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151: Becoming Amelia
Last Updated:
2025-02-23 22:42:19
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Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 152: The Blind Date Set-Up
Estella / AmeliaFive years later4:02 PM.I drum my fingers against the polished mahogany table, staring at my phone. No missed calls. No texts. Nothing from Aunt Eleanor except radio silence.The café is nearly empty, most of the lunch crowd long gone. A few servers wipe down tables, shooting me sympathetic glances. I've been here long enough that they probably think I'm being stood up.They're not wrong.I check my schedule – one meeting pushed back, two client calls rescheduled, all because Aunt Eleanor insisted this lunch was "absolutely crucial." Now here I am, sitting alone like an idiot while my work piles up back at the office. Arielle's ballet recital is at seven, and I still need to pick up her costume from the cleaners.The waitress approaches again, her smile gentle. "Can I get you anything while you wait?""No, thank you." I gather my purse, done wasting time. "Actually, I was just—""Excuse me." A deep voice cuts through my words. "This is my table."I look up to find
Last Updated : 2025-02-24Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 153: An Ordinary Evening I
Estella / AmeliaIt's nearly closing time when I burst into Martinez Cleaners– I can see Mrs. Martinez already counting the register."I'm here for the Swan Lake costume," I say, slightly out of breath from my dash from the car. "Under Alvarez."Mrs. Martinez looks up, her weathered face crinkling into a warm smile. She's been handling our family's garments for decades, or so Eleanor tells me. "Ah, my little swan." She shuffles into the back room. "I just finished pressing it myself. Such beautiful work – French tulle, isn't it?"She emerges with a garment bag. The gossamer white fabric peeks through the plastic."Make sure la princesa doesn't get any more chocolate on this one, yes?" Mrs. Martinez's eyes twinkled. "Though I must say, the last time she had quite the artistic vision with those stains."I laugh, remembering Ari's last dress rehearsal when she decided her costume needed "improvements" via chocolate-covered fingers. "I'll try my best, but you know how four-year-olds are
Last Updated : 2025-02-24Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 154: An Ordinary Evening II
Amelia / Estella The drive home is quick at this hour, the road winding through the vineyards that have sustained and built the wealth owned by the Alvarez family for generations. The vines are heavy with fruit, some almost ready for harvest. Sometimes I walk through them early in the morning, before Arielle and the whole house wakes up, trying to jog loose some memory of doing this as a child. It never works. The gates of the villa swing open automatically as I approach, lights welcoming me home. It's a beautiful house – all warm stone and climbing roses, with a view of the mountains in the distance. The kind of place little girls dream of growing up in. The kind of place I must have grown up in, though I don't remember a single birthday or Christmas or ordinary Tuesday within these walls. Eleanor meets me at the door, dressed elegantly as always in her silk loungewear. Her silver hair catches the light from the chandelier, making her look like some sort of fairy godmother. W
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 155: Tiny Questions, Big Answers
Amelia / Estella "Higher, Mama! I want to touch the clouds!" I push Arielle's swing, watching her little legs kick at the sky. The playground is mostly empty this late afternoon, just a few kids wrapping up their play dates. We are here for ballet practice which ended early after Miss Carmen twisted her ankle, and I couldn't say no when Ari begged for "just five minutes" at the park. "Look how high I'm going!" She throws her head back, dark curls streaming behind her. "I'm flying!" "You sure are, baby." I give her another push, earning another delighted squeal from her. These are the moments I live for – just us, no complications, no missing memories pressing against my skull. "Sofia says I can't be a real swan." The words come out casual, but I catch the slight tremor in her voice. My hands tighten on the swing chains. "Why would she say that?" Arielle shrugs, her next kick less enthusiastic. "She says real swans have mamas and papas. And I only have a mama." Fuck.
