All Chapters of After The Divorce: He Wanted Me Back: Chapter 51 - Chapter 57

Isabella Gabriel’s eyes found mine instantly, his expression unreadable—then something flickered there. Surprise. Concern. Maybe even guilt.“Isabella,” he said quietly.Emily straightened, her polite smile snapping back into place a beat too late. “Oh—I didn’t realize you were still here.”“I was just leaving,” I replied, my voice calm despite the sharp twist tightening in my chest.The lie sat bitter on my tongue. I hadn’t planned to leave like this—heart racing, thoughts colliding—but suddenly I couldn’t stand another second in that hallway.I didn’t wait for a response.“I’ll see myself out,” I added, already turning away.“Isabella—wait,” Gabriel called after me.I didn’t.My steps were quick, almost uneven as I moved down the hall toward the living room. Each word I’d overheard echoed in my head, louder with every step.Guide her.She’s the only one she’ll listen to.Advantages. Strategy. Deal.So that was it.Not concern.Not support.Not trust.Leverage.By the time I reached

Isabella The first thing I felt was heat.Not warmth—fire.It burned in my chest, my throat, my veins, consuming every trace of shock and replacing it with something sharper, uglier.Rage.I pushed myself upright in the hospital bed so suddenly that the movement startled everyone in the room.“No,” I said hoarsely. “No—don’t look at me like that.”Gabriel took a step toward me instinctively, his eyes red, swollen, completely undone.“Isabella—”“STOP SAYING MY NAME!” I screamed.The sound echoed off the sterile walls, raw and cracked, but I didn’t care. My hands were shaking. My entire body felt like it was vibrating with something violent and uncontrollable.“Do you have any idea,” I said, my voice trembling with fury, “how cruel it is to stand there and look at me like you’re the one who lost something?”Gabriel flinched as if I’d struck him.Margaret stood up abruptly. “Isabella, please—”“No,” I snapped, cutting her off without even looking at her. “You don’t get to calm me down.

Gabriel Dinner ended the way Thorne dinners always did—polite smiles stretched thin, conversation circling safely around nothing that mattered.Isabella sat across from me, her posture composed but her eyes distant. She laughed at the right moments, nodded when Margaret spoke, but I could feel the tension in her even without touching her. She was holding herself together out of sheer will.When the plates were cleared and the last glasses of wine refilled, Father stood from his chair, already buttoning his jacket.“Gabriel,” he said calmly. “Emily. Come with me to the office.”The tone wasn’t a request.Emily rose immediately, smoothing the front of her blouse, her expression bright and expectant. I caught Isabella’s gaze just before I stood. There was a question there—quiet, unspoken.Will this take long?I gave her a look meant to reassure.“Stay here,” I murmured. “I’ll be back shortly.”She hesitated, then nodded.The walk to Father’s office was quiet, save for the muted sounds o

Isabella I dreamed of her. Tiny fingers curling around mine, soft warmth pressed against my chest, the sound of a heart beating so small it barely existed in the world—but it existed. I held the baby in my arms, felt the weight of her life between my hands, and I promised I would never let go.Then the dream twisted. The warmth vanished, replaced by a cold, hollow emptiness. I tried to cradle the small body, but it slipped through my fingers, and the cry that should have filled the room never came. My throat closed, my lungs refused air, and I woke gasping, heart hammering, hands reaching instinctively for something that wasn’t there.The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beep of the monitors by my bed. Soft morning light filtered through the blinds, painting lines across the floor. The dream clung to me, suffocating, unbearable, and I pressed my face into the pillow, wishing—praying—it had never happened.“Isa?”Elias’s voice was careful, soft, gentle. I lifted my head,