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

Chapter 60

Richard's

POV

Driving home after game night, I couldn't get the image of Sarah laughing out of my mind.

It had been a long time since I'd seen her like that-her guard down, her smile easy, eyes bright with genuine joy.

I caught myself smiling, too, the kind that didn't feel forced, or worse, plastered on to meet someone's expectations.

I pulled into my driveway, turned off the car, and just sat there in the dark for a while, my thoughts drifting back to the night.

Sarah had invited me into a part of her life I'd hardly ever seen, and I realized it had been her friends-her laughter-that had helped pull down the invisible walls between us, even if just for a few hours. How had I missed this side of her before?

Walking inside, I left the lights off and dropped onto the couch, the silence of the house settling around me.

I closed my eyes, replaying the way Sarah had thrown herself into that charades game without a second thought, belting out that song off-key, shaking her head like some rockstar at a sold-out concert. She'd never been one to hold back, not in her heart or in her actions.

"Who knew Mr. Serious could actually be a lot of fun?"

Her words rang in my ears, bringing a small chuckle out of me. If I was being honest, I'd always had a hard time loosening up.

Somewhere along the way, I'd gotten so wrapped up in ambition, in making every right move, that I'd forgotten how to let go, how to just enjoy myself.

The past few years hadn't helped either, but seeing Sarah's surprise at my "fun" side made me realize how little she'd ever seen it.

She'd probably felt alone in our marriage more often than I'd realized. And as much as it stung to think about that, it was finally clear to me.

I hadn't let her see before. To find that part

knocking on Sarah's door again,

her face shifted from surprise to that soft smile I hadn't

crossing her arms playfully. "Back so

peace offering," I said, holding up a small bag from the bakery down the street. "They

you're forgiven." She opened the door wider and waved me in. "Though

I admitted, stepping inside. "But I figured peace offerings never

feel warmer, closer. As we ate, I noticed her

she began, brushing a crumb off her lip,

had fun the other night," I finally said, looking down at my coffee. "It reminded me of... what I'd been missing out on. With you." Her gaze softened, and she set her cup down,

to sugarcoat it. "And even when I was,

nodded slowly,

pang of guilt and regret. "But the other night, it felt different. I felt like... maybe I could

between us. Finally, she looked up, her

began softly, "you know, I spent a long time thinking I'd never hear those words from

I blamed myself. Thought maybe I wasn't interesting enough, or that you'd just gotten

I hadn't expected. "Sarah, you were never the problem. I was... I was too

work. I know I already said that but we start small. Do something together, without any expectations." I nodded, feeling a strange sense

popped up. It was crowded and noisy, filled with kids running around,

I'd walked into a

saw me, her face lit up, and for a moment, I felt like I was seeing the woman I'd first fallen for, back when things were simple. "Ready to lose in a game of darts?" she teased, gesturing to the game booths

I replied, smirking, "but don't get used

moving from game to game, laughing as we each missed our

looked over at Sarah, and saw her smiling up at me, I felt

back to the car, Sarah stopped and looked up at the Ferris wheel, the lights glowing against the darkening