ON YOUR KNEES, EX-HUSBAND のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Carla~The mansion buzzed loudly like a disturbed beehive.Everywhere I turned, someone was rushing past with clipped instructions and frantic energy. Household staff wheeling in trays of champagne glasses, decorators arguing over floral arrangements, chefs barking orders from the kitchen. The air smelled like sugar, flowers, and expensive cologne, all blended into a suffocating reminder of what this place was preparing to celebrate.An engagement.His engagement.I barely had time to process the bitterness of that thought before a familiar streak of dark hair darted past my legs.“Ryan!” I called, already breaking into a jog.My son’s laughter rang through the corridor, high-pitched and mischievous. He zigzagged between workers with impressive agility for someone his age, his tiny fingers slick with white icing as he made a beeline for the towering cake being assembled near the ballroom entrance.“Ryan, no...don’t you dare!” I hissed, mortified as I flashed apologetic smiles at the s

Carla~I was pleased.More than pleased, actually at how well things seemed to be turning out.A waiter approached me with a polished smile, holding a tray of drinks balanced with effortless grace. I murmured a soft thank you as I accepted a cocktail, the glass cool against my fingers, before moving further into the hall. My heels clicked softly against the marble floor, each step grounding me as I took in my surroundings.The place was breathtaking.High ceilings stretched above me, chandeliers dripping with crystals that caught the light and scattered it in a thousand shimmering reflections. Elegant drapes framed tall windows, beyond which I could glimpse the glow of the illuminated pool outside. Music flowed through the space; smooth, refined, calculated to impress.I wondered, not for the first time, how I had lived in Xavier’s mansion for years without ever knowing a hall like this existed. Or maybe I had known, once, and simply chosen to forget. So much of my life here had been

Carla~He wasn't here!I stood frozen at the doorway of Ryan’s bedroom, my eyes sweeping over the neatly made bed, the toys lined up against the wall, the little shoes by the foot of the bed; everything exactly as I had left it.Except him.My heart stuttered violently.“Ryan?” I called, my voice coming out thin, unsure. I stepped fully into the room, panic already curling tight around my chest. “Baby?”Nothing.The air felt heavier with every second that passed. I rushed to the bed, pulling back the covers as if he might somehow be hiding beneath them, my hands shaking as I searched corners I knew made no sense.He wasn’t there.A sharp, breathless sound tore out of my throat.No. No, no, no.My mind latched onto the last clear image I had of him; Ryan sitting obediently on one of the low stools near the kitchen entrance, legs swinging as he chewed on apple slices, and thanking the elderly maid. I remembered feeling relieved then. Safe enough to step away.That was the last place I’d

Carla~The room was quiet in that fragile, suffocating way that made every breath feel too loud.I stood beside the bed, staring down at Ryan’s still form, my hands clenched into fists at my sides as if letting them relax would somehow make everything fall apart. He hadn’t woken up yet. His lashes rested softly against his cheeks, his lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling in shallow, steady breaths.Breathing. Thank God he was breathing.But it didn’t make the ache in my chest any lighter.The doctor’s words echoed in my head, cruel in their calmness.The drug will wear off. He’ll wake up. All he needs is time.Time.How could time be enough when someone had drugged my child?My vision blurred as tears gathered again, hot and relentless. I reached out and brushed my knuckles against Ryan’s cheek, careful not to wake him if by some miracle he was hovering on the edge of consciousness.“Mommy’s here,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I’m not going anywhere.”Flashes of the nigh

Carla~“She’ll never set eyes on Ryan again.”Those words didn’t just reach me, they tore me open.For a second, everything went eerily quiet. The noise, the chaos, the shouting; it all faded into nothing as something inside my chest snapped clean in two. My struggling stilled, my body going unnaturally rigid.Slowly, I turned my head.Estelle remained seated there, half-hidden behind Xavier, her fingers curled possessively around his arm. Her face was carefully composed, soft concern painted on like a mask but her eyes… her eyes were smiling.And then her lips curved, just barely. A grin so subtle no one else would ever notice it.But I did. I saw it.I understood it.She had done this.Every single thing, the woman in disguise, Ryan being taken, the chaos, the fear...it all traced back to her. She had orchestrated it beautifully, meticulously, and now she was standing there watching me unravel like it was nothing more than a performance staged for her amusement.My vision went red.