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.

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

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

through a mental list of every person I'd worked with, every business partner who might have a reason to turn against me. Then there was Carla-one of my newer hires. Smart,

more questions than usual, poking into things that didn't concern her. "Just trying to understand the process," she'd say with a smile that seemed just a little too wide. I

questioning everyone around me. I leaned back in my chair, staring

on cue, my phone buzzed on the desk beside me. I picked it up, glancing at the

Sarah.

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

soft but tense. "Just... checking

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

and I could hear the unspoken

should

even to my own

hesitated again, and I could almost hear her frowning on the other end of the line. "If there's something going on, Richard, you can tell me. You don't have to handle

her in on the mess my mind had become.

said finally. "But it's just...

I could feel the distance growing. "Alright," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "If

mix of relief and regret. I'd kept her out of it, just like I wanted.

suspicions were real or if I was just driving myself mad. I called Frank into my office, watching him

but did as I asked.

my arms. "I just wanted to go over that new contract with you. The one you were working on

course," he said, smiling in a way that didn't quite reach his eyes.

shrugged, feigning indifference. "Just wanted to

gesture, every pause. Was

than before. If anything, I was more unsettled.