All Chapters of THE BARREN EX-WIFE WHO CAME BACK: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

VANESSA'S POV "Tell me, Vanessa—does my brother fuck you better than I do?" I froze in the doorway. I'd just come back from the hospital. The pain from the miscarriage I'd had six months ago still hadn't gone away, and today it had been unbearable. I'd been vomiting and feeling pain in my stomach for hours. The doctor had run several tests, examining me while I tried not to break down on that cold table. And now my husband stood in our living room asking me something that didn't make any sense. "What?" I whispered. Sebastian turned around, and the look on his face stopped my heart. I'd never seen him look at me like this—with pure hatred and disgust, as if I were the most vile thing he'd ever seen. That's when I noticed he was shirtless. His hair was also messy and wet, as though he'd just stepped out of the shower, but there was something else. He looked as though he'd just had sex. I pushed the thought away immediately. He'd probably just worked out or something, and I was

VANESSA'S POV I opened my eyes to blinding white light and the steady beeping of machines. My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache that seemed to pulse in rhythm with whatever was beeping nearby. I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision, and slowly the blurred shapes above me began to sharpen into faces. Nurses in their uniforms, and a doctor in a white coat—all of them staring down at me with expressions I couldn't quite read. Panic clawed at my chest. Where was I? What happened to me? Why were all these people hovering over me? "She's awake," someone announced, their voice cutting through the fog in my brain. I tried to sit up, but pain exploded through my entire body—my head, my ribs, my legs—forcing me back down against the pillow with a sharp gasp. "W-where am I..." My voice came out hoarse and weak, barely above a whisper. My heart started racing and the monitor beside me beeped faster. There were still too many people in the room and I couldn't breathe

SEVEN YEARS LATER SEBASTIAN'S POV Divorcing Vanessa was the smartest thing I had ever done. My ex-wife had been a mistake from the very beginning, and I had known it three months into the marriage. I spent the next three years trying to convince myself otherwise, but the truth was undeniable. She had just been a waitress with no family, no connections, and no ability to give me children. I had wasted three years of my life on a woman who brought absolutely nothing to the table. When I finally signed those divorce papers and handed them to her in that hospital room, it felt like I had put down something heavy I had been carrying for far too long. She signed them with shaking hands, tears streaming down her face, and I walked out without looking back. I never thought about her again. She disappeared after that, which was exactly what I had expected. She had taken the NDA money, understood what it meant, and vanished without a single attempt to resurface. That had been the right d

VANESSA'S POV Seven years. It had been seven years since Sebastian Lancaster shattered my entire world, and now I was standing in his boardroom about to return the favor. Seven years ago, Sebastian had destroyed me so completely I did not recognize myself in the mirror. He had called me barren, useless, and a failure as a wife. He had slept with my best friend and blamed me for a sex tape I had never made. Then he had thrown divorce papers in my face while I recovered from being hit by a car. But that broken girl was dead now. I had rebuilt myself into someone stronger. The woman standing in this boardroom wore a red Valentino dress that cost more than most people's monthly rent. I owned a mansion in Manhattan, a thriving event-planning company trusted by billionaires and world leaders, and enough money in my accounts to never worry again. And I was about to rip Sebastian's entire empire away from him. I had signed a contract marriage with Nicholas seven years ago in that hospit

VANESSA'S POV My hands gripped the edge of the sink as I stared at my reflection. My makeup was still perfect, my hair still in place—I looked exactly like the woman who'd walked into this building an hour ago, confident and untouchable. Sebastian wouldn't break me. Not again. I fixed a strand of hair, straightened my dress, and took a deep breath. The elevator ride down gave me time to compose myself completely. By the time the doors slid open to the lobby, I was calm and collected. I heard voices—lots of them—along with the unmistakable sound of cameras clicking and reporters shouting questions. There was a crowd gathered near the entrance, and Nicholas stood in the center of it all, surrounded by microphones and recording devices, looking completely at ease as though he'd been born for this. It seemed the news of his return had spread worldwide. Nicholas was even giving a speech to the media. "—the transition will be smooth," he was saying to a reporter. "I have deep respe