Dear Ex Wife Please take me back (Athena and Alex) novel Chapter 146

ALEX

I glance at her. She’s staring out the window again, her voice light like she’s making a joke, but she’s not smiling. Which means she's seriously thinking this through.

She just looks... tired. Fragile. Far away. I bet she doesn’t even realize what she’s said.

But I do.

My hands tighten around the wheel.

My throat dries out, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.

She thinks I’m him.

She thinks I’m that fucker Zayan.

Just what has he been doing that has made her want to be with him. Even my stupid cousin doesn't come this close.

Is that why she allowed me to hug her?

I want to say something, correct her. But the words get lodged in my throat like glass shards.

If I tell her the truth right now, if I remind her of who I am. Won't that bring back everything she just went through... would I be helping her or hurting her more?

Thinking this whole thing through, I decide it's best to stay silent as I continue to drive.

But as the silence stretches, the pain sharpens, like a blade twisting slowly in my chest.

They say breaking bones is the worst kind of pain.

They’re wrong.

They’ve clearly never heard the woman they love whisper another man’s name in her most vulnerable moment.

Love.

Is this what it feels like?

A burning feeling which squeezes your heart so tight, it feels like you’ll never breathe right again.

I grit my teeth and keep my eyes on the road, like that’ll stop the storm inside me.

She shifts beside me, tugging the blanket higher. I should say something. Anything. But all that comes out is silence.

I wish I could hate Zayan right now. I wish I could blame this on him completely. But a part of me knows he was there when I wasn’t. He stood by her when I pushed her away.

Still, that name coming from her lips...

It’s a fucking stab to my heart.

I’ve never been so fucking jealous of anyone like I am of him right now.

She leans her head back and whispers,

“Thank you for coming to get me.”

I nod once, afraid if I open my mouth, the truth will come spilling out, and I’ll ruin everything she has left holding her together.

Because right now, she needs comfort.

Not confusion.

Not pain.

Not me.

So I grip the wheel harder. And drive.

Because I'd do anything for her.

Including holding in the pain of her thinking I'm someone else.

I take a turn through a familiar street past the neon lights until I reach the little takeout place she always ordered from.

I'm shocked I rembered it so easily.

It had always been her favorite place. I remember how irritated I used to be when she asked me to pass through here after picking her up from school.

That's the funny thing about regret.

I hated it then, but I'd do anything to have her ask me to bring her here again.

She swore they make the best dumplings and that stupidly spicy soup that makes her nose run but somehow comforts her.

I leave her sleeping in the passenger seat, with the engine still running and the heat on low. She’s curled up under the blanket, her lips slightly parted with her lashes resting against her cheeks.

She looks so beautiful it hurts to not touch her.

While waiting for my order, I rush into the boutique next door and buy some warm clothes for me and her.

It's a quick shop done in less than ten minutes.

I rush back to the car with the food still warm in its bag and the scent already filling the car.

Her nose twitches slightly when I set it on the seat beside her.

But she doesn't wake up.

I start the engine and drive to her apartment.

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