All Chapters of Divorced by the Hockey Captain: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Tabitha's POV"You are clinically insane," Ava said, arms crossed, watching me tie my sneakers. "There are news vans two blocks away. And you're packing a tote bag like you're off to a picnic.""Ava, I'm pregnant, not made of glass," I groaned, finally getting the knot tied and hauling myself up. "If I sit on that couch one more hour reading Twitter threads, I'll lose it. My lesson plans are printed. The principal told me to come. I'm not letting old files steal my life."Ava stared at me, lips pressed tight, then sighed. "Fine. But Darlington's driver trails your bus or I'm chaining you to the radiator.""Deal," I smiled, grabbing my keys.The second I walked into my classroom, three kids crashed into my knees in a tangle of mittens and juice boxes."Miss Dawson! Miss Dawson!" Chloe squealed. "Leo brought a dead beetle in a jar and Mrs. Gable said it has germs!""It's a stag beetle, it has pincers!" Leo yelled, shaking the jar with pride.The knot that had been sitting in my chest fo

Author's POVFor the first time in weeks, the brownstone's front parlor didn't smell like panic.It smelled like sawdust and good coffee.The dining table had been taken over completely. Tile samples, brass fixtures, and fabric swatches were spread out like a poker hand across the wood.Tabitha leaned over a sample, cardigan pushed up her arms, pointing a pencil at Clara's floor plan like she was running a war room."I'm telling you, Clara, soapstone is a disaster for a pastry counter," she said into her headset, eyes flashing. "It soaks up butter. In two weeks you'll have a greasy ring where the trays sit. Sealed travertine, or we skip the stone counter altogether."Ava sat curled in an armchair with her laptop, a small smile on her face as she watched.Look at her, Ava thought, dismissing another court email. No crying. No shaking hands. Just a woman building something with a pencil behind her ear.The legal mess was still out there, somewhere in court filings and server logs, but in

Tabitha’s POV"If you bring one more swatch of beige into this room, Clara, I am throwing myself through that plate-glass window."Clara burst out laughing, dropping a handful of cardboard strips onto the unfinished wooden counter. "It’s not beige, Tabby! The label literally says Oatmeal Whisper.""Oatmeal is food for when you have the flu. It has no business being on a wall where people are supposed to pay eight dollars for an iced matcha," I shot back, wiping chalk dust off my jeans. "We are doing the pale sage green. It bounces the morning light off the brick, it makes the brass sconces look expensive, and most importantly, it doesn't look like a dentist's waiting room.""Fine, fine! Sage green it is," Clara groaned, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "You're ruthless. Did anyone ever tell you that?""I'm pregnant and my feet are swollen," I told her, leaning back against the rough plaster with a triumphant grin. "I don't have time to be polite about ugly paint."And God, it f

Author’s POVAva was ninety-nine percent sure Darlington had an active, personal vendetta against eating a meal in peace.Three times. Three separate times this week, the man had materialized in her entryway like a bespoke phantom, carrying brown paper bags that smelled entirely too good to kick back down the stairs. Thai curry on Tuesday. Handmade tortellini on Thursday. A bakery box full of warm brioche yesterday morning that had derailed her entire nine o’clock deposition prep.And now, at five in the afternoon on a Friday, the lock clicked.Ava didn't even look up from her red pen. "If those are spring rolls, Darlington, I am filing an emergency petition for an order of protection."Darlington stepped through the foyer, setting two glossy paper containers on the edge of her glass desk. He was wearing a soft charcoal roll-neck sweater under an open trench, his blond hair wind-tousled, looking completely, infuriatingly unbothered."Vietnamese pork belly bao," he declared, pulling of

Author’s POVTabitha was in the middle of grating lemon zest over a bowl of muffin batter when Ava dropped the news."Raymond Vance showed up at Bradley’s house two hours ago," Ava said, tossing her keys onto the granite island.The grater slipped right out of Tabitha’s fingers, clattering into the stainless steel bowl with a loud, hollow bang. Tabitha spun around, one flour-dusted hand flying to her throat, her chest seizing so hard she couldn't pull air."What?" Tabitha choked out, her vision tunneling. "Is she hurt? Did he touch her? Where is Bradley—""Tabby, breathe," Ava ordered, moving in fast to grab her by the elbows, steadying her before her knees gave out. "Nobody is hurt. Vance made a scene on the front driveway, tried to shove his way past Bradley, and private security pinned him to the hood of his own car. The cops rolled up two minutes later. The guy had an open felony warrant out of Essex County for child endangerment and fraud. He’s in a holding cell right now, no bai