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 156: Tiny Questions, Big Answers II
Arielle's in the stuffed animal section, curled up in the reading nook. Her eyes are red but defiant when I sit beside her."I'm not apologizing.""Yes, you are." I brush a tear from her cheek. "That was incredibly rude.""He deserved it." She hugs her legs tighter. "I don't want a new daddy."The words hit like a punch to the gut. "Baby...""Everyone at school has one. But I don't need one. I have you and Nana and that's enough."I pull her into my lap, swan and all. "You're right. We're enough, just us. But that doesn't mean you get to be mean to people.""He's going to keep coming around." She burrows into my neck. "And then you'll like him better than me.""Hey." I tilt her chin up. "No one in this world could ever be more important to me than you. You're my heart walking around outside my body.""Promise?""Cross my heart and hope to die."She considers this solemnly. "Stick a needle in your eye?""Obviously." I tickle her side, drawing out a reluctant giggle. "Now, about that ap
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 157: The Price of Fame
The universe has a sick sense of humor.That's the only explanation for why Ethan is standing outside the toy store, holding a pristine white swan plush that makes Arielle's eyes light up like Christmas came early."Is that—" She tugs my hand, previous animosity forgotten at the sight of the stuffed animal."For you?" Ethan crouches down, holding out the swan. "I saw how much you liked the one inside. Consider it a peace offering?"I open my mouth to refuse, but Arielle's already reaching for it. "It's so soft!" She crushes it against her chest, then narrows her eyes at Ethan. "This doesn't mean you can date my mama."He laughs, and for a second I catch that phantom scent again – leather and spice, but different from his cologne. My head spins with the familiar-yet-not sensation that's haunted me since the accident."Actually, I was hoping we could be friends." He meets her suspicious gaze. "Just you and me. No mama-dating involved.""Friends?" She pets the swan's head, considering. "
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 158: Gone Viral
"I'm so sorry!" I push through the last row of onlookers, grabbing Arielle's shoulders and pulling her back. "I’m so sorry. It was an accident."Julia looks down at the ice cream stain spreading across the front of her Valentino dress, then at Arielle's stricken face."Do you have any idea what this dress cost?" Her voice rises, distress overriding the social niceties. "This is supposed to be the most important moment of my life, and now it's ruined!""I'm sorry," Arielle whispers, lower lip trembling. "I didn't mean to."Mark steps forward, looking torn between comforting his fiancée and diffusing the situation. "Babe, it's just a dress. The kid didn't mean it. We can get it dry cleaned.""Just a dress?" Julia whirls on him. "This is Valentino! And now every photo, every video of our engagement has this—this disaster!""Hey," I step between her and Arielle, whose tears are now falling freely. "I understand you're upset, but she's just a child. And like I said it was an accident.""We
Last Updated : 2025-02-27Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 159: The Ghost in the Screen
Alejandro The boardroom fell silent as I slammed my fist against the polished mahogany table, causing the pitchers of water to tremble. The executives seated around me visibly flinched, but I couldn't give less of a fuck about their comfort."The Hong Kong deal is non-negotiable." My voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Either they accept our terms or we pull out completely."Marcus, the new VP of acquisitions, cleared his throat. "Mr. De Luca, with all due respect—""Did I ask for your input?" I fixed him with a stare that made him physically recoil.The room temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Five years ago, I might have cared about building consensus, about hearing different perspectives. That Alejandro died along with Estella.I reached for the tumbler of whiskey beside my laptop—my constant companion these days. The amber liquid burned down my throat, a familiar comfort in a world that had long since lost its color."You have forty-eight hours to close the deal.
Last Updated : 2025-02-28
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Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 161: The Truth They Kept From Me
Raul took a deep breath. "It might be her, Alejandro.""Based on what? The resemblance isn't proof—""Clara confessed something to me ." His voice dropped. "She—Estella was pregnant when she boarded that plane."The world tilted beneath my feet. "What the fuck did you just say?""Clara only told me last year. When she was pregnant with Kai, she got emotional and teary one night and spilled everything. She said Estella had just found out after she was buried. She was planning to tell you when finally joined her."My vision tunneled, rage burning white-hot. I crossed the distance between us in two steps, grabbing Raul by his shirt collar and slamming him against the nearby wall."You knew for a year and said NOTHING?" I roared, my face inches from his."Alejandro!" He didn't fight back. "You were just getting clean! You'd barely survived the overdose. What good would it have done to tell you that she was pregnant when she died in that crash?"My fist pulled back, trembling with fury."G
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 160: Chasing Clues
Alejandro I stormed into my penthouse with Raul following after me, throwing my suit jacket across the room where it landed in a heap of already piling clothes on the Italian leather sofa. The housekeeper isn’t coming in until the weekend. The whiskey bottle called to me from the bar, all I wanted to do was head over there and drown this thoughts down, but for once, I ignored it. I needed my head clear for this."Pull up everything on every available database." I paced across the hardwood floors while Raul sat and set up his laptop at my dining table. "And I mean everything."I couldn’t remember the drive from the office and how I made it home. It had been a blur of several thoughts. My mind kept replaying that video on loop—the woman with Estella's face, the little girl with my eyes. The ghost of my wife was haunting me in flesh and blood.Raul's fingers flew across the keyboard. "I've accessed databases that would land us both in federal prison, but there's barely anything on Ameli
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 159: The Ghost in the Screen
Alejandro The boardroom fell silent as I slammed my fist against the polished mahogany table, causing the pitchers of water to tremble. The executives seated around me visibly flinched, but I couldn't give less of a fuck about their comfort."The Hong Kong deal is non-negotiable." My voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Either they accept our terms or we pull out completely."Marcus, the new VP of acquisitions, cleared his throat. "Mr. De Luca, with all due respect—""Did I ask for your input?" I fixed him with a stare that made him physically recoil.The room temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Five years ago, I might have cared about building consensus, about hearing different perspectives. That Alejandro died along with Estella.I reached for the tumbler of whiskey beside my laptop—my constant companion these days. The amber liquid burned down my throat, a familiar comfort in a world that had long since lost its color."You have forty-eight hours to close the deal.
