บททั้งหมดของ Ex-Wife Returns With Secret Baby : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

“You look like you haven’t slept.”Elara lifted her eyes at the sound of Adrian’s voice. He stood a few steps away, holding two paper cups of coffee, his posture careful—like someone afraid of stepping too close to fragile glass.“I slept,” she replied, though her voice lacked conviction.Adrian didn’t argue. He handed her one of the cups anyway. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”Elara wrapped her fingers around the warm cup, letting the heat seep into her palms. They were sitting on the wooden bench in the small park not far from her house. The morning air was cool, carrying the scent of wet grass and early sunlight.For a moment, neither of them spoke.“I was thinking,” Adrian said gently, staring ahead instead of at her, “if you need a place to breathe… I know a quiet cabin outside the city. Nothing fancy. Just trees. Silence.”Elara’s grip tightened slightly.“I’m not running away,” she said immediately.“I didn’t say you were,” Adrian replied calmly. “I’m not asking you to esc

“Mom… is Uncle Liam going to leave again?”Devano’s voice was small, hesitant, the kind of question that carried more fear than curiosity. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, clutching the edge of the wall as if it could keep him steady.Elara froze.She had been washing dishes, her hands submerged in warm water, her mind drifting somewhere far from the present. At Devano’s words, the glass slipped slightly in her grip, clinking softly against the sink.She turned slowly, forcing a gentle expression onto her face.“Why would you ask that?” she said, trying to keep her tone light.Devano shrugged, but his eyes betrayed him. “Because he doesn’t sleep here anymore. And because when grown-ups stop talking, they usually leave.”Elara felt something crack inside her chest.Before she could answer, small footsteps padded into the kitchen. Aria appeared, hugging a worn stuffed rabbit against her chest, her hair slightly messy from sleep.“She asked about him too,” Devano added quietly.Ar

“I didn’t come to change your mind.”Adrian’s voice was calm, almost too calm for the weight of what hung between them.Elara paused mid-step at the garden gate and turned back slowly. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, scattering soft light across the small backyard where Adrian stood, hands in his coat pockets, posture careful—like someone afraid to cross an invisible line.“You didn’t have to come at all,” Elara said quietly.“I know,” Adrian replied. “But I wanted to make sure you were okay.”She let out a tired breath and leaned against the wooden railing. “I’m… surviving.”Adrian gave a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That sounds like you.”Silence followed, gentle but heavy. Birds chirped somewhere above them, oblivious to the fragile balance unfolding below.Elara finally spoke again. “If this is about what you said before—about your feelings—”“It’s not,” Adrian interrupted quickly, then softened his tone. “At least, not in the way you think.”She st

“I’m sorry.”The words left Liam’s mouth before he fully understood how hollow they would sound.Elara paused in the middle of folding laundry. Her hands stilled, gripping the edge of a white shirt—his shirt. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at him. Not with anger. Not with hope.With caution.They stood in the narrow space of the bedroom, sunlight filtering through half-closed curtains, dust floating quietly between them. It felt like the kind of moment that should heal something.But instead, it cracked further.“For what?” Elara asked quietly.Liam swallowed. He had rehearsed this in his head all morning. A thousand versions. None of them felt right now that he was here, facing her eyes—eyes that had once trusted him without question.“For… everything,” he said. “For being angry. For leaving. For saying things I shouldn’t have.”Elara nodded once, slowly, as if absorbing the list. “That’s vague.”He frowned. “I’m trying, Elara.”“I know,” she replied. “But trying isn’t the sa

The Man Who Waits“I’ll just leave this here.”Adrian’s voice was calm, almost careful, as he set a paper bag on the small table near the door. The scent of warm bread and soup slowly filled the living room.Elara stood a few steps away, arms loosely crossed, unsure what to say.“You didn’t have to,” she said finally.“I know,” Adrian replied with a faint smile. “That’s why I wanted to.”There was no expectation in his eyes. No question hanging in the air. Just presence.Elara noticed that immediately—and it unsettled her in a way she couldn’t explain.It had been three days since the night she slept on the couch.Three days of quiet routines, careful conversations, and an ache that never quite left her chest.Liam came and went like a guest now. Polite. Distant. Watching her too closely, yet afraid to step closer.And Adrian… Adrian simply waited.He didn’t ask why she looked tired.Didn’t ask where Liam was.Didn’t ask what she planned to do.He just showed up when he said he would,