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

Chapter 83

Richard's

pov.

I couldn't help but feel that gnawing feeling at the back of my mind, like I was constantly being watched.

Every step I took, every meeting I attended, I kept noticing these little things, small signs that didn't feel right.

Employees looked away too quickly when I walked by, whispers that died down just as I entered the room, the way certain people held back in conversations.

And it wasn't just paranoia, was it? I'd found myself caught between James and Susan, with Sarah now looking at me like I was a stranger.

Those business deals-they'd all happened years ago, a lifetime ago, or so I'd thought. But seeing Sarah's hurt, that pain I'd caused just by hiding the truth, it all came rushing back to me.

And I couldn't help wondering: if Susan and James had dragged Sarah into this, who else in my life might be working with them?

In the beginning, I'd brushed it off. Told myself I was just stressed, that I was seeing patterns where there were none. But as the days went on, I started to notice things I couldn't ignore. Take Frank, for instance-one of my longest-serving managers. He'd been with the company through thick and thin, through all the ups and downs.

Lately, though, he seemed... off. Always leaving meetings early, his phone buzzing constantly with "urgent" messages he never explained.

He used to be the one I trusted most, but now? Every time he walked away from me, I wondered: was he hiding something?

One evening, after a particularly tense day at the office, I sat alone in my study. Papers were scattered across my desk, a messy reminder of the day's work.

But my mind wasn't on business. It was on Frank, on the way he'd avoided my questions about the latest contract. How he'd dodged the specifics when I'd asked him about some of the delays.

was being ridiculous. Frank had been loyal for years. Yet, the

else could it be?" I muttered to myself, running a hand through my hair. "Who else would

with, every business partner who might have

didn't concern her. "Just trying to understand the process," she'd say with a smile that seemed just a little too wide. I shook my head again, trying to clear my thoughts. This

questioning everyone around me. I leaned back in

then, almost as if on cue, my phone buzzed on the desk beside me. I picked it

Sarah.

to admit just how deep this paranoia was going, how I'd started to see shadows in places where maybe there were none. I picked up, trying to

voice soft but tense. "Just... checking in. Thought I'd

to find the right words. "I'm... alright. Busy. Just

for a moment, and I could hear the unspoken words

should have. Was I sure? About anything?

sounding hollow even to my own ears. "Just dealing with some... challenges

on the other end of the line. "If there's something

in on the

"But it's just... work stuff. Nothing for you to

distance growing. "Alright,"

hung up, I sat there, phone still in my hand, feeling a strange mix of relief and regret. I'd kept her out of it, just like I wanted. But at

to the office with a renewed determination. I needed answers, needed to know if my suspicions were real or if I was just driving myself mad. I called Frank into my office, watching him carefully as

but did as I asked.

wanted to go over that new contract with you. The one

course," he said, smiling in a way

feigning indifference. "Just wanted to make

mind kept wandering, focusing on every little gesture, every pause. Was he nervous? Was he hiding something? Or was I just seeing

more at ease than before. If anything, I was more unsettled.