All Chapters of Ex-husband Wanted an Open Marriage With My Sister: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

I sat on a bench in the police station corridor, my palm pressed against the briefcase holding Olivia's case files. A vending machine at the far end of the hallway hummed lowly.My phone vibrated violently in my pocket. The screen flashed Alexander's number.I answered the call. A shrill burst of sobs came through the receiver, mixed with Daniel's ragged gasps."Mommy, why aren't you home yet!" Daniel shrieked on the line. "Aunt Rita said you went out to buy toys, but it's already dark! You lied to me!"I sat up straight, staring at the public safety notice posted on the wall opposite me. "Daniel, I'm at the police station right now, working on a critical case. There's a young girl a few years older than you who needs my legal aid. I can't come pick you up tonight.""Is that girl more important than me?" Daniel's voice turned hoarse with rage. "You're a terrible mother! Aunt Anna's sick, but she still stays with me. You just keep running off. You never used to be like this. You picked

I knelt down, my fingers hovering two centimetres above Daniel’s knees. He was still trembling, clutching the pink dinosaur so tightly his fingernails dug into its rubber tail.“Daniel.”“Don’t touch me.” He shrank further back into the sofa, his back pressed against the leather armrest. “Go away. Just leave!”“I just rescued a little girl. She was about to be trafficked, never to see her family again.” I pulled my hand away and rested my palm on my own knee. “This isn’t abandoning you. This is what Mum does for work.”“Your job is just to leave me behind.” Daniel hurled the dinosaur onto the floor. Its plastic body bounced and slammed against the leg of the coffee table. “You chose that lady! You chose that man! You pick everyone but me!”I opened my mouth to speak.The guest bedroom door creaked open.Anna leaned against the doorframe, wrapped in a white wool shawl, her face as pale as bleached paper. She coughed twice, pressed her fingertips to her temples, and swayed unsteadily on

At six o’clock in the morning, I opened my eyes. A faint streak of gray-white light seeped through the cracks in the curtains, creating a slender, bright line on the floor.I got up from the bed. The sheets were wrinkled into a ball. That pink dinosaur lay on the bedside table, with its belly facing upwards.I took a shower. I set the water temperature to the coldest level. The water flowed over my neck, creating tiny goosebumps on my skin. I turned off the tap and used a bath towel to dry myself off. The bath towel was of coarse cotton material provided by the hotel; it caused my skin to turn red from the friction.I put on that foggy blue suit. I zipped the shirt up to the highest position. In the mirror, I saw dark blue shadows under my eyes, and my lips were dry and cracked. I used my fingertips to apply some cold water to my lips.7:30 p.m. I walked out of the hotel, carrying my briefcase. The cold wind blew into my collar. I hailed a taxi.“布鲁克林第七警局。”8:15 p.m. I entered the pol

Jenny pushed open the off-white apartment door. The lock was brand new, its brass handle glinting coldly under the hallway lighting. The air carried a blend of disinfectant and aged wall paint—an odor not sharp enough to sting, yet stubbornly clinging to the nostrils once breathed in. The living room was tiny, barely able to fit a faded fabric sofa and a glass coffee table. On the table sat an unopened box of donuts, its paper bag fluttering faintly in the draft from the air conditioner.Olivia huddled in the corner of the sofa, sinking deep into the cushions. She wore an oversized gray hoodie, its sleeves bunched tightly in her clenched fists. The lace on her left sneaker had come undone, trailing across the beige carpet. When she spotted Jenny, her shoulders hitched upward, and she bit down hard on the soft flesh inside her lower lip, leaving a row of pale indentations from her teeth.“I had the dream again,” Olivia spoke, her voice thick and nasal as it forced its way through her n

She pressed her tongue against the upper palate, trying to swallow that bitter taste. A tingling sensation spread along the base of her tongue, as if she had bitten into an underripe persimmon. Olivia held the cup in her hands, her lips close to the rim of the cup, taking a cautious sip. The sweet, sticky liquid of hot cocoa flowed along her tongue. She frowned slightly, rubbing her tongue against the upper palate twice, as if trying to adjust to the overly sweet taste. The marshmallow had melted, forming a thin layer of grease on the brown liquid surface. “I’ll be going to court tomorrow,” Olivia said, her voice muffled inside the paper cup. “Do I need to look into that man’s eyes?” “No.” Jenny placed the black coffee on the coffee table, the bottom of the cup making a clear clink. She stood up and walked over to the window, turning her back on Olivia. The morning light streamed in from behind her, casting a long shadow on the floor.“Look at me. I have only five questions for you. On