All Chapters of I LEFT WHEN HIS EX CAME BACK WITH HIS SON: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

BRANDONThe call from the chief of police came just as I finished signing the last document on my desk. I set my pen aside, answered without looking at the screen, and leaned back in my chair, expecting another routine update.“Mr. Langford,” the chief said, “I wanted you to hear this directly from me. We’ve taken everyone into custody.”I sat up immediately.“The protesters?”“Every one of them. The people involved in the attack outside Mrs. Langford’s apartment have been arrested, and Clara’s friends are also in custody. They’ve already started cooperating with our investigation.”A small breath escaped me.“Good.”“We moved quickly before anyone could disappear.”“You did exactly what needed to be done,” I said as I closed the file on my desk. “People need to understand there are consequences for coming after my family.”“They’re learning that now.”“I appreciate your work, Chief.”“We’ll stay in touch as—”My office door burst open.The loud bang echoed through the room, cutting t

THALIAI stared at him in disbelief.“That’s impossible.”“They identified the driver who hit your car, and according to the investigation, he’d been drinking before he got behind the wheel. They’ve already questioned him, and he’s currently in police custody.”I kept staring at him, certain I’d heard him wrong.“No.”“Thalia…”“No. I know Clara’s car.”His voice remained calm despite the anger rising inside me.“You were seriously injured… you could have been hallucinating.”“I KNOW WHAT I SAW.”The words echoed around the room before silence settled over us again.My breathing became uneven, but I didn’t care.“I saw her car, Brandon. She turned into my lane and drove straight at me. She didn’t lose control, she didn’t try to avoid me, and she never even attempted to brake.”He rubbed a tired hand across his face before speaking again.“That’s not what the investigation is showing.”I laughed.Not because anything was funny, but because I suddenly realized nothing had changed.“So t

THALIAOlivia hadn’t given me the chance to sit alone with depressing thoughts.She’d stayed beside my bed, talking whenever she thought the silence was becoming too loud. Sometimes she complained about work.I hadn’t realized how badly I needed someone who wasn’t asking me questions or trying to convince me I was wrong.A few minutes earlier, her phone had started vibrating across the bedside table.She glanced at the screen, frowned apologetically, and stood up. “I need to take this outside. It’ll only be a minute, okay?”I smiled at her.“I’m not going anywhere.”She pointed toward me as though giving me a warning.“You’d better not.”I laughed softly, and she disappeared into the hallway with the phone pressed to her ear.The room grew quiet again, but it didn’t feel empty.Her handbag was still draped over the chair beside my bed, and the cup of coffee she’d ordered nearly an hour ago sat untouched on the table with a thin film floating across the top. She’d been so focused on ke

THALIASleep came and went in uneven stretches.The medication dulled most of the pain, but it couldn’t quiet the constant sounds of the hospital. I wasn’t fully awake when the voices outside my room pulled me out of another light sleep.At first, I couldn’t make out what was being said. I lay still with my eyes closed, listening as the conversation grew louder, and it wasn’t until I heard Olivia’s voice that I became fully alert.“She’s sleeping. You can’t see her.”I knew immediately who she was talking to.“I won’t stay long,” Brandon replied, his voice quieter than I was used to hearing it. “I just need a minute.”“No.”Olivia’s answer came so quickly that it almost overlapped his words.“I said she’s sleeping, Brandon.”There was a brief silence before he spoke again.“Please.”I hadn’t expected that.For just a second, I almost opened my eyes.Instead, I stayed exactly where I was, keeping my breathing slow and steady while I listened from the bed.“I only want to make sure she

THALIABy the end of the week, I had stopped asking the nurses what Brandon had sent because I already knew another delivery would arrive before the day was over. Yesterday it had been a bouquet of red roses accompanied by an expensive air purifier, the day before that it had been lilies, a rack of comfortable dresses, and a handwritten note wishing me a speedy recovery, and this morning another nurse had wheeled in a flask of homemade porridge surrounded by fresh daisies with yet another card tucked neatly between the flowers. I had long since lost count of the gifts piling up outside my room, but one thing never changed. I never touched any of them, and before the day ended, I always asked the attendants to take everything away.It wasn’t because the flowers weren’t beautiful or because the gifts weren’t thoughtful.It was because I wanted nothing that belonged to Brandon Langford anymore.The attendant had just gathered the daisies into her arms and was heading toward the door w