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

Chapter 81

Richard's

pov.

Sarah stood there, still holding the file like it was her only shield. Her shoulders were tense, her head slightly bowed.

I wanted to run over and pull her into my arms, to ask her a thousand questions, but I stayed back, waiting for her to gather herself. She needed a minute, and I wasn't about to take that from her. Finally, she looked around, her eyes scanning the area until they fell on me. Her expression shifted, a mix of surprise and relief flooding her face.

She didn't look angry that I'd followed her-if anything, she looked grateful.

I stepped out from the shadows, walking over slowly. "You alright?" I asked, my voice soft.

She let out a shaky breath and nodded. "Yeah. Just... a bit shaken, I guess."

I glanced at the file she was clutching. "Who is he? What did he give you?"

Her gaze dropped to the file, a frown creasing her forehead. "I don't know yet," she murmured. "But whatever it is... it can't be good."

I put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "We'll figure it out. Together."

She gave me a small, tired smile. "I know. I just... I thought maybe if I did this alone, I could keep you out of it."

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. "Sarah, there's no way I'm letting you handle this by yourself. We're in this together, remember?"

She looked down, nodding slowly. "Yeah... together." But there was something in her eyes, a flicker of doubt, like she was still holding onto a part of the burden on her own.

hated that look, the way she always tried

the tension. "Are you going to open that thing again? Or are we

at me, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Let's

a protective arm around her as we walked back to the car. Every step I took, I kept

shake the feeling that he was watching us somehow, even as we drove off into the

down at the kitchen table, the file lying between us like

it before she finally flipped it open. Inside were stacks of photos, documents, and notes-all neatly organized, like they'd been prepared just for her. Her face paled as she flipped through them,

is it?" I asked, leaning

grainy, black-and-white shot of me,

out another photo, one of her leaving her yoga class, her expression distant, unaware of the camera capturing her every move. A chill ran down my spine. "This

if she's really the one. He

to scare us. Trying to make us paranoid

held up a document, the words blurring together in my

contract-an agreement from years ago, back when I'd been naive enough to trust people

document, her face a mixture of

"why is your name-your signature-on

hair, a feeling of dread settling in. "I didn't expect you to see it like this," I admitted, taking a deep breath. "Sarah, this was years ago. I was young, too trusting. I got caught up with the wrong people." She shook her head, her gaze intense. "That man... he

down at the papers again, her knuckles white as she gripped them. "And if

doubt, her skepticism. And I couldn't blame her. From her perspective, it looked like I'd walked right into something

I was signing back then. It was just business, I thought. Legitimate, or at least as close as it could be. But as I found out later, these weren't just deals.

still studying me. "How can I be sure you weren't aware,

have done everything to get out of it. And the moment I did realize, I cut ties. I had no idea they'd keep records, use them as a threat years later." Her gaze softened slightly, but

leverage. They think that by threatening to expose this, they can force