All Chapters of Dear Ex-wife, You're More Than A Substitute: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

I sat at my desk staring at the blinking cursor on the screen. The office was quiet except for the low hum of the air conditioner. My fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before I finally typed the words.*Stacy,**I haven’t heard back from you. I’m worried. Please reply when you can.*I read the message three times, then hit send. The email disappeared into the void. No reply had come since her last cryptic message. The fear from the warning about Caleb had faded into something heavier. Not terror anymore. Just a deep, gnawing worry. Why wasn’t she answering? Was she okay? Or was she playing another game? My heart froze. No. Right?I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples. The file “Tessa’s Secrets” was still hidden on my phone. I hadn’t opened it fully yet. Part of me was too afraid of what I might find. Another part was too exhausted to face it. Why don’t I look into some other things I could handle, like the ou

The suitcase lay open on our bed like a wound. Richard folded his shirts with the same careful precision he used for everything else in life. The one I had fallen in love with. I sat on the edge of the mattress, watching him, my hands twisted together in my lap so tightly the knuckles ached. This was only the first trip. Four days away. Staying at the governor’s private residence. With Sophia under the same roof. “You’re sure about this?” I asked, my voice quieter than I wanted it to be. I was meant to be strong since I wanted him to go.  Richard paused, then turned to me. He came over and knelt between my knees, taking both my hands in his. 

 Tears streamed down my face before I could stop them. I pressed both hands tightly over my mouth, biting down on my palm so hard I tasted blood. I couldn’t make a sound. Not here. Not now. Not while I was hidden in the closet like a thief in my own husband’s childhood home. Also after what I just heard.  Richard’s voice drifted through the wooden slats, low and angry. “Mother, stop.” But Madam Clarisse kept pushing, her tone sharp and unrelenting. “So tell me the truth, Richard. Is the boy really yours? After all the lies Camilla told you… After everything that happened with Stacy… Have yo

It took a lot of strength to stay in her house. You know, on the way to Madam Clarisse’s house, I rehearsed what I would say. In my head, it was the perfect little speech on how I would no longer be a pushover. And I wasn’t the same person from before but seeing Sophia was the last thing I expected. It was as if Madam Clarisse brought a gun to a knife fight. I swallowed the anger that was building inside me and decided to stay but when I wanted to go to another table, Madam Clarisse narrowed her eyes at me. I had to follow her and Sophia.The table felt like a battlefield. It was like standing between the devil and the deep blue sea.I sat perfectly still between Madam Clarisse and Sophia Hargrove, the weight of their presence pressing down on me like invisible hands. The afternoon tea at home had been Madam Clarisse’s idea. “A civilized meeting,” she had called it. But there was nothing civilized about the way she kept looking at me. Or the other guests she didn’t find appealing. “

The video played on my phone screen like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. The more I watched, the lower my jaw dropped. I stood in the private bathroom of the governor’s residence, water still dripping from my face, staring at the footage my assistant had sent. It was clear. Too clear. Camilla was in the garden of an unknown house, talking and laughing with a handsome man I didn’t recognize. They were close. Too close. Her hand touched his arm. She smiled at him in a way that made my stomach twist violently. It reminded me of the man at Michael’s Memorial. I hadn’t defended her then because I was jealous. Yes I admit, I was jealous. The way she was with him reminded me of how we were way before Stacy came in fully into the picture. We didn’t talk about that. I don’t want to either. I am not proud of how I behaved it now look at her with this guy. Was mum right by saying she was flirting? No, no, I shook my head. My Tessa is not like that. I paused the video and checked