Home / Too Late to Win Me Back / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Too Late to Win Me Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Come on, Sara. You can't stay mad at Ethan forever. The second he heard you were back, he dropped everything at the lab and came straight here. He clearly still loves you.""Ethan even kept your old lab locked up all these years. He had it cleaned regularly and never let anyone else set foot inside. Look how devoted he is to you. He's willing to put the past behind him and take you back. You shouldn't let a man like him slip away."I glanced around at my former colleagues. They were all talking over one another, urging me to get back together with Ethan Grimsley. It was obvious they were more interested in watching the drama unfold.Then I looked at Ethan, who was standing in front of me, asking to get back together.None of this made any sense.Had everyone somehow developed collective amnesia and forgotten how Ethan had falsely accused me eight years ago?What baffled me even more was Ethan himself. He had actually asked me to marry him. I'd always assumed he would marry Miche

Chapter 2

At first, Ethan was happy with the arrangement. But it wasn't long before he started worrying."You're my girlfriend. If you break the rules, am I supposed to look the other way or write you up? If I let it slide, I'm not doing my job. But if I report you and you end up getting docked pay or chewed out, I'd feel awful. I don't want work getting between us."I thought he was overthinking it and told him I'd make sure I followed the rules so he'd never have to make that choice. But Ethan still wasn't convinced.In the end, we made one rule between us. Work was work, and our relationship was separate. No matter what happened, we wouldn't let the two interfere with each other.For a while, we stuck to it. Then one day over dinner, Ethan handed me Michelle's résumé.He raised an eyebrow. "Your department still has one opening left for a new grad this year, right? Well, I happen to have the perfect candidate for you. No need to thank me. I'm just saving you the trouble of finding someon

Chapter 3

I stood there stunned, unable to believe Ethan had actually gone behind my back like that. But it was already too late. No matter how angry I was, I couldn't change what had happened.Michelle's hiring paperwork had already gone through, and she was officially part of the lab.When I got home that night, I was so angry I couldn't bring myself to say a word.Ethan could tell something was wrong and spoke to me in a gentle, soothing voice. "Michelle really needs this opportunity. Her family's struggling. Her mom's been bedridden for years, and she even had to borrow money just to afford grad school."She's been supporting herself the whole time, so she's had to miss a lot of classes. That's why she failed so many courses."Then he showed me photos of Michelle's sick mother and the modest place she lived in.In the end, I felt sorry for her. So I let it go.From then on, I made time every day to help Michelle with her experiments. Whenever she ran into a problem, I showed her the b

Chapter 4

Michelle grew more animated as she went on. "Isn't it obvious? She has connections. Her advisor is friends with the company owner, and that's how she got her foot in the door in the first place."And you all keep saying she's so talented. I don't see what's so special about her. She just happened to come in first on the hiring assessment, and ever since then, everyone's acted like she can do no wrong."It's not like she has a great personality either. Ethan's been sick of her for a long time. He's always telling me—"I couldn't take it anymore. I kicked the lab door open.Everyone inside jumped and immediately scattered.Michelle clearly hadn't expected me to come back. For a moment, she looked like she'd been caught red-handed.I swallowed my anger and walked straight up to her. "Go on. Why'd you stop?"She seemed to realize there was no point trying to talk her way out of it. She simply scoffed, sounding smug. "Why should I keep talking just because you tell me to? I'm not goi

Chapter 5

Ethan's eyes reddened as tears welled in them."I've already explained it to you. I just felt sorry for Michelle and wanted to help her. Why do you have to assume there's something more going on? Sara, you say I don't trust you, but what about you?"Do you trust me? You're doubting me too. I never thought eight years together could be so easy for you to throw away."His voice caught, and the tears finally spilled down his cheeks.I had only said I wanted to break up in the heat of the moment. Seeing Ethan in tears at the thought of losing me, I softened almost immediately.Worse, part of me started to think he had a point. Maybe I really had been reading too much into everything.I apologized quietly. Flustered and unsure what else to do, I reached up and wiped away his tears.When Ethan saw me soften, he pulled out his phone and showed me that he'd already booked a wedding planner.Still sniffling, he said, "I heard your project won an award three months ago, and the showcase

