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

Richard

pov

The living room buzzed with life-laughter, the clinking of glasses, and warm chatter filled the air.

Guests had arrived, carrying brightly wrapped gifts and wide smiles. It should have been a joyful day, a celebration of new life.

But all I could feel was unease twisting in my gut like a knot that wouldn't come undone.

Martins nudged me as I stood by the window, eyes darting to the security guards stationed discreetly outside.

"Hey, CIA," he joked, his tone light. "You might wanna dial it down before Sarah figures out you've turned the baby shower into a covert operation."

I managed a thin smile. "Just being cautious."

Martins chuckled. "Yeah, cautious is your middle name. You're so tense, you might scare the baby into coming early."

His humor didn't land. I couldn't shake the image of Sarah falling down those stairs from my mind-a thought that had no basis but still felt like an omen.

Isabelle was out there. I didn't know where, and that made her a threat.

"Where's Sarah?" Martins asked, looking around. "She's still getting ready?"

"Yeah," I said, glancing at my watch. She'd been upstairs for a while now.

Martins grinned. "She's probably wrestling with her dress or trying to figure out how to make her swollen feet fit into shoes. Women in the eighth month-they're in a league of their own."

I nodded absently, my unease growing. The clock seemed louder than the chatter around me, each tick dragging her absence out longer.

Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm going to check on her," I muttered, leaving Martins to hold down the fort.

"Don't tell her I said anything about her feet," he called after me.

I climbed the stairs two at a time, my pulse quickening. As I reached the landing, Zoe stepped out of Sarah's room, her face pale.

"Richard," she said, her voice shaking. "She's not in there."

"What do you mean she's not in there?" My stomach dropped.

came back, the room was empty. I thought maybe she went downstairs, but I checked, and she's not there either."

she said, her eyes wide. "Richard,

pushed past her, calling Sarah's name as I opened doors and looked into every corner. The

voice echoed down

from the staircase sent my heart into

at the top of the stairs, frozen in horror. My eyes followed hers to the bottom of the stairs, where Sarah lay crumpled in a

her, its dark red

racing down the

her steps frantic. "Oh my God, Richard!

ghostly white, her breathing shallow. My hands trembled as I pressed my fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Relief mingled with

I barked

for her phone, her hands

brushing her hair back from her face. "Baby, please

moment, dazed and unfocused. Her lips parted, and she muttered something so faint I had

my jaw, fighting the tears threatening to blur my vision. "You're

with the emergency dispatcher, her voice shaky but urgent as she relayed the address

willing her to stay conscious, to keep

down the stairs as Martins appeared, his face etched with confusion

I snapped, my voice

me, his usual demeanor replaced with

nodded, tears streaming down her face as she ended

need to stop the bleeding," Martins said, shrugging off his jacket and

and music from the guests in the living room faded into a distant hum, replaced

Sarah's condition and loading her onto a stretcher. I stayed close, gripping her hand as they wheeled her out to the waiting ambulance. "I'm coming with

space to work,"

follow

was right. Finally, I nodded, watching helplessly as the ambulance doors closed and

***

Zoe was behind the wheel, her knuckles white as she gripped the

sat in the back with me, his hand on my shoulder, grounding me when all I felt

hospital, we were ushered into a waiting area while the medical team worked on

antiseptic filled the air, and the

fiancée is in surgery. She's lost a significant amount of blood, and we're performing an emergency C-section to deliver the baby." Her words hit me like a freight train.

nodded. "The baby

to

"She's in good hands, Richard. They