All Chapters of Loving my fathers best friend : Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

BellaA few days had passed since Alex reopened the investigation into the accident. On the surface, we continued with our routines. I went to therapy, visited Amie in the NICU, helped Emily with her homework, and prepared the house for our daughter’s arrival. But underneath it all, a heavy, unspoken tension had settled over our home like a thick fog. Alex had become increasingly gloomy and distant. He spent long stretches staring into space with a faraway look in his eyes, lost in thoughts he wouldn’t share with me. I could see the weight pressing down on him the clenched jaw when he thought I wasn’t looking, the restless pacing at night, the way he checked his phone more often than usual.I had asked him twice what was wrong. Both times he gave me the same answer: “It’s nothing, Bella. Don’t worry about it.” But I knew better. It wasn’t nothing. It was the investigation. The new evidence. The shadow of Lauren’s name hanging over everything. Part of me wanted to push to demand he

BellaIt had been exactly one week since Alex walked out of the house after I told him I hated him. Seven days of silence that felt like an eternity. Seven days of waking up to an empty side of the bed, reaching out for warmth that wasn’t there, and crying until my eyes were too swollen to see clearly. I had cried more in this past week than I had since the accident. The regret was a living thing inside me, gnawing at my chest every waking moment and haunting my dreams at night.I lay in our bed now, staring at the ceiling in the early morning light. The sheets still carried a faint trace of his scent, and it made the emptiness sharper. The baby cries had returned louder than ever. Every night when I was alone, I heard them Averys soft whimpers, Amie’s desperate wails. They echoed in my head until I pressed the pillow over my ears and sobbed, begging them to stop. I knew they weren’t real. Dr. Ramirez had taught me grounding techniques, but in the dark, when the house was too quiet, t

Alex The drive away from the cafe felt longer than it should have. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. Bella’s face kept flashing in my mind her tear-filled eyes, the desperate way she had grabbed my hands, the raw apology in her voice as she begged me to come home.Part of me had wanted nothing more than to say yes. To pull her into my arms, kiss her forehead, and drive straight back to the house. To hold her through the night and pretend we could heal together.But for once, I chose myself.I had spent months being strong for her holding her through every breakdown, every hallucination, every night she woke up screaming. I had pushed my own grief down so deep I barely recognized it anymore. Averys loss, the fear for Amie, the constant worry about Emily I had carried it all in silence while Bella fell apart. If I went home now, I would fall back into the same pattern. I needed space. I needed time to grieve my daughter properly. To become the man

AlexThe past few days had been some of the most clarifying and painful of my life. After the emotional meeting at Robert’s house and laying everything out about Lauren, I had thrown myself into solo therapy sessions with Dr. Ramirez. I needed the space to process without the immediate pressure of Bella’s pain or Emily’s questions. In those sessions, I finally allowed myself to grieve Avery properly to feel the full weight of losing my daughter without having to be the strong one for everyone else. I talked about the guilt I carried for not protecting Bella that day, the fear that had kept me awake for weeks, and the anger at Lauren that now burned like acid in my veins.One session in particular stood out. It was my fourth solo appointment. Dr. Ramirez had asked me to close my eyes and visualize the moment I first held Avery's tiny hand in the NICU right after the emergency delivery the one brief moment we had with her before she passed. I had resisted at first, but she guided me ge

The arrest of Lauren sent ripples through the family that no one could have fully prepared for. It happened on a crisp morning three weeks after Alex presented the evidence at Robert’s house. Police arrived at Lauren’s residence with a warrant, cuffing her in front of neighbors as she protested loudly, claiming innocence and framing herself as the victim. The recorded phone call, financial trails, photos of her meetings with the driver, and forensic confirmation of the deliberately cut brake lines proved overwhelming. She was charged with attempted murder, conspiracy, and child endangerment.The legal battles that followed were long and emotionally draining. Alex, with Robert’s full support, hired a formidable legal team. Bella attended every hearing she could, sitting beside Alex with quiet strength even as the details of Lauren’s bitterness were laid bare in court. The prosecution painted a clear picture of jealousy-fueled malice: Lauren’s growing resentment after the divorce, her