All Chapters of Dear CEO, I Want a Divorce: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ELISHA’S POVOne year ago today, I lost my daughter, Carrie. She hadn’t been born yet… it didn’t matter. I knew it was a girl, and I knew I’d name her Carrie. In the quiet, pastel pink and mint green nursery, I sat on the rocking chair and folded her clothes. Again. For the hundred-millionth time. As if it would dull reality and make my fantasy come alive.The sharp ring of the doorbell startled me. I glanced at the tiny onesie slipping from my fingers and stood quickly. Anthony probably forgot his key again.I hurried down the stairs and swung open the front door, ready to tease my husband for his memory, ready to pretend everything was fine.But Anthony Möller wasn’t alone.My sister Natalie stood beside him, glowing like sunshine. “Hey, sis. Anthony invited me to crash here for a while!”She didn’t wait for an answer, breezing past me into the foyer as Anthony trailed behind, lugging two massive duffel bags that he dropped heavily onto the floor. He didn’t meet my eyes.How l

ELISHA’S POVAs I watched Anthony place Natalie into the backseat of his SUV, I became aware of a burning, dull pain radiating up my arm. My palm throbbed with a strange heat, and I glanced down.Blood.A deep gash tore across the flesh of my palm. It must’ve happened when Anthony shoved me away—when I stumbled backward into the shattered plate on the floor.He didn’t notice. He hadn’t even looked back.I quietly walked to the downstairs powder room, found the first-aid kit beneath the sink, and sat on the edge of the toilet, cleaning the wound myself. Antiseptic stung like betrayal. I wrapped it in gauze as tightly as I could and gritted my teeth against the pain.The house was too quiet now.Too still.Just as I tossed the bloodstained tissues into the bin, my phone buzzed.Anthony: WE’RE AT MONTGOMERY COLLEGE HOSPITAL. COME.That was it.No explanation. No apology. No, Are you okay?Just a command, like I was a secretary summoned to the next crisis.***The hospital was familiar.

ELISHA’S POVNatalie smiled sweetly, her hands resting on the windowsill of Carrie’s nursery. “Thank you, Anthony.”She sounded like someone being handed a gift at her baby shower. Like none of this meant anything.Like she hadn’t just asked to raise her child in the room meant for mine.I turned to Anthony, searching his face for something—anything—that resembled sense.But he looked calm. Practical. Like he’d made a generous decision.That room had taken months to prepare. I’d painted the walls by hand. Folded the onesies. Hung the starlight mobile above the crib. I’d picked the curtains with my mother. The little bookshelf with Dominic. Everything in that room was stitched with hope.And he just gave it away.“Are you serious?” I whispered.Anthony looked at me, his voice low. “Our baby is already gone. Why not let your sister use the room if she needs it?”I blinked, his words hitting harder than he could’ve known.Gone.Just like that.As if Carrie was a mistake we’d gotten over.

ELISHA’S POVPriscilla’s words clung to my skin like something sticky and sour. The way she’d spoken—casual, almost amused—struck like an arrow to the chest.As if losing a baby was like misplacing a favorite pen.Maybe if it had happened differently…If it had been natural. If the doctors had shaken their heads and said, “sometimes these things just happen,” maybe I would’ve been ready by now.Maybe I could’ve grieved her quietly, deeply, and moved forward with the aching belief that it simply wasn’t meant to be.But that’s not how I lost my daughter. I lost her because someone pushed me. Because my sister looked me in the eyes, stretched out her arms, and let me fall. And after that happened, people rushed to console her. Not me. Maybe if I’d at least gotten support from my family, I would have healed sooner. Tried again. But the loss of Carrie on top of the loss of my own family’s love and support? It left holes inside me. “I’m not ready yet,” I said quietly, my voice so low i

ELISHA’S POVThe vet clinic smelled like antiseptic and lavender-scented wipes, a strange but oddly comforting combination. The waiting area was quiet, sun pooling onto the tiled floor, and in the middle of it all, bouncing on too-big paws, was my puppy.“Bubblegum!” I breathed, my whole chest warming.She squealed in return and hopped up into my arms with no hesitation, licking my cheek wildly and wriggling like she hadn’t seen me in years instead of three days. I laughed, really laughed, for the first time in what felt like forever.“You’re early,” Robert called out from behind the desk, pushing through the clinic door with his lab coat half-buttoned and his sleeves rolled up.“I couldn’t wait,” I admitted, cradling Bubblegum like she was the last good thing in the world.“Well, she couldn’t wait either. She’s been whining every time someone opens the front door.” Robert grinned, walking over. “Looks like someone missed her mom.”I smiled, feeling something ease inside my chest.Tw