All Chapters of Shared In Tangled Sheets : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The smell of coffee reached her before she even opened her eyes. For a second, Ava thought she’d dreamt it. The soft clatter of cutlery, the sound of the kettle whistling. But when she sat up, sunlight spilling across the sheets, she realized it was real. Xander was in the kitchen.She wasn’t expecting him to be home but he was in the kitchen making them breakfast. He hadn’t made breakfast in weeks.She ran a hand through her hair, the sting of last night’s shame still pressing at the back of her throat.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face when she’d said the wrong name. That flicker of something dying in his eyes before he looked away.She took a breath, slipped into her robe, and walked to the kitchen.Xander stood by the counter, flipping pancakes. His movements were smooth and deliberate. Didn’t even look like anything happened the night before.“Morning,” she said softly.He turned with a smile. “Morning. Coffee’s ready.”It was so normal, so kind, that it scared he

The morning at Xander and Ava’s home was quiet, too quiet.Xander stood in the kitchen, staring at the coffee dripping into his cup, watching the steam rise and fade. Every movement he made felt mechanical. The flick of a switch, the scrape of a chair, the sound of Ava’s soft footsteps upstairs. He knew she’d be down in the kitchen with him very soon but he didn’t want to face her just yet. She came down a few minutes later, her hair tied up, face bare but beautiful in that effortless way he’d always loved.“Good Morning,” she said carefully.He looked up, smiled gently, almost convincing. “Morning.”No accusation. No tension. Just calm. It unsettled her more than a fight ever could.They ate breakfast in silence. When she reached for her phone, his gaze flicked there for only a moment— just long enough for him to take in the new lock pattern, the rhythm of her touch on the screen— a tiny, practiced movement she didn’t catch.She excused herself to grab her bag from the bedroom, lea

The clinking of cutlery echoed long after Xander was gone.Ava sat there, alone at the table, staring at the empty chair across from her. Her reflection trembled in the untouched wine glass, mascara streaking down her cheeks. The waiter came by twice. Once to ask if she was done, and again to quietly set the bill down. She didn’t move.When she finally stood, the room tilted. Her legs felt weak. The air outside was cool and biting, smelling of rain.He didn’t come home that night.His side of the bed remained untouched— the sheets were cold, pillow empty. She lay awake till dawn, the silence— a loud noise in her head, her mind circling around his face at the restaurant— calm, almost gentle, before everything shattered.By morning, she was running on fumes. She put on her suit like armor, painted her face with precision, and went to work. The only place she had everything under control, or so she thought. ****TMP’s offices buzzed with murmurs and quiet unease. People talked in whi

The conversations at the dinner table still echoed in her ears long after the dinner table was cleared.The candlelight had died, the air thick with spoken and unspoken truths.Xander was unbuttoning his shirt in the bedroom when she finally spoke. “What the hell was that?”He glanced up, calm as ever. “Dinner?”“Don’t do that,” she said sharply. “Don’t play dumb. You invited Tristan, you talked about exploring. What the hell is going on with you?”Xander didn’t flinch. He sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, looking up at her with unnerving composure.“I’m trying to understand you, Ava.”“Understand me?” she repeated, incredulous. “By humiliating me in front of him?”“I didn’t humiliate you.” His tone was quiet, almost tender. “I gave you freedom. The thing you’ve been craving, even if you won’t admit it.”“Freedom?” She blinked. “I know I have wronged you, I have distasteful things but you have no right to go this far. Are you trying to punish me?”He stood and took a s

The living room of their home was open, airy, and warmly lit by the glow of the fireplace, but emotionally, it was suffocating. Every breath Ava took felt like it was being borrowed, tight in her chest. The walls in the room stood like witnesses waiting for the first crack of secrets to appear.Xander was still beside her on the couch, close enough for his body heat to press against her arm.Tristan sat directly across from them, lounging like he owned the space, like he’d been waiting for this night long before she ever understood what was coming.No one spoke at first. The silence crackled.Ava could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears— loud, frantic, drowning out the faint hum of the crackling fireplace.Tristan broke the silence first with a low chuckle. “So… no turning back now?”Xander’s jaw clenched, but his expression never shifted from that eerily calm mask that he wore.“Should there be?”Ava’s breath shook. “Xander, can we talk? Privately…”His head turned slowly. Some