Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ex-Wife Returns With Secret Baby : Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

The house didn’t feel like a home anymore.It felt like a place where words went to hide.Elara stood near the kitchen counter, her fingers resting against the cold surface as if anchoring herself. The clock on the wall ticked too loudly, each second scraping against her nerves. She had rehearsed this moment in her head a hundred times, yet now that Liam was standing a few steps away, all those practiced sentences scattered like dust.Liam took off his jacket slowly and placed it on the chair. His movements were controlled, almost careful—like a man handling something fragile without knowing where the cracks were.“You wanted to talk,” he said.Not What’s wrong?Not Are you okay?Just that.Elara inhaled deeply. “Yes.”She turned to face him fully. His eyes looked tired, rimmed with shadows that spoke of sleepless nights and thoughts left unresolved. Once, that sight would have softened her immediately. Tonight, it only made her chest ache.“I can’t keep doing this,” she said quietly.

Elara woke before dawn, not because of noise, but because of a weight pressing against her chest.It was the kind of heaviness that came after too many nights of holding things in. Her body felt tired in a way sleep couldn’t fix. She lay still for a long moment, listening to the quiet breathing of the house, to the faint hum of the refrigerator, to the distant sound of a car passing by somewhere far away.No footsteps.No familiar presence.She sat up slowly and wrapped her arms around herself.So this is what choosing myself feels like, she thought. Lonely. But honest.In the kitchen, she made coffee she barely drank. The mug stayed warm in her hands as she stared out the window, watching the sky change colors. Morning always arrived whether hearts were ready or not.Her phone buzzed.Elara froze.For a second, she didn’t want to look. Hope had become a dangerous thing—sharp, unreliable. When she finally turned the screen over, she saw a name she hadn’t expected so soon.Liam.One me

“Mom, can I pour the cereal myself?” Devano’s voice cut through the kitchen, a little too loud for the early morning.Elara turned from the sink, water still running over her fingers. “Careful,” she said. “Last time you flooded the table.”“I didn’t flood it,” Devano protested, already tilting the box. “It was an accident.”Aria giggled from her chair, swinging her legs. “It was a flood.”Elara reached over, steadying the box before cereal spilled everywhere. “Teamwork,” she murmured, guiding Devano’s hands. The cereal landed neatly in the bowl. Milk followed, only a few drops escaping onto the counter.She wiped the spill with a cloth, her movements calm, unhurried. There was no raised voice behind her, no sharp sigh, no tension waiting to explode over something small. Just the hum of the refrigerator, the soft clink of spoon against ceramic, the sound of a morning that didn’t feel like it was holding its breath.That was what startled her most.The silence.It wasn’t heavy. It wasn’

“Mom, you forgot your scarf.”Elara turned just as Aria ran toward her, the knitted scarf trailing behind like a small banner. Elara laughed softly, crouching to meet her halfway.“Did I?” she said, taking it. “What would I do without you?”Aria grinned, then grew serious. “You’d be cold.”“That would be terrible,” Elara agreed, wrapping the scarf around her neck.Behind them, the front door clicked shut. Adrian stood on the porch, keys in hand, watching the small exchange with a quiet smile.“Everything ready?” he asked.Elara nodded. “I’ll walk them to the gate.”“I’ll wait,” Adrian said simply, stepping back to give her space.That—that—was the difference she kept noticing lately. No hovering. No pressure disguised as concern. Just presence when needed, absence when not.As they walked, Devano lagged behind, kicking a pebble along the pavement.“Mom,” he said suddenly. “Are you and Dad… still mad at each other?”Elara stopped.Adrian paused a few steps ahead, immediately turning hi

“Mom, you’re doing it again.”Elara froze with her phone halfway to the counter. “Doing what?”Devano tilted his head, watching her with unsettling accuracy. “Staring like you’re somewhere else.”Elara forced a smile and set the phone down. “I’m just thinking.”“About Dad?” Aria asked from the table, legs swinging.The word Dad still hit a fragile place. Elara inhaled slowly. “About a lot of things.”Devano didn’t push. He just nodded and went back to his cereal, but the quiet understanding in his eyes lingered far longer than Elara wanted.Across town, Liam slammed the trunk of his car harder than necessary.“Damn it,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.He hadn’t slept. Not really. His mind kept replaying the way Elara had stood between him and Adrian—calm, tired, unbroken. Different from the woman he used to know. Stronger. Further away.His phone buzzed.Mom: You were seen with her again.Liam exhaled sharply and didn’t reply.Another message followed almost immediately.