All Chapters of Dear Ex-wife, You're More Than A Substitute: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The door shut with a heavy thud behind him, leaving nothing but silence.A silence that hurt so much.I stood there for a long time, not moving, not thinking... just existing in the ruins of what was supposedto be a simple dinner. A peaceful night. A night where I would finally tell him about our baby.My legs eventually gave out, and I sank to the floor in front of the door, my back pressed to the woodthat still held the echo of his departure. Tears slid down my face as I sat there, hands curled around mybelly... my heart clenched like a fist.That night, I waited for Richard.I kept glancing at the clock, my ears trained on the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, keys turningin the lock... something. Anything.But nothing came.I tried calling him once, then twice, then five more times... but every ring ended the same way:“You’ve reached Richard. Leave a message.”Cold. Distant. Professional.No call back. No text. No explanation.My fingers gripped the edge of the couch

Richard’s POV I didn’t realize how fast I was driving until the world around me blurred into streaks of red and gold. I nearly ran the red light at the intersection near the bridge. My foot slammed on the brakes just in time, jerking the car forward. A horn blared behind me, but I hardly noticed. How could Stacy do something this reckless? My thoughts were a mess... racing, colliding, spinning out of control. Panic buzzed through my veins like electricity. When the hospital called, I didn’t wait to hear the full report on Stacy's condition. The words "attempted suicide" and "Stacy" were all it took to send me out the door like a man possessed. I left the house in chaos... I left Tessa behind, stunned and hurt by my abrupt exit. I didn’t let her explain. I didn’t look back. I didn’t even think. When I got to the hospital, Stacy was lying motionless on the bed, pale and ghostlike against the sterile white sheets. An oxygen line sat beneath her nose. Her nurse said she’d briefly r

I stepped out of the room, pulling the robe tighter around me, needing something or anything to hold myself together. I walked through the quiet hallway. Like I was walking through someone else’s home. Like a guest in my own life.As I neared the guest room… now Stacy’s room, I slowed.Her door was slightly ajar. Just enough to hear the faint murmur of her voice.At first, I wasn’t sure if I was hearing right. Her voice was low, like she was trying not to wake anyone.“…mm-hmm. I know… no, I just have to be careful,” she was saying softly. Then a pause. “I don’t want to push too fast. He’s already brought me here, that’s a start…”I couldn’t make out the rest… her words were muffled, too quiet to catch clearly. Maybe she w

The guest room was cold, but not because of the air. It was the kind of cold that settled in your bones after your heart had been battered too many times in a single day. I sat on the edge of the bed, arms folded tightly over my chest, trying to breathe through the silence. My body was still, but inside, everything burned... rage, disbelief, pain. Mostly pain. Stacy had played her part perfectly, hadn’t she? I should’ve been used to it by now, the way she transformed whenever Richard was in the room, how her voice turned sugar-sweet, her expressions softened, and she made herself seem so small, so helpless. He ate it up. Every time. And I was the one who ended up looking like the villain. Richard hadn’t come to check on me. Not a knock. Not even a text. It was a small thing, but it said a lot. Hours passed. I didn’t keep track of time. There was no point. I stayed curled up on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the walls, the pale light seeping through the curtains. Eventually, my

RICHARD’S POV The hospital lights were blindingly white. Stacy lay unconscious on the stretcher as they wheeled her away, Rita jogging beside them, feeding the nurse half-truths and careful words. My fists clenched at my sides, and my heart pounded not because Stacy was slipping, but because I knew Tessa had seen through it. Every part of it. And I let it happen. I was stuck in this cold corridor, jaw tight, blood buzzing behind my eyes. My mind wasn’t in that hospital. It was back in our kitchen. With her. Tessa. I could still see her face… the shock, the disbelief, the pain twisting every beautiful feature. The glass of orange juice, the trembling in Stacy’s voice, and the way Tessa just stood there... frozen. No. Not frozen. Broken. Stacy’s collapse had happened fast. One moment she was on the floor, gasping, her knees buckling. I couldn’t think. Fear took over. I scooped her into my arms, carried her to the car like I was clutching life itself, and drove… no, I raced to the