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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Divorced My Husband And Found Love: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

231 Kabanata

TWENTY SEVEN

Naomi’s POVMy chest was light and my hair, already a little wild from the wind on Ethan’s beat-up motorbike, felt looser. My smile felt wider, and I knew my cheeks were still flushed with color. I clutched my bag strap, trying and failing to look like a person who hadn’t just spent three hours ditching her school to play arcade games with a boy who made her laugh until her stomach hurt.All of that was before I saw Jace. He had his dark glasses on, shielding his eyes, but I didn’t need to see them to know they’re fixed on me. I knew his attention was fixed squarely on me. I could feel the weight of his gaze.My heart, which had been performing a cheerful little dance, suddenly picked up a faster, more anxious rhythm. I straightened my backpack and started walking faster, trying to balance my stride between ‘rushed’ and ‘casual’. I didn't want him to think I was hiding anything, but I didn't want him to have time to dissect me, either. The closer I got to him, the more I could feel hi

TWENTY EIGHT

Naomi’s POVI couldn’t shake the words. I couldn’t even get the words out of my mind.I know his family.The words played like an endless loop, like a song stuck on repeat. Jace hadn’t offered an explanation but the way he'd said it had suggested more than just a passing acquaintance. It suggested history. Debts. Something messy and complicated that he felt was his job to clean up.How? How in the hell did he know Ethan’s family?That night, I turned over, the sheets tangling around me. My lamp cast a soft gold halo across the room, but the rest of the mansion was quiet. Dad had gone into his study hours ago. Mom was in bed. The house staff had retired.I slid out of my room quietly, careful not to disrupt the silence, and padded barefoot down the hallway. The glow of the light bulbs was minimal, casting dramatic shadows in the hallway. I hadn’t planned to eavesdrop. If I ran into someone, all I planned to tell them was that I wanted a glass of water. A weak justification, but it was

TWENTY NINE

Naomi’s POV“Okay, fine,” I snapped, standing from the bed. “Yes, I was listening. Because you and my dad were clearly talking about me. And about Ethan. So don’t act like I’m the problem here.”Something flickered behind his eyes — irritation, maybe. “You shouldn’t have been there.”“Oh, sorry, should I schedule an appointment before being talked about behind my back?”His jaw flexed. “You don’t understand—”I spun on him, my panic instantly dissolving into fury. My voice was a shaky whisper that I kept low enough to stay between us.“You’re trying to ruin my love life,” I accused, my hand flying out to jab the air between us. “You’re trying to ruin what is budding between Ethan and I. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? This whole thing—the warnings, the way you looked at Ethan like he’s beneath me—you’re trying to make my father forbid me from seeing him.”Jace stood there, impassive. His jaw flexed once, the only sign that my accusation had even registered.“I don’t know what you

THIRTY

Naomi's povThe wall was cold against my back, but I was burning up. My pulse pounded so loud I could barely hear anything else.What had just happened?!Jace’s warning hung in the air—impossible to escape. He stood a few steps away, his chest heaving, his dark eyes fixed on some point in the air just over my shoulder. He looked like a man fighting an internal battle, a war I hadn't been meant to witness.His eyes were filled with fury, the kind that would make anyone else step back. But not me. I didn’t know if it’s pride, stupidity, or the fact that he looks too good when he’s angry, but instead of backing down, I lifted my chin and glared right back at him.My voice trembled when I spoke, but the words that came were filled with challenge. “Go on then,” I whispered. “Show me what ‘getting hurt’ really means.”For a split second, something flickered behind his eyes—restraint, reason, maybe a hint of fear. Then it was gone. His control shattered.He moved before I could even blink, c

THIRTY ONE

Naomi's povI sent the text the second class ended.To Dad: Hey Dad. Going to hang out at Priscilla’s. A sort of study group thingy. Will be back home later.A harmless lie—or at least, that’s what I told myself as I tucked my phone back into my pocket. Dad’s response came fast:Dad: That’s fine, sweetheart. Be home before nine. Jace will pick you up when you’re ready.I stared at the message, my chest tightening. For a moment, I considered telling the truth. Then I remembered the way Jace had dismissed me this morning, pretending nothing had happened last night—and my resolve hardened.I typed back quickly:No need. Priscilla’s mom will drop me.The lie tasted like ash on my tongue, but I pushed the feeling away. It wasn’t a big deal. I just needed space, to keep the body guard—a.k.a—Jace, off my leash. Dad responded quickly, a single word: Fine.I exhaled in relief.He was always agreeable when he thought I was doing something academically responsible.My plan was already in motion.

