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Chapter 41 : The Struggle to Co-Parent
Last Updated:
2025-01-11 07:23:50
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Lucas’s POVThe sound of tiny footsteps echoed through the house, and I couldn’t help but smile as Emily darted past me, her little giggle filling the air. It had been a few weeks since I started making more of an effort to connect with her. The last thing I wanted was to remain a stranger in her life. I was her father, whether she understood that yet or not, and I needed to be there for her in ways I hadn’t been before.Today was different. Today, I had planned something special—just the two of us. Mandy had agreed to give us some space, and as much as it pained me to be away from her, this was about Emily. She needed me and I needed to be the father she deserved."Emily!" I called out as she zipped past me. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Yes, Lucas?" she asked, her voice bright with innocence.I smiled, kneeling down to her level. "How about we go out today? Just you and me?"Her face lit up, and she bounced on her toes. "Really? Where are we going?"I g
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Mandy's POVReaching home, I didn’t know how I had gotten to this point. One moment, I was walking away with Emily, trying to shield her from the heavy conversation that Lucas had started, and the next, I was standing in the kitchen, my hands shaking as I stared at the empty coffee cup in front of me. I had wanted to protect Emily from all of this—the pain, the confusion, the weight of the truth. But Lucas... Lucas had opened a door that couldn’t be closed again. And now, I had to figure out how to handle it and how to handle him.Then, I heard the door open behind me and tensed. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was him. I could feel his presence, the pull of his energy, even if he wasn’t saying a word."Mandy," Lucas said, his voice low. "We need to talk."I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside me. "What is there to talk about, Lucas?" I finally asked, my voice tight. "You’ve already said enough."He walked closer, his foot
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Lucas’s POVThe weight of Mandy’s words still lingered in the air, thick and suffocating. She wasn’t the only one who made mistakes, she said. And in that moment, I realized that maybe I had been too focused on my own guilt to see hers. Maybe, we had both been wrong. But there was more to the story, something I wasn’t seeing—something that had been hidden from me all these years.I leaned back against the couch, my mind racing. I needed to understand. I needed to know why Mandy had really walked away, why she had kept Emily from me for so long. There had to be more to it than just her shutting me out. There had to be a reason why she’d kept me in the dark about Emily’s existence. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe it wasn’t just her choice.The sound of my phone vibrating on the coffee table broke my thoughts. I glanced at the screen—an unknown number. Hesitantly, I picked it up."Hello?" I answered, trying to shake off the lingering tension in my chest.
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Writer’s POVHowever, the air in the room was thick with tension, each word that passed between Lucas and Mandy only adding to the weight. They stood on opposite sides of the living room, both frustrated, both unwilling to back down, yet neither truly understanding the other’s pain. The distance between them wasn’t just physical—it was emotional, and it seemed to grow with each passing day.Lucas’s jaw was clenched as he crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes, usually so calm and collected, now blazed with frustration. "You still don’t trust me, do you?" he asked, his voice low but sharp.Mandy stood near the kitchen counter, her hands gripping the edge as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded. She looked at him, her face a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation. "It’s not about trust, Lucas," she snapped. "It’s about reality. You think everything can be fixed with a smile and a nice gesture, but it’s not that simple. We’ve both made mistakes, and there’s no easy way to
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Lucas’s POVI could see Mandy hesitating, her finger hovering over the play button, but her eyes were locked on the screen, as if she were trying to prepare herself for what was coming. I could see the turmoil in her face, the confusion, the disbelief, and it made my stomach churn. What was about to unfold was something I had buried so deep, so far away from her, that I had hoped we would never have to confront it. But Sophia... she had found a way to drag it all back into the light.My heart pounded in my chest as the screen flickered to life. The darkness of the alley filled the frame, shadows stretching long and ominous. I could see myself, younger, desperate, pacing with a sense of urgency that was palpable even through the grainy footage. My voice echoed through the alley as I shouted Sophia’s name. "Sophia!" I could hear myself calling out, panic in my tone. "Sophia!"The air around me felt like it was thick with dread, and I could almost feel the weight of the night again.
The Club Star Ex-Wife He Wants Back Chapter 132 : The Truth Lucas Hid
Mandy’s POVThe world around me felt like it was slipping away. My body trembled, not from the cold, but from the weight of the words in the air. Each one felt like a stone being dropped into the abyss, echoing through me, making everything I thought I knew shake. I had always believed in Lucas, in the man who stood beside me, and yet now, his past was unfurling before my eyes, and I wasn’t sure if I even knew him at all.Sophia leaned in closer, her breath hot against my ear, and I froze. There was a dangerous calmness in her voice as she whispered the words that made my heart stop."He let me die, Mandy. He chose himself over me."Her words rang in my ears, and for a moment, everything inside me froze. He chose himself over her? The very idea cut through me like a knife. I could barely breathe, let alone process the enormity of what she was implying. Lucas was beside me, his fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with barely contained fury. His voice cracked through the silen
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Lucas’s POVThe video continued to play, the grainy footage pulling me back into a past I thought I had buried. The young faces staring back at me were mine and Sophia’s, but they were from a time when things were simpler—or so I had convinced myself. I watched as I laughed with her, the smile on my face completely different than the one I wore now. It was a carefree moment, one that seemed so far removed from the man I had become, but it was still mine. Still part of the story I had left behind.Mandy’s breath hitched beside me, a sharp intake of air that made my heart clench. I could feel her confusion, her pain. The flicker of doubt in her eyes sent a wave of guilt crashing over me. "Lucas… what is this?" Her voice was strained, barely above a whisper, but the question hung between us like a heavy cloud. I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to hold it together, trying to keep the storm from breaking loose. "This was before," I forced out, my voice low, almost as if I was tr
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Lucas’s POV The moment Gage disappeared into the shadows, the weight in my chest grew unbearable. My long lost friend. The one I thought was dead, the one I had buried in my past, forced myself to forget. And yet, here he was, standing with Damian, warning me that something worse was coming. Mandy’s grip on my arm tightened. "Lucas, what the hell just happened?" I turned to her, but before I could answer, Damian let out a weak chuckle from the ground. "Oh, Lucas. You always thought you had control, didn’t you?" Ethan pressed his boot harder against Damian’s back. "You’d better start talking before I make sure you don’t leave this warehouse alive." Damian groaned but smirked through his pain. "Killing me won’t stop it. It’s already set in motion." A sinking feeling churned in my gut. "What are you talking about?" He licked his bloody lips, his eyes burning with amusement. "Your past, Lucas. You spent years running from it. But you never really buried it, did you?" I clen
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Lucas’s POV Damian’s laughter echoed through the warehouse, a haunting sound that seemed to rattle my every bone. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to listen to his sick, twisted amusement while Mandy held Emily close, both of them trembling with fear. But his words—the warning—echoed in my mind.I took a steadying breath, the weight of the situation sinking deeper. The last thing I needed right now was another layer of complication, especially when it came to people I loved. Ethan’s grip on Damian tightened as he pressed his boot harder into his back. "What do you mean by that?" Damian chuckled through the pain, blood dripping from his shoulder where I had shot him. "You think you’ve won? You think it’s over? You have no idea who you’re really up against." My hand tightened around the gun in my grip. "If you think you’re getting away from this alive, you’re mistaken." But even as the words left my mouth, doubt crept into my mind because Damian had been one thing—dang