Chapter 6

Every camera in the room swung toward the three of us.Ethan and Michelle stood together, while I faced them alone. I was still clutching the bouquet I had brought for my proposal, and suddenly, I felt like a complete fool.Michelle looked at me with wounded eyes. "Sara, I really didn't want to say anything, but this project is my baby. I can't just stand here and watch someone else take it away from me."Then, where the cameras couldn't catch it, a smug look flashed across her face.I turned to Ethan. He stood beside her, looking furious, and my first thought was that Michelle had fooled him too.As angry as I was, I forced myself to stay calm and turned to face the crowd. "I didn't steal anything. I can prove it."I always saved my early drafts with timestamps. As long as I could prove that my drafts predated the final project, her accusation would fall apart.But Michelle seemed to know exactly what I was going to do.She pulled out her phone and brought up a set of concept

Chapter 7

The girl looked absolutely adorable in a little red dress and black leather shoes.Beside her, the boy wore a shirt and vest with a beret perched on his head. He held her hand tightly, looking far too serious and mature for his age.The two children immediately drew excited gasps from the crowd."They're adorable. Who did they just call Mommy?"As everyone whispered among themselves, the twins ran straight to me, and each wrapped their arms around one of my legs.I crouched down and scooped my daughter, Katie Fortner, into my arms, then ruffled my son Kyle Fortner's hair.Smiling, I said, "Kyle, thanks for taking such good care of Katie for me."The moment everyone realized they were my children, the crowd erupted again.Michelle froze for a second, then a smile she couldn't suppress slowly spread across her face.Ethan, meanwhile, went completely pale. The ring slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. His lips trembled, and the shock in his eyes quickly gave way to disappo

Chapter 8

Ethan's voice grew rougher with every word until his sobs made it almost impossible for him to speak.So he did know.When he'd chosen to believe Michelle over me and even accused me of something I hadn't done to protect her, I'd thought he'd forgotten everything I'd ever done for him."But Mommy does those things for Kyle and me too. Mommy loves us too," Katie said, her arms wrapped around my neck."That's right."I kissed her little cheek, then looked at Ethan. He stood frozen in place, sobbing so hard he could barely speak.I added, "Love doesn't just disappear. But neglect it long enough, and sooner or later, that love will find its way to someone else."I stepped around Ethan to leave, but he moved in front of me again, refusing to let me pass.I'd had enough. "Ethan, what do you want from me?"Ethan looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Show me their birth certificates. Prove they're really your children, and I'll believe you have a husband and a family now. Otherwise, I'm

Chapter 9

I hurried to reassure her. "It's nothing, Diana. I can handle it. I didn't want to bother you over something this small."Ethan and Michelle froze. "Diana?"Ethan looked especially shaken. The last trace of hope vanished from his face as the color drained from it.He could tell himself that Kyle and Katie were just two kids I'd gotten to play along, but he couldn't explain Diana away so easily.The company had gone out of its way to recruit her not long ago, and she was his direct supervisor. Her integrity was beyond question, and she was highly respected both nationally and internationally.There was no reason for someone like her to help me stage a lie.From the moment Diana arrived, everyone around us had gone quiet.Ethan gritted his teeth. "Professor Hart, is Sara the daughter-in-law you mentioned before? The one who lives overseas? Do you even know what she did back then? She stole someone else's—"I caught the malice in his eyes, and my heart turned cold. I never thought

Chapter 10

The moment the video call connected, Magnus broke into a grin and immediately started flirting with me. "Babe, it's been forever. I missed you so much."We'd been together for seven years, but I still wasn't completely used to how openly affectionate he could be, even with other people around.Diana wisely pretended not to hear and ushered Kyle and Katie out of the room."So? Did you miss me?" Magnus asked.My cheeks warmed. "I did.""What was that? I couldn't hear you."He obviously had, but he tilted his head, bringing his ear closer to the screen."I missed you," I repeated."Who missed me?" he teased, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips.My face grew even hotter. Gritting my teeth, I raised my voice. "I missed you, honey."A sudden thump came from the doorway. I turned to find three heads peeking around the doorframe, one above the other.Diana gave me a sheepish grin. "Sorry. These two refused to stay away. They insisted on coming in."My face felt like it was on f

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