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

Chapter 49

Richard's pov.

That kiss. I hadn't planned it. God, I didn't even think it would happen.

One minute, we were standing there, exchanging words that were half full of hope and half full of caution, and the next... Well, she kissed me back, didn't she?

It wasn't the kiss on our wedding day-that cold, brief peck I now regretted. This kiss, though, meant something.

I could feel it in the way she hesitated, the way her lips stayed on mine just a second longer than they should have.

But then she pulled away. And I could see it in her eyes-the confusion, the fear, and that ever-present wall she'd built between us. I'd done that.

I was the reason she couldn't trust me easily anymore.

"Richard, I can't do this. Not yet."

Those words echoed in my head the whole night. I watched her drive away, wanting to stop her, to say something, but I didn't.

She needed space, and for the first time in my life, I understood that giving her what she needed was more important than what I wanted.

But damn it, I wanted her back. I wanted her more than I'd ever allowed myself to admit before.

Seeing her every day, laughing with her over dinners, watching her light up when she talked about her business, her passions... It was like I was meeting the real Sarah for the first time. And now, I couldn't imagine going back to the way things were.

The next morning, I couldn't focus. My thoughts kept going back to that kiss, her words, the look in her eyes.

been thinking about it too or if she was just finding reasons to convince herself it didn't

glanced at my phone, half-expecting a message from her, but of course, nothing. She wasn't the

had to tread carefully-one wrong move, and I could lose this fragile connection we were

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to see her. Not to push her, but to let

to discuss a business proposal. It wasn't entirely a lie; I'd been working on

up, surprised to see me, and for a split second, I thought I saw that same flicker of confusion cross her

voice a bit tight, like she was expecting me to bring up the

to run something by you," I said, keeping it casual. I handed

it was again-something electric, something I couldn't ignore, no

but I could tell she wasn't really reading it. Her mind was

good," she mumbled after a few minutes, her

talk about it right now, but... I

expression unreadable for a moment, and then she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

be

of her like they suddenly became the most interesting thing in

as I reached the door, I

"Why now?"

turned back, confused.

this now?" she asked, her eyes finally meeting mine, searching for something. "We've been divorced

of me for a second. It

Why did I wait so long? Maybe it was because I hadn't realized what I had until

what was right in front

stepping back into the room. "Back then, I was... I don't know, lost. Angry, maybe. At myself, at

I needed. And now that I've got this second chance to even be in your life, I'm not wasting it." She blinked, clearly taken aback by my honesty. I