Semua Bab Dear Ex-wife, You're More Than A Substitute: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Richard's POVIt started with a small smile.The first time Zane walked into my office, he barely looked up from the stuffed dino he had tucked under his arm. But by the third visit, he was already tugging at the corner of my suit jacket, asking if I had any more of “those minty candies” I kept in the drawer.I didn’t know when it started exactly, the way he grew on me.Maybe it was the way he lit up when Camilla walked into the room. Maybe it was the way he laughed without reservation or how he’d sketch little superheroes on scraps of blueprints with a pencil twice his hand size.Whatever it was, it snuck up on me fast and settled deep.Zane started coming to the office more frequently. Camilla had said he was on a short break between terms, and while I offered to help find a sitter, she’d simply said, “He’s better off with me.”So most mornings, I’d hear the tiny patter of feet down the corridor before I even saw him.

Stacy’s POV I hated the way her name slid off his tongue. Camilla. He said it so casually, like she meant everything, just another architect working on his project. But I could hear the difference. The way his voice softened around her. The way his eyes lit up when she walked into the room. I wasn’t stupid. I’d known Richard long enough to recognize the signs. The quiet interest. The way he lingered around her office. The small smiles he thought no one noticed. And worst of all? She didn’t even try. Camilla Jones waltzed into our world with her tidy little resume and her too perfect curls, like she owned the place. All grace and calm confidence, the kind that made other women shrink in comparison. She didn’t flirt. She didn’t pander. She didn’t need to. Somehow, she still managed to hold his attention without lifting a finger. And he… he kept drifting closer. I saw it in the little things. How he let her son come to work. How he defended her when I pointed it out. How he start

Camilla’s POVI wrapped the silk robe tighter around me as I stepped out into the quiet living room, my bare feet brushing against the soft rug beneath me. The scent of fresh jasmine floated through the open window, dancing with the early afternoon breeze. I hadn’t set an alarm. No emails. No morning traffic. Just a day to breathe.A day off work.Christine had taken Zane to the park for a little while he’d been begging to try his new rollerblades and I’d promised not to check emails or draft building layouts for at least one full day. It wasn’t easy; my fingers kept twitching toward my tablet. But I reminded myself I’d earned this.We’d earned this.I was halfway through a cup of chamomile tea, curled up on the couch, when the front door clicked open.Only one person had the key to walk in unannounced.“Caleb,” I called out, straightening a little and tucking my legs under me.“Hey,” his voice floated in from t

Aside the location Richard sent, the driveway curved just like I remembered it. The tall pines swayed gently in the breeze, casting shadows across the manicured lawn as I pulled up to the front of the house I used to call home. But I wasn’t here to walk down memory lane, I was here to remind myself why I left it behind. The lights inside glowed like a beacon of the life I once imagined. The life I was robbed of. As I stepped out of the car, my heels tapped against the familiar stone pavement. I inhaled sharply, forcing down the lump rising in my throat. “Get a grip, Camilla,” I muttered under my breath. “This isn’t your home anymore. This is just another battlefield.” Before I could reach the door, it opened... almost like it had been watching, waiting. “Good evening, ma’am,” said the housekeeper. Lydia. The moment our eyes met, her face paled. Her lips trembled. She knew. The sa

The rain had slowed to a drizzle by the time I pulled into the office parking lot. It was past 10 a.m. unlike me. I rarely ever came in this late, but the events of last night had left my mind spinning. I had barely slept, haunted by the stinging echo of Stacy’s voice. Don’t like the taste? Or are you allergic to it, Tessa? She’d said my name like it was a loaded gun, aiming straight for the part of me I’d spent years burying beneath a new name, a new city, and a carefully curated life. Even now, the thought of her watching me as I drank that juice, the faint twitch of satisfaction in her smile… it made my chest tighten. I stepped into the building, shook off the umbrella, and walked briskly toward my office. Most of the staff I passed gave me polite nods or warm good mornings. But something felt… off. Like air thick with static before a storm. When I turned down the hall leading to my office, I slowed. The door was slightly ajar. Odd. I frowned. I never left it like that