Semua Bab Divorced by my Billionaire Ex, Now He Wants Me Back! : Bab 81 - Bab 90

81Alex.The capital felt different now. I hadn’t been gone that long, not really— it’s been months—but somehow the air seemed heavier the moment I crossed the city limits. Maybe it was memory pressing in, the weight of too many years spent playing the part of the dutiful son, the ruthless heir, the man people whispered about in boardrooms and newspapers. Maybe it was just me, finally seeing the place without the same blinders I once wore.The Marwood estate stood like it always had, a monument to pride and money. From the outside, it looked unshaken, untouched by scandal. But I knew better. Inside, the walls held too many silences, too many lies.I parked the car slowly, hands tightening on the wheel as if I could hold back time for one more moment. Then I stepped out, walked up the steps, and knocked. Not because I had to—this was still technically my home—but because I couldn’t bring myself to barge in. Not anymore.A nurse opened the door. She was new; they always seemed to cycle

83Stella.The hotel ballroom looked different this morning. Usually, it carried the hum of conferences, business meetings, or the steady rhythm of wedding receptions. But today, the space had been transformed into rows of chairs neatly lined up, a table stacked with pamphlets about community services, a corner set aside with coloring books and crayons for children who came along. The scent of fresh coffee mingled with the faint polish of the wood floors, and sunlight streamed through the tall windows, warming the room.This was another of Dane’s workshop idea, but somehow it already felt like mine. Or maybe it was both of ours—his vision, my voice.I hovered near the entrance as people began to file in. Parents, mostly women, some with children tugging at their sleeves, some with tired smiles, some with expressions that looked far too much like the one I used to see in the mirror—worn down, cautious, but still carrying a spark of determination.“Good turnout,” Dane murmured beside me

85Anna.The first thing I smelled when I walked into Josh’s kitchen that Saturday morning was sugar and butter melting together. The twins were already perched on stools at the counter, flour dusted across their cheeks like war paint, their voices rising in a chaotic duet of instructions.“You have to stir faster, or it’ll clump,” Emma insisted, waving her spoon like a conductor’s baton.“No, you’ll spill it everywhere if you stir that fast,” Eli countered, his brow furrowed as if the fate of the entire recipe rested on his authority.Josh caught my eye from across the counter, and the look we shared was enough to make me laugh before I’d even taken off my coat. He was wearing an apron—navy blue with the clinic’s name embroidered on it—and there was a streak of chocolate across his cheekbone that neither of the twins seemed inclined to point out.“You came just in time,” he said, grinning. “We’re trying to make brownies for the play this afternoon. Somehow, it’s turned into a full-co

87Stella.The week before the court hearing felt like living with a storm cloud just above my head, never releasing the rain but always threatening it. Every time I opened the kitchen drawer where I kept the court letters and legal paperwork, my stomach tightened. The next date was circled on the calendar in bold red ink. I could have erased it, changed the ink color, pretended it was nothing more than a dentist appointment or a school concert, but the truth was inescapable. The Marwoods weren’t done, and neither was I.Josh and Clarke sat with me most evenings at the kitchen table, the wood worn smooth from years of meals, homework, and late-night talks. Now it was buried under neat stacks of files, affidavits, community testimonials, and character references. Clarke had insisted on detail, so I’d asked everyone I could think of: teachers, neighbors, hotel staff, even parents from the twins’ soccer and gardening clubs. Their words were steady, simple, honest. Stella provides a lovin

89Stella.The courthouse steps felt heavier than the chambers we had just left. My heels clicked against the stone, each sound echoing with the exhaustion I carried in my chest. My hands tightened around Emma’s and Eli’s as though the stone itself might swallow them if I let go. The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the pavement, but it felt muted, dulled by everything we had endured in that room.Josh walked on one side of me, Alex on the other. Anna trailed behind, her hand on the twins’ shoulders whenever they slowed. None of us spoke at first. The silence was thick, the kind that follows when too much has been said in one place and no one knows how to begin again.At the base of the stairs, I stopped. I crouched down, brushing the hair from Emma’s face. “You both did so well today,” I told them softly. “I’m so proud of you.”Emma’s lips curved into a small smile, though her eyes still carried the fear of the questions she’d been asked. Eli gave a little shrug, tryi