All Chapters of My Prodigal Ex-Husband Wants Me Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

42 Chapters

PROLOGUE

“Strip!” I blinked up from the page, the word hanging in the air as he stood just inside the doorway, one hand still on the knob. “What?” “I said strip,” he repeated, slower this time, the door clicking shut behind him with a soft finality that made my stomach flip. Elias was clearly drunk. But the statement still took me by surprise because the last time he’d made any kind of advance toward me was eight months ago. This was certainly out of the ordinary. He shrugged out of his suit jacket, swaying just slightly in the doorway, and let it drop onto the armchair by the window, the top two buttons of his shirt already undone. The city lights outside painted faint orange stripes across the ceiling, but they didn’t reach the bed. Here, it was just me, the lamp, and the sudden, electric weight of his stare. “Elias,” I managed, my voice steadier than I felt as the book stayed open on my thighs. “You’re drunk.” He took one step closer. Then another. The floorboards creaked

CHAPTER 1: Midnight Lover

TWO MONTHS LATER °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ The bell above the bakery door gave its familiar cheerful jingle as I approached the glass counter, scanning the rows of golden cookies until my eyes landed on the one I wanted. “The brown one,” I said softly to the girl behind the counter, pointing. She smiled, already reaching for the tongs. “One Midnight Lover, coming right up!” Midnight what? Me and Elias were a far cry from what you’d call lovers, though. Still, I ducked my head a little, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my flushed ear. “Yes… that one, please.” She didn’t seem to notice my embarrassment, or if she did, she was kind enough not to comment. She slipped the cookie into a small white box, tied it with a thin red ribbon, and handed it over with a cheerful, “Enjoy your weekend.” I paid quickly, murmuring my thanks, and stepped back out into the crisp afternoon air. Today was our third wedding anniversary, and I’d decided to surprise him with a box of his favorite dark

CHAPTER 2: Nothing Prepares You

Nothing prepares you for it. Not the therapy books stacked on your nightstand, not the whispered warnings from your married friends over too many glasses of cheap wine, not even the goddamn movies where the betrayed wife always looks flawless while she hurls a vase at the cheater’s head. I swear to every fucked-up god listening, nothing in this world arms you for the moment you catch your husband balls-deep in your own twin sister. Nothing in the fucking world. No matter how many times the nightmare version of it had played on repeat in my head during those sleepless nights when Elias came home smelling like “late meetings.” Nothing prepared me for this. I stood frozen in the doorway of our bedroom, the paper bag of anniversary cookies still warm against my hip. The stupid red ribbon cutting into my palm as the air hung heavy with his sweat and the favorite cologne he only wore when he wanted to impress someone. This time, that someone just happened to be my sister. Get

CHAPTER 3: Did You Provoke Him?

Easier… Easier? I had spent nearly my whole life loving Elias even though it was never really reciprocated, hoping one day he would finally notice me. That even though I was only ever Clara’s replacement, I could still make him happy. That soon he would realize Clara had intended to leave him standing at that altar, and that even though he had loved her with every piece of himself, he could learn to love me too. I had built our entire marriage on that fragile, stupid hope — baking his favorite cookies at dawn, wearing the dresses he liked, swallowing every late night and half-hearted kiss like they were proof that my love would eventually be enough. How the hell was I supposed to just stop? If it was easier, I would have walked away years ago when the late nights started piling up and his touches turned from polite to distant. I wouldn’t be standing here right now with my chest cracking open and a bag of anniversary cookies clutched in my fist like some pathetic trophy of

CHAPTER 4: And Whose Fault Is That?

The door creaked open wider, and I slipped past her into the familiar hallway that still smelled like lemon polish and whatever pie she had baking in the oven. Mom closed the door behind us with a quiet click, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall like she was bracing for whatever mess I had dragged in. “This is why I told you to give birth to an heir,” she said in a flat matter-of-fact way. My tears stopped for a second, just long enough for the words to sink in like a slap I hadn’t seen coming. I knew Clara had always been their favorite—the golden twin, the bold one, the one who could do no wrong even when she left a man at the altar—but I couldn’t believe my own mother was… I stared at her, mouth dry, heart hammering against my ribs. “Are you actually putting the blame on me?” The question scraped out, small and stunned. She didn’t even blink. “If you had given birth, you would have known your standing in the marriage. An heir cements a wife’s place. It gives h

