Lahat ng Kabanata ng Divorced by my Billionaire Ex, Now He Wants Me Back! : Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

112Alex.I meant it when I told Stella I’d sleep on the couch. The day had been long, emotionally draining, but beneath the exhaustion was a hum of something like hope—a fragile thread connecting us that felt stronger with every shared glance, every accidental brush of hands in the kitchen. I stretched out under the old knitted blanket, letting the murmur of voices from the twins’ room upstairs lull me. It was a sound I could listen to forever: muffled giggles, the padding of feet on wood, the faint creak of a mattress as someone shifted in their sleep.The house settled around me, breathing in the dark. I watched the streetlights flicker through the living room curtains and tried not to overthink. I’d told myself a hundred times that I wouldn’t push, wouldn’t cross lines. It was enough just to be here, to know Stella and the twins were safe—if only for tonight.But sleep wouldn’t come. I stared at the ceiling, listening to every sound. The radiator hissed and clicked; a car rumbled

114Alex.I didn’t sleep the night after the camera hack. Even after the specialist’s report and Stella’s insistence that I go home, I found myself driving the dark city streets with no real plan—just circling, searching for something I couldn’t name. My mind kept replaying the images: Stella curled in my arms, the twins’ faces caught in the grainy glow of surveillance. The feeling was part shame, part fury, and something colder, more familiar—a sense of helplessness I hadn’t felt in years.I told myself I wouldn’t confront Sophie—not yet, not until I had more than suspicion. But that didn’t stop me from driving past her house just after midnight. Her place was a stately brick building on a tree-lined street, not far from the city center. The porch lights were on. I slowed as I passed, my grip tight on the wheel, the engine idling low. Sophie sat on the porch swing, legs curled under her, a silk robe slipping off one shoulder. She was scrolling her phone, thumb tapping a rhythm agains

116Alex.Her words stopped me cold. Not just about the kids. I heard the hope and the fear in her voice, and it hit me harder than I expected. My heart hammered in my chest. I wanted to pull her close, to erase every bit of pain I’d ever caused, but I knew I couldn’t. There was no erasing the years—no way to undo all the distance, all the anger, all the nights I’d spent resenting her for leaving, and resenting myself even more for letting her go.“It’s not just about the kids,” I said quietly, my voice rougher than I meant. “But I don’t know how to fix any of this. I wish I did. I wish I could make everything right for you, for them, for us… but all I know is that I want to try. That’s all I can promise right now, Stella. I want to try.”She didn’t answer. She just watched me, her eyes searching my face, her own expression unreadable. I could see how tired she was—how much weight she carried in her posture, in the way she twisted her ring around her finger, in the tension that never

118Alex.The note burned a hole in my pocket all morning. I palmed it before the twins could see, folding it twice and slipping it into my jeans as I walked back into the kitchen. I kept my face neutral, careful not to let any of the rage and worry slip out in front of the kids, but inside, everything was boiling. I couldn’t stop picturing the words: I warned you. Every time I blinked, the letters reappeared, stark and final.Stella tried to carry on as if nothing had happened. She made pancakes for the kids, humming under her breath, her hands steady even though I could see the tension in her shoulders. Emma and Eli ate quietly, casting glances at the taped-up window but not daring to ask. I joined them at the table, pouring coffee I barely tasted and answering the twins’ chatter with practiced calm. If they noticed my jaw was clenched, they didn’t mention it.The handyman arrived just after breakfast. I let him in, explaining the situation in clipped sentences, careful not to revea

120Alex.I never pretended I had the kind of patience Stella did. When it came to threats—especially the kind that stalked in the night and crept through the seams of a life I was just starting to piece back together—I could feel all the worst parts of me rise to the surface. The text wasn’t even clever. Four words, cold and direct. But they did the job. I could see it in Stella’s eyes, the tension in her shoulders, the way she held the phone just a little tighter as she moved around the house. Like it was a lifeline and a loaded gun all at once.I took the phone from her before breakfast, heart pounding. “Show me.”She hesitated, thumb hovering over the screen, then passed it to me without a word. I read the message once. Then again. My blood ran hot, my jaw clenched.“Did you block the number?”“It’s already blocked. There’s nothing else—no ID, no callback. Just that.” Her voice was steady, but her hands weren’t.I forced myself to keep my tone calm, even as my insides twisted. “Le