{ ONE }

ALICE"Melissa is back." Vaylen's voice came from the kitchen doorway, "We're getting married."For a second, I couldn't breathe right. I lowered the spoon before my hand could start shaking. My palm pressed hard against the table as I looked up at him.He watched me the same way he always did. Like he was waiting to see what I'd do. He wasn't going to see me fall apart.Three years of making space for him everywhere in my life while he kept one foot out the door the entire time. And now this. Dropped across the kitchen like we were discussing weather."Melissa?" My voice sounded steadier than I felt. "You're serious?""You heard me." His face didn't change. “She's back.”The room went still after that. “The divorce papers will be ready soon,” he said. “Don't make this harder than it has to be.”I drew in a breath and held it for a second before letting it out carefully. I'd gotten good at that where Vaylen Morgan was concerned.He stayed in the doorway watching. I knew what he expect

Last Updated : 2026-05-16

{ TWO }

ALICESix days left of being Catherine Morgan. I lay awake in the dark counting them anyway. One by one. Turning each day over in my head like if I thought about it long enough, time might slow down a little.Vaylen didn’t come home that night. I moved through the penthouse the same way I’d moved through this marriage. The rooms stayed spotless. I made sure of that. The hours passed without sound. Nothing changed. Somehow that had stopped feeling strange a long time ago.The next morning, I counted again while standing by the bedroom window. *Five days left.* The city stretched below me, loud and moving and alive in a way this place never was. It was my birthday. The thought came and went almost immediately. No excitement. No ache either. Just a fact.By noon, I stood at the kitchen counter stirring powder into a glass of water, watching it disappear slowly beneath the spoon. Prenatal vitamins. “Once a day,” the doctor had said two days ago. A responsibility sitting quietly inside

Last Updated : 2026-05-16

{ THREE }

ALICE“I’m not doing that.”The words came out flat and cold, putting distance back between us almost immediately. As if the evening had gone a little too far already.The music drifting from the ballroom slowed at the exact wrong moment — intimate enough to make everything more awkward. “You’re being unreasonable,” he said.I nodded once. “Maybe.” Something showed across his face.“Then stop pushing me, Catherine.” The way he said my name landed harder than it should have.“You gave me tonight.” His jaw tightened. “That wasn’t part of the agreement.”The problem was that he didn't sound angry. “We never said what wasn’t included.” I held his gaze after I said it. For a few seconds, neither of us moved.Then I asked quietly, “Are you going to break your promise already?” The silence came heavy enough that I became aware of every little sound around us.Vaylen’s fingers stilled beside his wine glass. Then he leaned back in his chair and stood.Reluctantly. Like agreeing annoyed him

Last Updated : 2026-05-16

{ FOUR }

ALICEFor a full second, Monica’s name on the screen didn’t make sense.I grabbed the phone off the nightstand and stared at it, still half asleep, trying to understand why she would be calling me this early. Then the call ended.Morning light stretched across the bed in pale stripes. My ankle throbbed the second I moved it.The phone rang again. I answered this time.“Catherine.” Monica didn’t bother with hello. Her voice came sharp and furious straight away. “Where the hell are you? We’ve been knocking.”I pushed myself upright slowly, my body still heavy from last night. Then a loud knock hit the door downstairs before I could even stand fully.Another one followed. Harder. Impatient.I limped down the stairs and opened the door. Monica slapped me before I properly saw her face.My head turned with the force of it. Heat spread slowly across my cheek.“You shameless woman.” She pushed past me immediately. “Dancing with my son in front of everyone like some desperate little whore—”M

Last Updated : 2026-05-16

{ FIVE }

VAYLEN I called her again. Still switched off. I lowered the phone from my ear slowly. Across the table, my lawyer kept talking, sliding another document toward me like this meeting was still happening normally. I hadn’t heard a word he’d said in the last minutes. My attention went back to the clock on the wall. Ten minutes late. Catherine was never late. I called again. The automated voice cut in almost immediately. *The number you are trying to reach is switched off.* Marshall finally stopped talking. “Mr. Morgan?” I tapped my finger once against the table, then pushed my chair back and stood. “I’ll go get her.” I grabbed my keys off the table and walked out before he could say anything. The drive to the penthouse felt longer than usual. Traffic lights blurred past the windshield while my hands tightened around the steering wheel hard enough that the leather started digging into my palms. I barely noticed. I tried to convince myself there were reasonable explanations. B

Last Updated : 2026-05-16

All Chapters of TOO LATE TO WANT ME BACK : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

{ ONE }

{ TWO }

{ THREE }

{ FOUR }

{ FIVE }