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,

time," Susan said, not even bothering to look

around for a different one, but it felt off. They used to be a system, a

a simple tie without turning

in the same situation, searching frantically for

me in the middle of my mess, calm

deal of it, just said something like, "It's right 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

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

the tie knot, which felt too tight around

wardrobe, the

a tie. Why was this bothering

the stairs, Susan already ahead, heels clicking

sure things were where they needed to be

just a tie, I kept telling myself. Just a small

I felt that tightness

talked about the event, going over who we'd see, and what we should say,

quite right, even though I couldn't put my finger on it. It didn't matter.

***

made our way through the crowd, greeting people as we

filled with the usual chatter, laughter, and the clinking of glasses. Susan clung to my arm, her smile was

main hall, and the

side, her hand wrapped around my arm. The way she fit

colleague, walking toward us with a grin on his face. "It's been a while. How's life treating you?" "It's been good, Ben," I said with a

casually, added, "I heard about the divorce, that must be hard

my arm tighten. She forced a smile, but I could tell it was strained. "Everything's great," I

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

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

eyes widened. "What do you

else before the divorce. You know how rumors start." Susan's face flushed red, and I could see she was on the

I said with a tight smile. "We don't pay

holding up his hands. "Didn't mean

said, her voice sharp. "We

I excused himself, and we moved on, weaving through the crowd. I could feel

reached a quieter corner, an older man approached us. It was

hand. "It's been