Dear ex-Wife please be mine again

Chapter 164

Ethan’s POV

The car hummed softly as we drove, but something about the ride didn’t feel right. I sat in the back seat with Emma, holding a cookie Daniel gave us. I stared at it for a moment, then glanced at Daniel in the front. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight I could see his knuckles turn white.

“Go on, Ethan,” Daniel said, his voice too nice. “Eat the cookie, Is good, I promise.”

I looked at Emma, and she looked at me. She was already nibbling on hers, and I didn’t want to seem rude, so I took a small bite. It was sweet, but something about it tasted… funny. Not bad just… weird.

Daniel looked at us in the rearview mirror and smiled, but it wasn’t like his usual smiles when he came to see Mom. This one looked… forced, like he didn’t mean it. “See? Tasty, right? You kids like juice? I got some for you, too.”

He passed two small juice boxes back to us. Emma grabbed hers right away, but I hesitated. Mom always said not to take things from people without her knowing. But Daniel was Mom’s friend, right? He wouldn’t do anything bad… would he?

“Drink up,” he urged again. His voice sounded kind but also a little sharp, like he was in a hurry.

I poked the straw into the box and took a sip. It was cold and fruity, but as I drank more, my tummy felt funny. I put the juice down and asked, “Are we almost at Mom’s?”

Daniel’s smile flickered for a second, and his eyes darted to the mirror again. “Soon, buddy. Just sit tight.”

Emma piped up next to me, her hands clutching her cookie. “Will Daddy be there, too?” she asked, her voice all excited.

Daniel didn’t answer right away. He kept driving, staring at the road like he didn’t hear her. I could see his jaw clenching. Emma frowned and leaned back in her seat, looking at me like she didn’t understand either.

going and going. It felt like we’d been driving forever. I wanted to ask more questions, but my head started feeling funny. Heavy. My eyes

turned to

tired?”

making me sleepy,” she said, her voice quiet. She laid her head

“Just hold on a little longer, Ethan,” he said softly. “You’ll see

wasn’t right. I blinked and tried to sit up straight, but my arms

kind of juice makes you sleep so fast? That was the last thing I thought before everything went

Daniel’s POV.

of the engine. I glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as Ethan’s head lolled against Emma’s shoulder. She was slumped against the car door, her small hand still clutching the crumpled juice box.

Finally.

shoulders easing for the first time since I’d picked them up.

1/2

Dec

Chapter 164

its job. The cookies and juice worked

no inore suspicious glances from Ethan. That boy had been staring at me like he could see right through me, his questions about their mom nearly making me lose my

we get to Mom?” he’d asked, his voice small

keeping my voice

Emma had chimed in with her own question. “Will

tight my knuckles turned white. And when their little eyes had started to droop, I’d felt a

back to the road. It wasn’t guilt–no, guilt had no place here. This was about control. About taking back what should’ve been