All Chapters of After The Divorce: Ex-Husband Regrets And Begs Me: Chapter 271 - Chapter 280

280 Chapters

I Will Try

ISABELLE VALANCOURT'S POV: We got married just two years later in the spring. I was twenty, and he was twenty-two. We didn't want a massive, showy event, so we held a small ceremony right in the garden behind my parents' house, surrounded by fresh summer roses, close friends, and the family members who actually mattered to us. He held both of my hands in his, looked me in the eyes, and promised to love me for every single day of his life. He kept that promise. He kept it every single day, without fail, for over fifty years. August shifts slightly under the heavy blankets, letting out a soft sigh. His eyelids flutter for a moment before his eyes slowly open. He looks right at me, and even now, with his body so weak and tired, the way he looks at me still makes my chest feel tight and my heart skip a beat. "Isabelle," he rasps. His voice is raspy and weak, barely louder than a whisper. "I am right here," I say softly, leaning closer so he doesn't have to strain. "I am right be

The Desire I Buried

ALISTAIR'S POV:The private jet cuts through the thick clouds like a sharp knife slicing clean through silk.I am sitting back in the oversized leather seat right next to the window, staring out at the endless stretch of blue sky and bright white fluff below us. Down in the belly of the plane, the engines noise away on a low, steady note that is supposed to put a passenger at ease.It is not putting me at ease. Nothing could put me at ease right now. My heart is pounding against my ribs so hard that I can hear the blood rushing through my ears. My palms are completely wet with sweat. My stomach is churning in tight knots, and every few seconds, I genuinely feel like I am about to throw up.I have not been back to my family's house in seven whole years.Seven long years of running away from my problems. Seven years of hiding behind busy schedules and high-rise offices. Seven years of lying to myself, pretending that I was completely fine, that I had moved on with my life, and tha

Still in Love

ALISTAIR'S POV:She was wearing a simple yellow dress that day, nothing fancy or over the top, but she looked so incredible that she could have walked straight off a magazine cover. Her dark hair was falling down around her shoulders in big waves, and her bright green eyes were full of life. She was laughing out loud at some silly joke Hope made on the porch, her head thrown back, her shoulders shaking with the kind of loud, honest laugh that made me unknownly fall completely in love with her years before.I wanted so badly to step forward, grab her by the hand, and kiss her right there in front of everyone. I wanted to tell her that I loved her more than anything else in the world. I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist and never let her go again.But I was way too scared to do anything. I was too shy, too awkward, and completely terrified that she would push me away or look at me like I was a monster.Keeping my feelings a secret for all those years had made me quiet and weir

My Forbidden Longing

ALISTAIR'S POV:The touchdown on the runway is smooth, far too smooth for how messy I feel on the inside. The heavy rubber tires hit the dark pavement with barely a small bump, and the jet engines reverse with a loud roar, slowing the plane down as we turn off the main strip. The quiet cabin fills with the hum of the aircraft systems slowly powering down for the day.I reach down with trembling fingers, unbuckle my seatbelt, and stand up on stiff legs. I take a few steps down the narrow aisle toward the exit door.My legs feel weak, almost like rubber. My hands are shaking so badly that I have to shove them deep into my coat pockets just to hide it. My entire body is buzzing with a deep, heavy fear that I can barely name.The main cabin door opens with a loud hiss, and the metal stairs fold out down to the wet ground below. I step through the opening and take my first breath of cold London air in seven years.The sky overhead is heavy and dark gray, looking exactly the way it alw

The Homecoming

ELARA'S POV: The garden is quiet this afternoon. I have been standing here on the grass for at least an hour, my shoes slowly sinking into the damp dirt. My eyes stay fixed on the front gate, barely blinking. My heart has been pounding against my ribs for so long that my whole chest aches, around me, the roses are blooming. Pink and deep red petals soft and fragrant in the warm afternoon air. Over by the stone wall, the fountain is splashing softly, dripping water into the small pool below. Somewhere up in the oak trees, the birds are singing their usual songs. I do not notice any of it. I cannot focus on the flowers or the water or the birds. I cannot focus on anything except that iron gate at the end of the driveway. He is coming. After seven whole years, he is finally coming home. I smoothed down the front of my dress for the hundredth time. It is a simple white cotton dress, light and thin. I spent almost an hour in front of my bedroom mirror choosing it earlier. I trie

