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

Chapter 142

Sarah pov.

The next few days felt like a slow exhale, like when you finally get to take off a tight pair of shoes after a long day. It wasn't that I hated Marina-I just couldn't stand how overbearing she'd been. I had always known she could be a bit much, but having her around constantly made it hard to keep my patience.

Now, with her gone, I could finally breathe.

I was sitting at the kitchen table the morning after she left, sipping my coffee in peace. Richard was at the counter, fiddling with the coffee machine, his back turned to me.

It was a rare moment of calm, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to let go of all the tension that had built up in the past week.

"You okay?" Richard asked, glancing over his shoulder with a slight smirk. "You seem... quieter than usual."

I shook my head, forcing a smile. "Just... tired, I guess. It's nice to have the house back to ourselves. No unsolicited advice on every little thing."

I chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the mood. But deep down, I felt something else-relief, yes, but also a tiny bit of guilt. I shouldn't have let Marina get to me that much, but I couldn't help it.

Richard set his mug down and came over to the table, sitting next to me. His hand brushed mine gently, and for a moment, I felt the world settle.

"You know," he said, his voice low, "I think you handled her a lot better than I would've." He leaned in and kissed my forehead softly. "You've got so much strength, Sarah. I don't know how you do it."

it was tinged with something bittersweet. "I didn't feel

I made a choice, she had something to say about it. I just wanted to do things my way, but... I don't know, sometimes

squeezed my hand. "You don't have to second-guess yourself with me. I know you're

for what it's worth, I think you're doing an amazing job

was, this whole pregnancy thing was still so new to me, and I wasn't always sure I knew what I was doing. But with Richard by my side, I could at

that made

that day, I had a phone call with Zoe, and we spent a good half hour chatting about work and catching up on the gossip

especially after everything that

everything going over there?" I asked Zoe as I paced back and forth in the living room, looking out the window at the soft rain falling outside. "You

their toes, waiting for you to come back.

things under control. I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to

this," Zoe said. "And speaking of managing, how are things at home? You surviving without

this morning. It's just, you know, sometimes it's hard to deal with all the

"Ah, the infamous unsolicited advice. Yeah, I get that. From everyone, right? Like they think you don't know what you're doing just because you're pregnant. But listen, Sarah, you've always been

bit lighter. Zoe had a way of putting things into perspective. "Thanks,

under your skin.

laughed softly. "Trust me, I'm doing my best to

"Good for you. Just make sure you stick to them. And if she doesn't respect them, well... it's okay to be a little firm,

said firmly. "Just take a deep breath and trust yourself. You're doing the best you can.

a surge of gratitude for Zoe's words, and for