All Chapters of THE DIVORCED WIFE RETURNS TO TAKE BACK WHAT’S HERS : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

ISABELLE BLAKE Damian was speeding, like actual speeding for me. One hand gripping the steering wheel, the other checking on me every five seconds like I was in labour and about to deliver twins on his leather seats. Oh, how I would love that. I let out a soft, pitiful cry, perfectly timed, of course, and pressed my fingers dramatically against my forehead. He tightened his jaw. Good. Concern looked delicious on him. “Isabelle, breathe. We’re almost there,” he said, voice low, urgent, heroic. God, I loved this. I couldn’t help the tiny smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I quickly smothered it under a fake wince. “Damian, I... I think it’s getting worse," I whispered, making my voice tremble like a bad telenovela actress. He didn’t notice the exaggeration. He was too busy panicking, which wa Perfect for me. By the time we screeched into the hospital driveway, I knew I had him exactly where I wanted him. He jumped out of the car first and practically yanked my door open.

ELENAI shouldn’t have gone to Damian’s house. Honestly, I should’ve taken a nap, a sedative, or maybe a cross-country flight.But no, I drove straight into the lion’s den with the wonderful clarity of a woman who was officially done being disrespected, lied to, gaslit, framed, manipulated, and blamed for crimes she didn’t commit.I parked the car and stepped out with my chin raised. The mansion looked the same, too big, too proud, too expensive to ever feel like home again. Before I even rang the bell, Hensley opened the door.“Elena,” he breathed, eyes shining like a loyal old hound whose owner had returned from war. “Mrs. Black— I mean… Ms. Hart, oh dear, welcome back!”I couldn’t help it, I smiled. Really smiled. Hensley was the only person in this house who had never once made me feel like a burden.“It’s good to see you too,” I said, touching his shoulder.We walked in together, chatting like old friends catching up after years apart. He was laughing at one of my comments, somet

ELENAI sat on the couch with a blanket pulled up to my chin, staring at the wall like it owed me answers. Angela’s tiny voice echoed in my head."Mommy." God… the way she said it. The certainty in her eyes. The innocence, and the warmth.But reality didn’t care about warmth. Reality was cold, sharp, and cruel. Isabelle was her mother. She belonged to Damian’s perfect new family. So why… why did that child look at me like she knew me? Why did something in my chest crack open like it had been waiting for that moment?I pushed the blanket off, frustrated with myself. Motherhood. I didn’t even know if the universe wanted me to ever feel that again. Maybe I’d had my one chance, and life snatched her away before I could even hold her properly. I needed chocolate. Chocolate solves existential heartbreak. Everyone knows that.I dragged myself towards the kitchen, but halfway down the hallway, I froze when I heard my mother’s voice.It was sow, rushed, and lmost panicked.“…no, no, I told you

ELENAThe grinding roar of the excavation machines had already begun; the final, awful soundtrack to the moment I’d been dreading. I stood there, stiff, trembling, watching the workers prepare to dig up my daughter’s grave. My daughter. God, even thinking the word felt like dragging barbed wire through my chest.Then, a deep rumbling engine broke through everything. I looked up, and there he was. Damian’s man. He came striding into the cemetery like a warning. The kind of man who didn’t need to make threats because his existence did that for him. Black coat, gloves, sunglasses even though the sky was grey. Heavy boots crunching gravel like he owned it.The workers froze the moment they saw him. One man shut off his machine so fast the motor coughed. The man didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to.He just stood there, arms folded, jaw set, radiating the kind of energy that made grown men rethink life choices. He was Damian’s shadow, his right hand, his hammer. He is Cole.I stepped

DAMIAN Elena hit the ground so fast that for a second, my brain didn’t process it. One moment, she was clawing at the dirt like a woman possessed, and the next, her body just… folded. Her head dropped forward, arms gave out, and her entire frame slumped into the soil like a marionette with its strings cut. For one heartbeat, I froze. Then, everything inside me snapped. “Shit—ELENA!” I shoved the car door open so violently it almost ripped off the hinge. The moment my shoes hit the ground, I was running, actually running towards her, the cold late morning air burning my lungs. Adrian reached her first, sliding on his knees beside her. “Elena! Elena...dammit—” He turned her over, and her head fell limply against his shoulder. “She’s burning up. Damian—!” I dropped beside them, my hands shaking as I touched her cheek. Cold from the outside. Burning underneath. Her eyelashes fluttered once. Then nothing. And something inside me cracked wide open. “What the hell were you thinking!