Ex-Husband's Regret (Ava and Rowan) novel Chapter 578

The table is alive with noise. Nolan’s telling some wild story about his soccer practice, Nova interrupting every other sentence to “correct” him, and my sisters are laughing their asses off.

I try to listen, I really do, but my mom’s voice from earlier still pulses in my ears.

The words are like a rock dropped into still water. The ripples just keep spreading, distorting everything around them and making it hard for me to breathe. Making it hard for me to focus on anything except what Mom and Sierra might have talked about.

I keep my head down, pushing food around my plate while joining in when I can.

I need to talk to Sierra. I need to find out what she told my mother. I need to know if Mom suspects anything.

Sierra is cunning. She’s like a snake that slithers silently through the grass and you only notice it when it’s too late. When it has already struck.

The way my mom kept throwing glances at me, is like she knows something… Or if she doesn’t, she suspects something.

Every now and then, I catch her watching me from the corner of her eye, with a soft, knowing gaze. It’s the one that can peel a man down to his bones without her saying a word.

I shift in my seat and look away, joining in on Nolan’s chatter about school just to keep her from asking anything in front of everyone.

But it doesn’t stop her. It never did.

When I laugh along with my sisters’ banter, she’s still watching. When my dad tells a ridiculous story about the time Nolan tried to “fix” the lawnmower by shoving a plastic spoon into it, she’s still watching. It’s like she can sense every thought and every secret I’m holding back.

I deal with businessmenwith minds as sharp as a knife, but none of them can make me squirm like my mother can.

“That’s not what happened!” Nova pipes up, pulling me back to the present. She’s giggling as she shoves a piece of bread toward my mouth. “You forgot the part where the ball hit Coach in the face!”

“That’s because you threw it,” Nolan says, smirking at her.

“It was an accident!”

I bite into the bread Nova is still holding and exaggerate a groan. “Mmm, I think this bread is even better when Nova serves it to me.”

She beams, pleased with herself, while Nolan rolls his eyes and mutters, “Teacher’s pet.”

The laughter at the table swells again, but I still can’t get rid of the unease in my heart.

Mom’s gaze is still on me, unflinching and unwavering.

It doesn’t matter if I join in on Nolan’s soccer drama or tease Nova about her “accidental” aim—she’s watching.

Her behavior just makes me more desperate to find out what Sierra told her. I’m sure the bitch ran to my mom the first chance she got and told her about her pregnancy.

This is probably a tactic she’s fucking using to trap and rope me into her life and the baby’s. She probably started by giving my mom just enough information to make her ask questions and start digging.

When Mom starts digging for answers, she doesn’t stop until she gets what she’s looking for. Once the truth is uncovered, then there won’t be going back. I’ll be forced to take responsibility and Sierra will win.

It's subtle, and she won’t have to anything, while ensuring that things go her way… I can’t let that fucking happen.

When dinner wraps up, the twins drag me to the living room for a game of “monster chase.” Nolan whacks my leg with a plastic sword while Nova wraps her arms around my neck to “capture” me. Their giggles echo through the room, and for a few minutes, the weight in my chest eases.

Then I hear my dad’s voice. “Noah, join me in the study for a minute?”

The twins groan in protest, but I give them each a tickle before following him and leaving them in the capable arms of my mom and sisters. They’ll keep them occupied for however long dad wants to talk to me.

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