บททั้งหมดของ Unworthy No More : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

Isla Three days came in a blur...The key turned in the lock like permission. It felt absurdly ceremonial, a tiny act that somehow rewired the rules under which Sophie and I had been living for the last seven months. I pushed the door open and sunlight rushed in, smelling faintly of paint and promise. It still had not sunk in that this was ours.Lia had insisted on coming with me. She carried half my life in a battered tote and a grin like she’d already installed herself on the couch. “This is yours now, Isla. Don’t tread lightly,” she said, stamping her too-big boots on the threshold the way people do in movies when they move into something important.Sophie exploded into the room the way a little comet does through constellations, everywhere at once, chubby feet thumping, hands grabbing the sill of the balcony. “Look, Mama! We can watch the birds and pretend they are princes!” she squealed, vaulting onto the empty couch and scattering a constellation of dust motes that danced in the

IslaLia did not sit on the couch. She perched on the armrest like a hawk waiting to see if its prey would flutter away. Her fingers drummed lightly against a travel mug while she watched me tape the final box closed. “You’ve been quiet,” she said at last, the way people say something obvious and mean it to be the start of conversation. “Tell me why you’re really leaving.”I looked at her, and for a second the room felt too small for everything I’d been carrying. The curtains made soft waves in the dusk light. Sophie was asleep in the bedroom, a susurrus of breath and small limbs that belonged only to her. I touched the brass key in my pocket like it might scald me.“It’s not just about the apartment,” I began. “It’s not about the floorboards or the view or even having a place with a cupboard that doesn’t squeak.” My voice surprised me by being steady. “It’s about owing someone things I don’t understand how to pay back.” Lia’s face softened. “You mean Alexander.”I nodded. The name fe

Isla’s POVWhen Alexander Langston left, the last plate in my hands felt heavier than it should have. The water ran hot, stinging my skin, but I did not notice. Alexander’s footsteps had faded, the click of the front door leaving the apartment in a sudden, almost unbearable silence.I leaned against the counter, letting the ceramic press into my palms, and tried to force myself to think straight. He had said it. He had really said it. “I don’t care that you’re divorced. I don’t care that you’re a mother… In fact, Sophie is the very reason I can’t walk away. She is part of you, and you are the woman I… the woman I want.”I shut my eyes, trying to replay his words without flinching. My stomach twisted. My chest felt tight. He did not want me to owe him. He was not asking for control. Heck, he was not even making demands. He was… waiting.The thought should have comforted me. It should have made me feel lighter. Instead, it set off a quiet storm inside me. I had spent seven months caref

Isla's POV I watched Alexander as he gently adjusted Sophie’s blanket, the faint smile tugging at his lips while she babbled on about the stickers she had used. I should have turned away, focused on the small stack of papers I had left from the morning. But I could not. I could not stop noticing the ease with which he moved, how naturally he seemed to fit into these small, mundane corners of our lives.Sleepy Sophie, reached for a stray crayon, and he leaned over, guiding her hand without taking control. “Try coloring inside the lines here,” he said softly. “See how it helps your shapes?” I swallowed, my throat tight. He was not trying to impress me nor was he showing off. He was simply… present. And it unnerved me.“You know,” I murmured, mostly to myself, “I’ve never seen someone care so quietly, without expecting anything back.” He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow, eyes unreadable. “Is that a compliment or a complaint?” I laughed softly, shaking my head. “Maybe both.”There was a

Isla I had barely finished logging in when a soft knock at the office door pulled me from my thoughts. “Mommy?” Sophie’s voice floated down the hall, light and cheerful. And behind her, a familiar deep voice, steady, calm and impossible to ignore, answered, “I’m right here, little one.”My stomach twisted, half with relief, half with irritation. Of course he would show up in person, completely unannounced, making the world feel smaller and more complicated than it had twenty seconds ago.When I opened the door, Sophie dashed into my arms, squealing. “Daddy Alex!” He followed a few steps behind, holding a small bag of her favorite snacks, peeking around the doorway with a carefully neutral expression that I immediately knew was a mask.“Hi, Isla,” he said quietly. Not a greeting full of bravado or intimidation, just calm acknowledgment. His gaze softened as it lingered on me, but it didn’t reach the corners of my nerves the way it usually did. He wasn’t trying to control me. Not yet.