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

Chapters 43

Richard's

pov.

You want Sarah back, Richard, but it's not going to be easy. This is what I keep telling myself.

I should be used to challenges-my life has been full of them-but Sarah? She's different.

A different kind of challenge, one that leaves me feeling like I'm walking on eggshells around her.

But maybe that's my punishment. After all, I did mess things up pretty royally the first time around.

It all started with coffee. Simple, harmless coffee. I don't even drink the stuff, but there I was, meeting Sarah every week, pretending to care about things like her preferred roast or how many sugars she liked. "Black, no sugar, right?" I asked one morning, sliding her cup across the table like I had memorized the most crucial detail of our entire history.

She gave me a look, the kind that says, 'Really, Richard? You think that's going to win me points?' And, well, she was probably right.

"Yes, black," she replied, but there was a hint of a smile. Small victories. I'd take what I could get.

"So, how's the expansion going?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from awkward territory.

Her eyes lit up, and suddenly, she was talking about numbers and growth projections, stuff I didn't fully understand, but I nodded along, throwing in the occasional "That's great!" like I was actually keeping up. Truth be told, half of me was just marveling at how confident she had become.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," I said when she paused to take a breath.

There it was again, that look. But this time, there was a flicker of something else in her eyes-surprise, maybe? Or disbelief? I wasn't sure.

"Proud?" She raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you care about what I'm doing?"

Sarah," I said, leaning forward slightly. "I just

my words, deciding whether to believe me. And honestly, I couldn't blame her if she

***

pattern. Coffee, small talk, a little business

see that. She wasn't about to let

day, out of nowhere, she opened the door. Just a crack,

was explaining something about market reach when she paused, her eyes drifting off toward the window. "You know," she started, "when we were married, I never thought you really... saw me. Not like

blinked, caught off guard. "Saw you? What

swirling her coffee with a small spoon. "You were always so focused on your career, on Susan,

protest, but she held

past it. But I'm realizing now, looking back, how much I let myself be sidelined. I won't do

like a punch to the gut. The worst part? She wasn't wrong. I

an idiot. I didn't know how to balance everything, and

at me, for what felt like the first time in a long time. "Yeah, well, I'm glad you realize it

weeks, I did my best to respect her boundaries. Friends. I

I was willing to try if it meant I could stay close

though, when we were having lunch-just sandwiches at this little deli-and she laughed at something I

those polite, "I'm laughing because I have

for a second, I thought, This could work. We could get back to this. But then, just as quickly, she closed

up, though. Not this

life. Big ones. Ones I can't even begin to justify. But

was

when all I want is to reach across this stupid cup of coffee and apologize for everything I did

coffee. But her eyes, those eyes,

shook my head. "We haven't

eyebrow like she didn't quite believe me. Fair enough. I wouldn't believe me

said, clearly not buying it. "Well, that's probably for the