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.

way she always tried to

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

at her lips. "Let's get out of here first. This place

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

shake the feeling that he was watching us

the kitchen table, the

finally flipped it open. Inside were stacks of photos, documents, and notes-all neatly organized, like they'd been prepared just for

I asked, leaning

of

watching you," she whispered. "And... and me too." She pulled out another photo, one of her leaving her yoga class, her expression distant, unaware of the camera capturing her every move. A

photos. "I don't know if

"She's trying to scare us. Trying

as she held up a document, the words blurring together in

when I'd been naive

document, her face a mixture of confusion and

"why is your

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 called me here, Richard. He said if I didn't convince you to cooperate, if you didn't do what they wanted, they'd expose

papers again, her knuckles white as she gripped them. "And if they do...

her. From her perspective,

I thought. Legitimate, or at least as close as it could be. But as I found out later, these weren't just deals. They were traps, ultimatums

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

my tone calm. "Because if I'd known, I would 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

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