All Chapters of I LEFT WHEN HIS EX CAME BACK WITH HIS SON: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

BRANDONMy feet carried me toward the master bedroom immediately after Clara left.For a long moment, I remained standing at the entrance, letting my eyes travel across the room.I swallowed hard and walked farther inside.There had been a time when she’d sit on the edge of the bed every morning, after arranging my fit for the day.I used to complain.Now I’d give anything to hear her complain about me ignoring her one more time.A bitter smile crossed my face before disappearing just as quickly.I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and began searching through the neatly stacked files inside. Contracts, financial reports, property documents… I moved each folder aside until my fingers brushed against a large brown envelope tucked beneath everything else.I froze.For a second, I simply stared at it.I already knew what was inside.Slowly, I pulled the envelope out and laid it on the desk.The words Petition for Dissolution of Marriage stared back at me before I’d even opened it.I cl

BRANDON By the time I got home, my head was pounding so badly that every passing thought felt like another hammer striking against my skull. If Thalia had screamed at me or thrown something across the room earlier, I would've known how to respond. But she'd done none of those things. That was what haunted me. "Damn it!" How had I been so blind? The irony was that, technically, the divorce wasn't even final yet. My lawyer had explained that to me earlier. Sixty days. That was how long we had to wait before the divorce could officially be finalized. I'd understood every word he'd said. The court had issued the order, and Thalia would be notified through the proper channels. There was nothing I could do about that. And, if I was being honest with myself, I didn't want her to know. I don’t want her thinking I was making her stuck to me again knowing how much she wanted us to be over. Maybe that made me a coward. Then a knock sounded against the bedroom door before it opene

THALIA If someone had told me two weeks ago that I'd be completely out of the hospital, cleared by my doctor, and on my way to spend a week at the hockey team's annual camp, I probably would've laughed in their face and told them to stop making jokes. Back then, walking across a room without feeling exhausted had seemed impossible, and there were days when I genuinely believed my life had come to a standstill. Funny enough, it wasn't the fact that our divorce was almost done that had given me peace. It was finally accepting that I couldn't keep waiting for my marriage to become something it had never been. The divorce wasn't even final yet. I knew that. There were still sixty days before Brandon and I would officially stop being husband and wife. When my lawyer had explained the waiting period to me, I'd expected the knowledge to make everything harder. Instead, it had done the opposite. For the first time, I had hope. A definite point at which I could finally close that cha

BRANDON I had already spent the better part of the afternoon sitting through meetings with the club executives, discussing sponsorships, facility upgrades, and a dozen other things that normally would’ve held my attention. And yes, I was invited because I’ve been Ravens Elite's biggest sponsor. I held on to sponsoring them even after they refused to partner with Langford pharmaceuticals just so I could have an excuse to see Thalia once in a while. Seeing her again after everything that had happened between us had unsettled me far more than I cared to admit. She’d looked… different. Not because she’d changed physically, although she looked healthier than the last time I’d seen her in the hospital. The bruises were gone, the exhaustion that had once shadowed her face had faded, and there was a quiet confidence about the way she carried herself that hadn’t been there before. She looked lighter. As though she’d finally laid down a burden she’d been carrying for years.

THALIAAdrian remained beside me for a few moments after Brandon disappeared into the darkness, his eyes following the same path mine had unconsciously settled on. Neither of us spoke immediately, and I was grateful for that because I wasn't entirely sure what I was feeling. "Are you okay?" Adrian asked quietly, turning to look at me.I met his eyes and offered him a small smile."I'm okay."He studied my face for another second, almost as though he was trying to decide whether he believed me."You don't have to pretend with me.""I'm not pretending." I rested my forearms against the wooden railing and looked out across the lake, where the lights from the party shimmered on the water. "I really am okay."He nodded slowly, but I could tell there was still a question sitting at the back of his mind."What is it?" I asked.He hesitated for a moment before speaking."Would it be wrong if I asked how you felt talking to Brandon just now?"I let out a quiet breath and smiled to myself."N