Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 351

Longing crashed over him, relentless as a tidal wave.

How long had it been?

How long since he'd last seen Mila Sutherland?

He ached to hold her. To kiss her.

Once, he could kneel for hours with his back straight and his face expressionless. Now, his features were drawn and weary, his fox-like eyes flickering with confusion, candlelight dancing in his pupils—unsteady, wild, in time with his racing heart.

Seven days and seven nights.

He'd been on his knees in the family chapel, facing the memorials of generations past. Grief and yearning howled through him, deafening and all-consuming, shaking him to the core.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each strike thundered through the quiet, and at last, he understood what he wanted.

All those moments of instinctive attraction, unconscious closeness, the ever- growing hunger, the calm that came from her touch... In this moment, it all made sense, all of it real and undeniable.

His eyes grew red, rimmed with the sting of unshed tears.

He bowed his head, staring at his open palm, his vision blurring. Why had it taken him this long? Maybe ignorance would have been kinder.

What had he done?

He pressed his hand over his face, doubling over with his forehead against the polished floor, the silent memorials before him heavy with judgment.

long time, he stayed that

broken laugh slipped from

laced with pain,

his now-his, for as long as the chain held, for

will stayed strong. He'd

on a

He had no regrets.

chapel doors creaked open. Sunlight spilled in, stretching Lysander's shadow long and thin across the

you made up your mind?" the old man

row of memorial plaques. He looked exhausted, lips dry and trembling, but a faint smile

"I only want her."

of it mattered. Once he held the reins

Mila... This was his one chance. That woman's heart was locked away, and if he let this slip by,

right. He

Crack!

He brought the cane down hard on Lysander's back, making him flinch. "Tell me, what is it about her that's

What was it?

still smiling despite his pale, gaunt

be dust or mud-he would keep her in the most precious box in the world, place her where he could see her every day. That would

"I only want her."

spoke again, each word ringing

he could intervene, but he didn't want to break the bond between them —and after all,

wills, it was always the elder who yielded

a heavy sigh, the old man listened

carrying my child. I want to build a

tone was low,

stood there for a long moment, then turned away. In the sunlight, his bent back seemed

forehead to the floor

ancestors!

...