All Chapters of After The Divorce: Ex-Husband Regrets And Begs Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Celestine Valancourt stood in the bathroom of her penthouse apartment, her bare feet cold against the imported marble floor, staring at a little plastic stick that had just completely and utterly rearranged her entire universe. There were two little pink lines staring back at her. Two little lines that seemed to be glowing like neon signs, like a message from God, or maybe just from the Universe, or maybe just from the drugstore down the street where she had nervously purchased the test that morning, hiding it in her coat pocket like a teenager.She was thirty five years old, married for three years to one of the most eligible bachelors in the city, and she was pretty sure this was the first time since her wedding day that she had felt something that wasn't heavy or just plain sad. This feeling was just pure. It was bright. It was like sunshine after a really really long and gray and miserable winter.Her hand drifted down to her stomach, which still looked exactly the same as it alwa

Kier Thornwell looked like he belonged on a magazine cover even when he was just standing in an elevator. Thirty eight years old. Strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. Eyes so dark brown they looked black. A mouth that rarely smiled, but when it did, women forgot their own names. Six foot two. Carried himself like someone who had never been told no.Because he hadn't. When you're a Thornwell, people say yes.He was CEO of Thornwell Industries now. Three years since his father died and left him the whole empire. He ran it well. Stock price up. Acquisitions smart. Public loved him. The magazines called him a grieving son who stepped up, a handsome young billionaire who worked hard and played hard.Women threw themselves at him constantly. Awkward because he was married. But not awkward enough to stop anything.**This morning he stood in his office on the forty seventh floor of the Thornwell Tower, looking out at the city below him. He felt pretty good. Closed a deal worth eighty million an

Celestine started cooking at three in the afternoon, flour on her hands, music playing low from her phone and the smell of tomatoes and garlic filling the whole penthouse.She made the sauce from scratch, the way her grandmother taught her when she was maybe ten years old. She rolled out the pasta into thin ribbons. She set the table with candles and the good plates and flowers she bought from the lady on the corner.At five o'clock, she showered and put on a simple white dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and practiced saying the words out loud."I'm pregnant.""We're going to have a baby.""Kier, I'm pregnant."Each time, her voice cracked a little. But she kept practicing until it sounded almost normal.At six thirty, she texted him again since he didn't call her when she rang his office some hours ago: "Made your favorite. Coming home soon?"No response.At seven, she called. It went straight to voicemail.She told herself he was busy. He would come. He always came eventua

Kier came home around two in the morning.Celestine woke up to the sound of his voice. Not because he was loud but because she was always listening for him. Even in her sleep. Even after all the nights he didn't come home. Her body had learned to wait for him. Her ears had learned to pick out his footsteps in the hallway, his keys in the lock, his voice in the dark.She lay still in the bed, her hand on her stomach, her heart doing that stupid hopeful thing it always did. He was home. He was here. Maybe tonight, after she told him about the baby, everything would change.But then she realized he wasn't alone.He was on the phone. And he was in the living room. And he didn't know she was awake.She sat up slowly. Her feet touched the cold floor. The marble was freezing under her toes. She was still wearing the white dress from dinner. She hadn't changed. She had fallen asleep waiting for him, curled on top of the covers, her phone still in her hand.She walked to the bedroom door. The

"Say something," he said.She almost laughed. Say something. He wanted her to say something. After everything. After two years of lies. After another woman's baby. After she stood in the doorway and heard him say she didn't deserve kindness."What do you want me to say?" she whispered."I don't know. Something."She looked at him. The sharp jaw. The dark eyes. The mouth that had kissed her goodnight and kissed another woman good morning."I hope she's worth it," she said.He blinked. Something flickered across his face. Annoyance, maybe. Or guilt. She couldn't tell. She didn't care."She is," he said.The words hit her like a slap.She nodded slowly. Okay. Fine. She didn't need to hear anything else.She turned and walked away.**She went to the bedroom. Her legs were shaking. Her hands were shaking. Everything was shaking.She opened the closet. Grabbed her old green coat. The one she'd had since college. The one he always told her to throw away because it was ratty and old. She gr