Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Chapter 13

Richard's

POV.

I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of my shirt. The room felt different these days. It was colder.

Susan had changed everything, from the curtains to the furniture. Even the staff moved differently around the house.

They used to smile more, chat a bit while they worked. Now, they were quieter, always with their eyes down, moving quickly and carefully.

Susan was stricter, and honestly, I didn't mind. I liked the order. I liked the discipline.

We had an event tonight-another one of those high-profile gatherings. Susan was going all out as usual.

She was already dressed, standing in front of the mirror in her silver gown, checking her reflection every few minutes.

"How do I look?" she asked again, turning slightly to see the back of her dress.

"You look stunning," I said, barely glancing at her. My focus was on finding my tie. It should've been right here in the closet, on the top shelf where it always was.

But it was gone. I frowned, digging through the shelves, and pushing aside shirts and scarves.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Susan's voice cut through the room. "We need to leave in ten minutes."

"I can't find my tie," I muttered, digging through the drawer. I could feel my patience wearing thin.

She sighed loudly and sat back down in front of the vanity, adjusting her hair. "Well, if you didn't keep things so haphazardly..."

Haphazardly? I stared at the neatly organized shelves. Susan had reorganized everything when she moved in.

She said it was for the best, that everything needed to be in its proper place. I didn't argue at the time.

She liked things a certain way, and I was fine with that. But now, here I was, standing in front of a wardrobe full of clothes and no tie.

I yanked open another drawer. Nothing. I glanced at the top shelf, then hesitated.

The ties used to be up there, in a small compartment, before Susan had moved things around.

hand reached up automatically, only to

not even bothering to look up. "Just grab

different one, but it felt off. They used to be a system, a way of knowing exactly

simple tie without turning the whole

Once, I was in the same situation, searching frantically for a tie

in the middle of my mess, calm as ever. She had

there. So that you don't miss it, this would be the compartment for your ties." Sarah had set it up so I wouldn't have to scramble like this. She used to do things like that all the time. But back then, I never really noticed or cared. I grabbed a random tie, wrapping it around my neck quickly.

Susan said, standing up and giving herself one last look in the mirror. "Let's go. We're

tugging at the tie knot, which felt too

I glanced back at the wardrobe, the sense of something being

was just a tie. Why was this

down the stairs, Susan already ahead, heels clicking on the floor. She was always

little things. No room for stuff like organizing ties or making sure things were

I kept telling myself. Just a

the car and pulled the door shut, I felt that tightness again, not just around my neck but

we'd see,

quite right, even though I couldn't

***

way through the crowd,

with the usual chatter, laughter, and the clinking

the main hall, and the noise hit

around my arm. The way she fit me like a cloth

We turned to see Ben, an old colleague, walking toward us with a grin on his face. "It's been a while. How's life treating

too casually, added, "I heard about the divorce, that

smile, but I could tell

nodded, glancing at Susan. "Well, that's good

fast, huh? There's been some talk... you know how

widened. "What do

lowering his voice even more. "Just some folks wondering if... well, if maybe there was someone else before the divorce. You know how rumors start." Susan's face flushed red, and I could see she was on the

love to gossip," I said with a tight smile. "We don't pay attention to

course, of course," Ben said, holding up his hands. "Didn't mean

Susan said, her

weaving through the crowd. I could feel

older man approached us. It was Mr.

Mr. Johnson greeted me warmly, shaking my hand. "It's been too long. And who is