All Chapters of Five Years After Divorce, My Ex-Husband Wants Me Again: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I woke up alone.The other side of the bed was still warm.One of Theo’s rabbits lay upside down near the pillows. Lena had left one sock twisted into the blanket near my feet.Morning light stretched across the sheets.Outside the window, the sky was thin and quiet, as though nothing had happened.I lowered my eyes toward the bedside table instead of the drawer beneath it.The headphones remained inside.My hand moved before I noticed it. My fingers closed lightly around my wrist.The scar sat beneath my thumb, pale against my skin.I caught my hand there and let go immediately.Then I left to begin the day.The kitchen smelled of coffee and toasted bread when I came downstairs.Marta stood at the stove with her back turned while the twins sat at the island in fresh pajamas, bowls in front of them.Theo was arranging blueberries into straight lines beside his plate.Lena held half a strawberry in the air while explaining something about school uniforms that neither Marta nor Theo app

NORAThe boardroom still smelled faintly of coffee and printer ink when Gregory Beaumont dismissed the last financial projection from the wall screen with the tap of a remote.“Andrade Logistics is secured,” one of the board members said while closing his folder. “The Brazilian approvals cleared faster than expected.”Naomi stood near the monitor with her tablet against her chest.Across the table, Gregory leaned back in his chair.“Timing favored us,” he said.Silence followed the sentence briefly.The contracts remained spread across the polished table between us. Cartagena. Buenos Aires. Shipping rights. Infrastructure routing.Three months of work reduced to paper and signatures.Another board member adjusted his glasses.“Sinclair became overconfident,” he added carefully. “That helped us.”Gregory nodded once.“A fortunate opening.”My fingers rested lightly against the edge of the folder in front of me.“Luck does not clear Brazilian infrastructure approvals overnight.”The roo

NORASaturday afternoon sunlight stretched across the kitchen island by the time I came downstairs.Lena was already sitting on the counter stealing strawberries from Marta’s cutting board while Theo built a car beside her out of mismatched toy pieces.The front door opened a moment later.Bernard walked in carrying coffee trays and the financial pages folded beneath one arm.“You’re late,” Lena informed him immediately.Bernard set the coffees down beside her.“I came from a hotel, Your Highness. Some of us require transportation.”Theo looked up briefly.“You should wear gray tonight.”Bernard loosened one cuff while pulling out a stool.“Good afternoon to you too.”Bernard reached for his coffee.Lena stole it before the cup reached his mouth.“You drink too much of this,” she told him after taking a sip she immediately regretted. Her face tightened. “That’s horrible.”Bernard took the cup back.“That’s because you’re five.”“I’m almost six.”Theo pointed one screwdriver toward Ber

The twins' bedroom sat quiet beneath the glow of the nightlight.Marta had checked on them twice already.The hallway outside had gone silent nearly twenty minutes earlier.Lena opened one eye.“Is she gone?”Theo remained flat beneath his blanket.“Yes.”Lena sat up immediately.Theo pushed the blanket aside and climbed out of bed.He pulled a small laptop from beneath his bed and carried it onto the rug.Lena moved beside him. “Did it work?”Theo opened the screen. “I think so.”“You think so?”“The signal stopped an hour ago.”“That sounds like yes.”Theo connected a small receiver to the side of the laptop.Several folders appeared on the screen.He clicked the newest one.Lena watched the loading bar crawl across the monitor.“Uncle Bernard got it for you, didn't he?”“Yes.” Theo adjusted the volume. “He finished it.”“Good.”Theo pressed play.Static filled the room first, then voices. Too many voices.Music drifted through the speakers while people laughed somewhere near the re

NORA"Mrs. Sinclair."Celeste stepped toward her immediately.Margaret did not look at her.Her eyes remained on mine as she crossed the room, then she stopped in front of me."Nora. How are you?" She reached for my hand before I answered."I'm fine, ma."Her fingers tightened briefly around mine."I am glad."She turned then."Celeste, if you will excuse us."Celeste's hand paused around the stem of her glass.For a second I thought she might object, but she didn't, she needed to maintain a good daughter in-law picture."Of course." Celeste stepped aside. "I'll see you later."Margaret inclined her head, then she slipped her hand through my arm."Walk with me."I allowed her to guide me away from the hall.The noise faded gradually behind us as we crossed a side corridor lined with old Beaumont portraits and entered a smaller sitting room overlooking the gardens.A pair of armchairs sat near the windows.Margaret waited until the door settled shut behind us before taking a seat.I sa