CHAPTER 5: I Need To Ask For A Favor

What was the best thing to do in this situation? I knew my family all too well—the same script every time something cracked in my life. Deny, deflect, defend the golden ones. My throat burned, but I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve anyway, the cotton rough against my swollen skin, smearing more mascara across my wrist. “Lila?” Dad called again. I swallowed hard, tasting salt and the faint vanilla that still clung to me. “I caught them cheating, Dad. Elias and Clara. Today.” He didn’t reach for me and just stood there with Mom still tucked against his side, both of them staring at me like I was the one who had walked in and ruined a perfectly good afternoon. The hallway clock ticked louder than it had any right to, each second stretching while the pie smell drifted from the kitchen, sweet and warm and completely fucking oblivious. “Did you make a scene?” he asked, voice flat. The question hit me square in the chest. No explosion, no shock, no “that bastard”

CHAPTER 6: I’ve Always Hated You, Lila

I sat in Mr. Hargrove’s office until the papers were started, signed what I needed to sign, and left with a folder tucked under my arm like it weighed nothing and everything at once. The drive home passed in the same numb blur as the drive there. By the time I pulled into the driveway the sun had dipped low, painting the front of the house in soft oranges and pinks that felt almost cruelly pretty after the day I’d had. Elias took his time coming home that night. I didn’t pace or check the clock every five minutes like I usually would. Instead I kicked off my shoes in the entryway, left the folder on the kitchen counter where he couldn’t miss it, and dropped onto the living room floor with Peanuts. The golden retriever had been waiting by the door when I walked in, tail thumping like I was the best thing he’d seen all day. I buried my fingers in his thick fur, scratching behind his ears the way he liked, and let him flop half into my lap with a happy groan. When was the last time

CHAPTER 7: That’s A Win Regardless

The room stayed quiet except for Peanuts’ soft breathing and the distant tick of the hallway clock. Then Elias let out a soft laugh that sounded nothing but smug. “Wouldn’t have guessed that from you,” he said, shaking his head like I’d told a mildly funny joke. “But you not being obsessed with me anymore? That’s a win regardless.” I pushed myself up slowly, knees popping, and walked straight to him. Peanuts stayed on the rug, watching us with his head tilted like he knew something was different. Elias didn’t move as I approached, just stood there in the doorway with his tie slightly crooked until I stopped right in front of him, close enough that I could smell the faint bar scent clinging to his shirt—whiskey and smoke and someone else’s perfume, probably. Without a word I reached up, hooked my fingers into the knot of his tie, and loosened it with a slow tug. The silk slid free under my touch, warm from his skin. “You shouldn’t give yourself that much fucking credit,

CHAPTER 8: No Longer The Wife

❁✿❀ I ate slowly the next morning, savoring each bite, letting the morning stretch out around me. The eggs were still warm on my tongue, fluffy with just the right touch of salt, and for once I didn’t have to glance at the clock or listen for footsteps on the stairs. I actually tasted them. Peanuts eventually wandered off to his favorite spot by the back door, flopping down in a patch of sun with a contented sigh that made the corners of my mouth lift without me meaning them to. I watched him settle, tail giving one lazy thump against the tile, and felt something loosen. It was nice not rushing to prepare a feast for breakfast like I usually did. That’s something I definitely wouldn’t miss once all of this is behind me. Even back at my parents’ house growing up, I had never been subjected to that kind of constant domestic grind. We had people for that—housekeepers who kept the big place running so Clara and I could focus on whatever drama or school project she decided m

CHAPTER 9: Don’t Do This To Me Now

The silence that dropped between us felt heavier than any argument we’d ever had. It pressed against my skin while the morning sunlight poured through the window and caught the faint stubble along his jaw and in that moment his phone rang, slicing through the moment. Elias pulled it from his pocket, glanced at the screen, and without another word dropped the folder onto the counter with a soft thud. The papers slid slightly, the signed pages peeking out as he turned on his heel and walked toward the stairs, already lifting the phone to his ear. “Yeah,” he answered, voice clipped as he climbed the steps. “Morning.” His footsteps faded upstairs, and the bedroom door clicked shut behind him a moment later while I stood there at the sink, hands still a bit damp, listening to the muffled rise and fall of his voice through the ceiling. Business, I wondered. Or maybe Clara. Either way it was none of my business. I dried my hands, picked up the folder, and scanned the first page u

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