The Pull Between Us

ELARA'S POV:He still has those same intense gray eyes as his father. The same sharp cheekbones. The same strong, square jaw. But there is something totally different about him now. Something harder in the way he stands. Something colder in his face. Something that makes him look like he has seen too much and felt too much over the last seven years, and that he has learned to hide all of it behind a blank wall.He is handsome. So handsome it almost hurts to look at him. I think I forgot just how handsome he really was.He turns his head and sees me standing by the rose bushes. He freezes in his tracks. His hand stays resting on the open car door.We just stand there, staring at each other. Neither one of us moves a muscle.The rest of the world around us completely fades away. The rest of the garden disappears. The birds stop singing in the trees. The fountain stops splashing behind me. There is no sound left at all. There is only him and me, and the seven years of total silence

When Our Eyes Met Again

ALISTAIR'S POV:The second my eyes hit her, everything else around us disappears.The drive from the airport was long and quiet. I spent the entire ride in the back of the car trying to prepare myself for this exact moment. I have been preparing for it for seven years. I rehearsed every word I would say. I planned out what I would do with my hands, how I would walk, and how I would keep my face calm and controlled so she would never know the truth.But nothing I planned could have ever prepared me for the actual reality of her standing there.She is standing in the middle of the garden, right near the rose bushes. She is wearing a simple white dress that flows around her knees, making her look like she belongs in an old painting. Her long dark hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders. Her dark green eyes are wide and bright, staring right back at me, full of emotions that I cannot read.She is even more beautiful than I remember. She is more beautiful than any old photo I kep

Love Left Unspoken

ALISTAIR'S POV:Dinner is pure torture.That is the only word for it. Total, unending torture. I am sitting at the long dining table in the main hall of Ashcroft Manor, surrounded by my family. I am surrounded by the exact same warmth, loud laughter, and mild mess that I spent seven long years running away from.My mother sits at the far head of the table, her face completely bright with happiness. My father sits right beside her, his gray eyes warm with a pride he barely bothers to hide anymore. On my left, my little sister Hope is chattering away nonstop about her school, her friends, her art classes, and whatever new random interest has caught her attention this week.And right across from me, Elara is sitting in her chair.She is wearing a thin, light dress that shows off her collarbones, the curve of her neck, and her pale shoulders. The soft fabric is a very light shade of blue, the kind of color that makes her skin look like it is practically glowing under the dining room

Too Close to You

ALISTAIR'S POV: Hope leans way forward over the table, resting her elbows right on the wood. "Can I see it? Do you have the blue prototypes on your laptop? Can you show me how the arm sensors read muscle movements?" I manage to pull my mouth into a small smile. "Maybe later this weekend, Hope. It is pretty complicated stuff." She rolls her eyes and pouts. "I am thirteen now, Alistair. I am not a little kid anymore. I can understand hard math." Elara breaks into another quiet laugh from across the table. "Hope, you are still thirteen. You are definitely still a kid." "I am not," Hope says, crossing her arms over her chest and slouching back into her seat. "I am basically a teenager, which means I am practically an adult." I look right back at Elara. She is still smiling, her eyes warm and crinkled at the corners, her lips turned up into a soft, genuine grin. She looks totally relaxed. She looks like she completely belongs in this house, surrounded by the people who care abo

My Greatest Weakness

ALISTAIR'S POV:Her voice is low enough that the rest of the table does not hear her over my father's story about the wine. Her green eyes are fixed on mine, full of quiet curiosity.I shake my head once. "No. Nothing is wrong. I am fine.""You barely touched your food," she points out, looking down at my plate before looking back up at my face. "You seem really far away.""I am just tired," I lie, keeping my voice as flat as possible. "It was a very long flight from New York, and I did not sleep much last night."She gives a slow nod, but she does not look convinced. She stays quiet, her eyes scanning my face, staring at my jaw and my forehead like she is trying to read a hard message written under my skin.I cannot take the intensity of her look. I turn my head away, pick up my glass, and take another long drink of wine."Tell me about your life in New York," Elara says a few minutes later, turning her body slightly toward me. "I read all the news articles about your company.

...

23 24 25 26 27 28

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP