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?"

cared, Sarah," I said, leaning forward slightly. "I just didn't show it.

deciding whether to believe me. And honestly,

***

few meetups followed a similar pattern. Coffee, small talk, a little business

could see that. She wasn't about to

opened the door. Just a

She 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

"Saw

focused on your career, on Susan, on what you were doing. I felt like I was just... there.

mouth to protest, but she held

it to make you feel guilty. I've moved past it. But I'm realizing now, looking back, how much I let myself be sidelined. I

like a punch to the gut. The worst part? She wasn't wrong. I had taken her for granted. I just didn't see

an idiot. I didn't

a long time. "Yeah, well, I'm glad you realize it now. But it doesn't change anything. We're just... friends, Richard. That's all this is." Friends. Right. Sure. Whatever you say,

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

really, but I was willing to try if it meant I could

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

polite, "I'm laughing because I

get back to this. But then, just as quickly, she closed herself off

wasn't giving up,

can't even begin to justify. But if you asked me to pick the biggest

I treated Sarah. I'll admit it: I was awful. Cold. Distant. I

to reach across this stupid cup of coffee and apologize for everything I

Susan?" she asked casually, sipping her coffee. But her eyes, those eyes, they'd always been too sharp. She

head. "We

eyebrow like she didn't quite believe

it. "Well, that's probably