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

Chapter 115

Sarah's POV

The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the stack of papers in front of me. My hands trembled as I picked up the tattered photo, the edges frayed like it had been carried around for years. The man and little girl in the picture didn't look familiar at first, but the more I stared, the more the pieces clicked. The girl was Isabelle. That man-he had the same eyes as her.

My stomach twisted. She'd never mentioned him, never brought up her family. Why was this photo just sitting here, out in the open like a breadcrumb she wanted me to follow again?

I heard footsteps behind me and looked up to see her. Isabelle. She stood in the doorway, her head tilted slightly, a serene smile plastered on her face like she didn't have a care in the world. "Good morning," she said sweetly, her voice soft but somehow grating.

I clenched my teeth, fighting to keep my voice steady. "Is this yours?" I held up the photo.

Her smile faltered for just a second, but she recovered quickly. "Oh, yes. Just an old picture of me and my dad. I was cleaning my room and must've left it there by accident." "Accident?" I repeated, my tone sharper than I intended.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she were trying to decide whether to play innocent or push back. "Yes. Is something wrong, Sarah?"

"Plenty," I said, pushing back my chair. "We need to talk."

In the living room, I stood with my arms crossed, trying to control the shaking in my hands.

Isabelle sat on the edge of the couch, her legs crossed delicately, looking more like a guest than someone who had wormed her way into my home.

"You've been following us, haven't you?" I said, cutting straight to the point.

Her brows knit together in confusion-or maybe she was pretending. "Following you? Sarah, that's ridiculous."

"Is it?" I shot back. "You know too much about us. Things Richard and I haven't told you. And then there's the photo. You weren't just some stranger we decided to help, were you? You've been planning this for months."

Her lips parted, and for a moment, I thought she was going to drop the act. But then her eyes filled with tears. "I can't believe you think that about me," she whispered. "After everything I've been through..."

I blinked, taken aback. "What are you-?"

own ever since. All I've ever wanted was a place to

fell freely now, and I felt

my voice lacked the conviction I wanted. "You've been inserting yourself into our lives in ways

one of pure heartbreak. "I don't know how to make you believe me. I've

the air, startling us both. "What's going

the doorway, his eyes darting between

Isabelle said quickly, wiping her tears. "I think

lying," I said, my voice rising. "She's manipulating you, Richard,

frowned, stepping closer.

tell me to calm down!" I snapped. "You've been

overreacting," he said, his tone gentle

I grabbed my coat from the back of

said, cutting him

***

while, the tension in my chest making it hard to breathe. Isabelle's face, her crocodile tears, kept flashing in my

what was right in front of

nothing. My hands shook as

wasn't just some harmless woman down on her luck. She'd been watching us, studying us. But why?

the other thing. The thing I'd been ignoring for weeks. The nausea, the

told myself it was just stress, but deep down, I

my phone and searched for the

***

the kind of sterile quiet that made my skin crawl. I sat on the edge of the exam table, my heart pounding as I waited for the results. "Congratulations," the doctor said when she came back into the room, a smile on her face.

me like a freight train.

her, unable to speak.

okay?" the doctor asked,

nodded slowly, though my mind was spinning. "Yeah. I'm...