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

Chapter 91

Sarah's pov.

The air in the car was thick as Richard drove us toward the meeting spot. I sat there, fiddling with the cuff of my sleeve, trying to keep my breathing steady, trying to look like I wasn't on the edge of running. I glanced at Richard, his jaw tight, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little too hard.

He caught my gaze and softened, giving me a slight smile that was supposed to be comforting.

But there was nothing comforting about this. Not when we were about to walk into a room with James and a few of his "network contacts."

Just saying the word made my stomach twist. And James... Well, trusting him felt like trying to trust a snake. You just couldn't be sure he wouldn't bite.

"So, are you ready?" Richard asked, his voice low and calm. Too calm. He knew this was a big risk-maybe even our biggest so far.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, trying to sound steady. But my mind was spinning. I knew we had no choice but to work with James.

He had the connections, the leverage, and-if he actually followed through-the key to finally getting out of this mess.

But I also knew we were playing a dangerous game, and one wrong move would send everything spiraling.

I forced myself to breathe, in and out, in and out. For Richard's sake, I tried to look calm, or at least not terrified. He needed to think I was handling this, that I was strong, and capable. We'd been through so much, come so far. If he saw any crack in my armor, it might just break him too.

So I straightened up, met his eyes, and gave him what I hoped looked like a reassuring smile.

"Let's get this over with," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.

When we arrived, James was already waiting inside, lounging on a worn-out leather couch like he hadn't a single care in the world.

Seeing him there, smirking, made my skin crawl.

up," he said, glancing between

was I going to give him

replied, my voice colder than I

himself. "Relax, Sarah. I'm just getting a

a quick look at Richard. "You two look tense.

voice hard. "We're here because you said you could help us meet some of your people. So, is that going to happen, or are we just wasting our time?" James shrugged, still wearing that lazy smirk. "It depends," he said slowly, like he was savoring every word. "You're asking a lot. My contacts don't meet just anyone. They're... selective." Selective. Right. More like paranoid. People like James's friends couldn't afford to trust anyone-not

of secrets they kept. And yet here we

fists, fighting the urge to snap at him. "We don't have time for games, James.

a moment, I thought he might push back, and

nodded, all business now. "Fine. Follow me. I've set up a little meet-and-greet. Just... don't do anything stupid,

was it-the moment

step we took was just digging us in deeper, but

dimly lit hallway behind James, I

narrowed slightly as he scanned the space around

decision pressing down on him, the way he carried it in his shoulders, in the tight

doing this for us. I knew that. And yet, a part of me couldn't

couldn't help wondering. There were pieces of Richard's past that still felt hidden,

I trusted him, there were times when

James turned to us, giving us a smug grin. "Alright, here we are. Just... don't embarrass yourselves,

him see how much he was getting

men sat at

looked like the type who'd seen it all,

said, motioning to the men. "These are the people

nodded in greeting, but

cheek, spoke first. "So, you're the ones James keeps talking about." His voice was low, gravelly, the