Seducing my Ex-husband back のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

BREAKFAST & TENSION~CLAIRE'S POV~The sunlight hit me like a personal attack. I groaned, dragging the covers over my head as the bright morning light slashed through the curtains like a blade. My brain felt wrapped in fog and regret, the kind that smelled faintly of champagne and bad decisions."Ugh," I muttered, squinting one eye open to find my phone buzzing on the nightstand. When I finally grabbed it, the time made my stomach drop. "Oh, come on. It's already eleven?"Panic kicked in. I had plans with him.I sat up so fast the room spun. "Crap, crap, crap!" I blurted, tumbling out of bed. My hair looked like it had declared independence sometime in the night, and my eyeliner had migrated south.I was supposed to meet Alexander for lunch at his office....you know, the place with marble floors, gold pens, and enough tension between us to power a small city.I yanked open my wardrobe, pulling out a white blouse that didn't scream hungover and a pair of jeans that didn't require an ac

NO MORE PRETENDING ~CLAIRE'S POVAfter everything that happened in the office earlier and my conversation with Darla, I felt like I'd swallowed a stone. The effect of it sat low in my chest, serious and uncomfortable. I was mad at myself, which was ridiculous because he was the one acting like a controlling maniac. But somehow, my brain decided to make me the villain in this story."He's the one in the wrong! Why am I sitting here feeling guilty like I kicked a puppy?" I muttered to myself, pacing the length of my desk.The feeling with Alexander had changed into something I couldn't describe. It wasn't anger anymore. It was something heavier that filled the space between us and made me feel uneasy whenever he looked at me. And he kept mentioning Richard again and again, as if his name was a test I couldn't pass.I couldn't take it anymore. The office felt too small, too suffocating. Alexander's cold stare had followed me around all morning like a shadow I couldn't shake off. I neede

~CLAIRE'S POV~Today was the day. I had finally decided it was time to visit Richard's company for the signing of the contract. As I sat in my car outside the building, staring up at the glass and steel tower that used to feel like a second home, I took a deep breath and tried to shake off the nerves crawling up my spine. After his incessant calls and borderline stalking behavior, today was the first time we were going to have an actual conversation since that disastrous dinner. The one where I walked out and left him sitting there like the fool he was.I stepped out of the car, smoothing down my dress. I had dressed to kill today. The kind of outfit that turned heads and made people remember you were in the room. If I were going to walk back into this building, I was going to do it looking like I owned the place.The moment I entered the lobby, I felt the shift. Eyes turned toward me. Conversations dropped to whispers. The mood seemed to get serious, like everyone was silently judg

HELL DAMN TUESDAY~ANNETTE'S POV~I was fast asleep when the door creaked open. The sound screened through my consciousness before I fully woke, but something in my body registered wrong. A shift in the air. A presence that didn't belong. I kept my eyes closed, telling myself it was Darla checking on me, hoping whoever it was would leave me alone so I could sink back into the mercy of sleep.But then I felt the hands.They moved over my body slowly at first, almost tentative. Fingers brushed my collarbone. My chest tightened. This wasn't Darla. The touch was intentional. Possessive. My mind stayed suspended in that fog between waking and dreaming, trying to process what was happening.The hands didn't stop.They moved down my ribs, then lower, and then they were pushing under my shirt. Skin against skin. The invasion registered somewhere deep in my nervous system, but my body didn't respond the way it should have. No adrenaline spike. No panic. Just a cold, flat awareness.This was fa

JUSTICE SERVE~CLAIRE'S POV~The police station at night felt totally different than during the day. It was colder, more factory-like. The fluorescent lights buzzed louder, casting tough shadows that made everything look worse than it really was. Annette sat beside me on a plastic chair that squeaked every time either of us shifted, her jaw clenched tight.I had wanted her to stay at Alexander's apartment with Darla, but she'd followed me anyway. Said she couldn't just sit around. Couldn't just wait. I understood. Sitting with trauma without doing anything about it was its own kind of torture.An officer approached us, his face calm. "We're having trouble verifying the victim's account," he said, and the word victim made my stomach turn because it wasn't attached to Annette. "The defendant has friends on the force. Multiple officers can attest to his character."Of course he did. Of course the system was already protecting him."His character?" I said, my voice sharp. "He sexually as