THIRTY TWO

Naomi’s POVI smiled faintly, trying to hide the truth. But as his fingers tightened, a memory flashed in my mind—the feeling of a different, rougher hand clamped around my jaw, a different, darker gaze burning into mine.I pushed the thought away, guilt pricking sharply at my chest.Stop it, Naomi. You chose this. You wanted quiet.We stayed until the place closed. When we stepped outside, the streetlights were on, casting a beautiful amber glow over the quiet residential street. The air is warm, thick with the scent of night-blooming flowers from somewhere nearby.Walking back toward his car, the evening weather was warm, soft. For a brief second, it almost feels beautiful. Like I could forget everything if I just stayed here long enough.Until I saw it.Parked discreetly across the street was a familiar black, heavily tinted SUV.My heart didn’t just stutter; it seized entirely.He’s here. Jace.Panic flickered through me briefly before giving way to anger. Of course he’d be here.

THIRTY THREE

Naomi’s POVMy chest heaved, a frantic, caged thing inside my ribs. The second Ethan’s car disappeared, the control I'd been holding onto shattered. Fury flooded in like a tidal wave.Jace was leaning against the car, his arms crossed, head tilted, and his eyes locked on me like he had been waiting for me.For me.Of course he had.“Did you follow me?” My voice was a low snarl.He didn't flinch. He didn't even pretend to look surprised. He just uncrossed his arms, the movement deliberately slow.“Yes,” he said.The single word sliced through the air. Just that. Yes. No apology. No excuse. His response was delivered with a calmness that was so annoying it made my hands curl into fists. I wanted to yank that composure right off him.“That’s all you have to say?” I blinked. “You’re not even going to apologize?”He shrugged, infuriatingly calm. “Why would I? It’s my job to keep you safe.”“Safe?” I let out a disbelieving laugh that sounded more like a scoff. “You call stalking me safety?”

2ND THIRTY THREE

Jace’s povThe engine of the Audi was a low, steady rumble, the only thing keeping the silence from crushing me. I gripped the steering wheel at ten and two, my knuckles white and the leather cold beneath my palms. The city’s night traffic hummed around me like white noise—headlights streaking across the windshield, horns blurting somewhere far off—but no amount of speed or distraction could outrun the echo in my head.“You’re acting like you own me.”Naomi’s voice sliced through the noise again, sharp as glass. It had been playing on a loop since she said it, and every time, it cut a little deeper.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, jaw flexing.I don’t own her. Hell, I don’t even have the right to want her.But that wasn’t what my chest said—not what my pulse said when I saw her with Ethan. The way he leaned in close, his hand brushing her arm, that lazy grin like he thought he had a chance.The last red light before my building turned green, and I eased the car forward.I p

THIRTY FOUR

Jace's povThe bass hit before I even walked in.The club was all glass—the kind of glass walls that made the city look like a distant place, low lighting that made you feel intimate but only made you feel exposed, sleek enough to scream money and loud enough to drown out a conscience. The air was thick and heavy with the scent of a thousand competing perfumes. It was all a numbing agent I used to crave.Mason spotted me first. He was leaning against the bar like he owned it, surrounded by a pack of women who looked like they’d never heard the word no. He grinned when he saw me.“Look who finally decided to crawl out of his cave,” he called, shoving a shot glass in my direction. “Jace Maddox, in the flesh. Are you planning to brood in the corner all night or actually have fun?”I grabbed the glass and clinked it half-heartedly with his glass. “That depends. Are we calling this fun now?”Mason laughed. “Man, you’ve gotten boring. What happened to the guy who used to outdrink me and sti

THIRTY FIVE

Naomi povI thought the worst was over. Honestly, I did.I was stretched out on my white duvet, my phone face-down beside me and one of the latest issues of Vogue’s magazine was spread open on my chest, long abandoned. I was staring blankly at the ceiling fan, counting the faint scuff marks on its blades.I flip over, groaning into my pillow. “I hate you,” I mumbled to my phone, even though it’s not his fault that I can’t stop thinking about him.Jace.I was trying so hard not to think about him. Trying and failing spectacularly. The memory of the night we kissed kept playing in my mind like a loop, perfectly clear and distracting.And then, I heard the sound.It was barely loud at first but it was loud enough to snap my focus from the scuff marks on my ceiling fan. It was warm, familiar, and yet utterly impossible.A voice followed, a little sharper, a little louder than the laughter.“Good evening, Mr Knight. How are you doing?”Priscilla.My entire body went rigid. The magazine sli

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