Semua Bab Seducing my Ex-husband back: Bab 31 - Bab 40

ANGER~ELEANOR’S POV~The night had been too long, and the moment I saw Claire’s eyes at the gala, I knew there would be no sleep for me. She had smiled, yes, but her eyes were shards of glass. People can pretend with their lips….not with their gaze.Richard thought he could brush it off. My son had never learned that some women don’t forgive, not when you make them a spectacle. Claire was one of those women.I picked up my phone before the frustration burned me alive.He answered on the second ring. “Hello, Mother.” His voice was off.…slurry around the edges. Drinking, no doubt.“Richard, you need to come over. Now.” I kept my voice flat, giving him no room to argue.“Why? What’s going on?”“Just do it. I won’t say this over the phone.”A beat of silence, then a sigh. “Fine. Ten minutes.” He hung up before I could remind him to drive safely. Foolish child.When he arrived, he opened the door as if the handle offended him, muttering a half-hearted greeting. He looked rumpled, the col

FAILURE ~RICHARD’S POV~Morning couldn’t come fast enough.After the circus last night….Monica screaming at me in front of half the city, my mother slapping me like I was still a damn teenager, and Claire looking at me like I was beneath her…I thought sleep would at least reset me. But nope. I woke up feeling like death warmed over, with Monica perched on the edge of the bed like some vulture waiting for the carcass to twitch.“Morning, hunie,” I muttered, rubbing the grit out of my eyes. Maybe if I kept my tone soft, she’d ease up.Her laugh was sharp, humorless. “Hunie? Really? You think sweet names erase the shit you pulled last night? You’re delusional.”I sighed, already exhausted. “Monica, I said I’m sorry. I messed up, okay? Can we just…..”“Don’t you dare touch me!” she snapped as I reached for her arm. She shoved me off like I was some kind of insect. “You’re lucky I’m even here.”I held up my hands. “Alright, alright. I get it. Just—give me a chance to explain….”But she

DEALING WITH A PROBLEM ~MONICA’S POV~Richard had that smug look plastered on his face, the same one he wore when he thought he was cleverer than me. It made my teeth grind.“Are you seriously this clueless?” I snapped, unable to stop the words from flying out. “Do you have a screw loose, or is it just rust rattling in that empty head of yours?”He blinked at me like I was being unreasonable. “What’s your problem, Monica?” His tone was calm, too calm—like he’d already decided I was overreacting.“My problem?” My voice pitched higher. “You paraded after Claire last night like a dog that’s lost its master. Everyone saw it, Richard. Everyone. And now, this morning, you want me to apologize for ‘assuming things’?”His arms crossed tight across his chest. He thought that stance made him look in control, but all I saw was defensiveness. “I wasn’t chasing her. We were just talking.”“Talking?” I threw my hands up, incredulous. “Is that what you call gazing at her like she hung the moon? Bec

THANKS FOR CARING ~CLAIRE POV~The second I saw him, my stomach dropped.Richard.Confused, wide-eyed, like he’d been struck by lightning. His presence alone was enough to shatter whatever fragile peace I’d managed to piece together. And of course, fate had to shove him into my path when I least needed it.I did the only thing that made sense. I turned to walk away.Too bad he didn’t let me.His hand shot out, clamping around my arm with a grip that felt more like a man drowning than an ex-husband reaching. His fingers dug into my skin, sharp, desperate.“Richard,” I said, my voice low, careful, fighting to stay steady. Inside, I was burning.He stared at me, pale as paper, sweat glistening across his forehead. For a second, he didn’t even seem real.…just a ghost who hadn’t realized he was supposed to stay dead.And the worst part? Alexander was here. Watching. Close enough to strike. I could already feel the tension coiling in the air like a storm waiting to break.“You know I’d nev

MAKING HEADLINE~RICHARD’S POV~Light blasted into my skull and everything went upside down. For a second I thought the ceiling was the sun and my head the moon wobbling out of orbit.“Li….”“Lights,” I croaked. Somebody obeyed, mercifully; the hospital-swamped glow slid away and the world righted itself into pale walls and antiseptic smells. I blinked. The mattress sighed. My ribs sang a chorus of ow.I’m in a hospital bed. Of course. My life seems to run on major mistakes.I looked over and saw Monica sitting next to me in a plastic chair, with her hands folded and sharp eyes. Out of all the people I wanted to see….the priest, a lawyer, a kind woman with sympathetic eyes…Monica was not one of them.“Hey,” I managed. My voice came out like an apology note.She didn’t smile. She looked at me like a woman assigned to deal with an infestation of roaches and currently cataloguing who to hire for fumigation. “Why were you bothering Claire at a hotel?” she asked, snipping as a paper cut.