffen. The baby was already a part of me... quiet, invisible, but deeply mine.

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