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 158: Gone Viral
"I'm so sorry!" I push through the last row of onlookers, grabbing Arielle's shoulders and pulling her back. "I’m so sorry. It was an accident."Julia looks down at the ice cream stain spreading across the front of her Valentino dress, then at Arielle's stricken face."Do you have any idea what this dress cost?" Her voice rises, distress overriding the social niceties. "This is supposed to be the most important moment of my life, and now it's ruined!""I'm sorry," Arielle whispers, lower lip trembling. "I didn't mean to."Mark steps forward, looking torn between comforting his fiancée and diffusing the situation. "Babe, it's just a dress. The kid didn't mean it. We can get it dry cleaned.""Just a dress?" Julia whirls on him. "This is Valentino! And now every photo, every video of our engagement has this—this disaster!""Hey," I step between her and Arielle, whose tears are now falling freely. "I understand you're upset, but she's just a child. And like I said it was an accident.""We
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 157: The Price of Fame
The universe has a sick sense of humor.That's the only explanation for why Ethan is standing outside the toy store, holding a pristine white swan plush that makes Arielle's eyes light up like Christmas came early."Is that—" She tugs my hand, previous animosity forgotten at the sight of the stuffed animal."For you?" Ethan crouches down, holding out the swan. "I saw how much you liked the one inside. Consider it a peace offering?"I open my mouth to refuse, but Arielle's already reaching for it. "It's so soft!" She crushes it against her chest, then narrows her eyes at Ethan. "This doesn't mean you can date my mama."He laughs, and for a second I catch that phantom scent again – leather and spice, but different from his cologne. My head spins with the familiar-yet-not sensation that's haunted me since the accident."Actually, I was hoping we could be friends." He meets her suspicious gaze. "Just you and me. No mama-dating involved.""Friends?" She pets the swan's head, considering. "
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak Chapter 156: Tiny Questions, Big Answers II
Arielle's in the stuffed animal section, curled up in the reading nook. Her eyes are red but defiant when I sit beside her."I'm not apologizing.""Yes, you are." I brush a tear from her cheek. "That was incredibly rude.""He deserved it." She hugs her legs tighter. "I don't want a new daddy."The words hit like a punch to the gut. "Baby...""Everyone at school has one. But I don't need one. I have you and Nana and that's enough."I pull her into my lap, swan and all. "You're right. We're enough, just us. But that doesn't mean you get to be mean to people.""He's going to keep coming around." She burrows into my neck. "And then you'll like him better than me.""Hey." I tilt her chin up. "No one in this world could ever be more important to me than you. You're my heart walking around outside my body.""Promise?""Cross my heart and hope to die."She considers this solemnly. "Stick a needle in your eye?""Obviously." I tickle her side, drawing out a reluctant giggle. "Now, about that ap
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 155: Tiny Questions, Big Answers
Amelia / Estella "Higher, Mama! I want to touch the clouds!" I push Arielle's swing, watching her little legs kick at the sky. The playground is mostly empty this late afternoon, just a few kids wrapping up their play dates. We are here for ballet practice which ended early after Miss Carmen twisted her ankle, and I couldn't say no when Ari begged for "just five minutes" at the park. "Look how high I'm going!" She throws her head back, dark curls streaming behind her. "I'm flying!" "You sure are, baby." I give her another push, earning another delighted squeal from her. These are the moments I live for – just us, no complications, no missing memories pressing against my skull. "Sofia says I can't be a real swan." The words come out casual, but I catch the slight tremor in her voice. My hands tighten on the swing chains. "Why would she say that?" Arielle shrugs, her next kick less enthusiastic. "She says real swans have mamas and papas. And I only have a mama." Fuck.
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 154: An Ordinary Evening II
Amelia / Estella The drive home is quick at this hour, the road winding through the vineyards that have sustained and built the wealth owned by the Alvarez family for generations. The vines are heavy with fruit, some almost ready for harvest. Sometimes I walk through them early in the morning, before Arielle and the whole house wakes up, trying to jog loose some memory of doing this as a child. It never works. The gates of the villa swing open automatically as I approach, lights welcoming me home. It's a beautiful house – all warm stone and climbing roses, with a view of the mountains in the distance. The kind of place little girls dream of growing up in. The kind of place I must have grown up in, though I don't remember a single birthday or Christmas or ordinary Tuesday within these walls. Eleanor meets me at the door, dressed elegantly as always in her silk loungewear. Her silver hair catches the light from the chandelier, making her look like some sort of fairy godmother. W
Till Betrayal Do Us Part: Ex-Husband, Ex-Heartbreak 153: An Ordinary Evening I
Estella / AmeliaIt's nearly closing time when I burst into Martinez Cleaners– I can see Mrs. Martinez already counting the register."I'm here for the Swan Lake costume," I say, slightly out of breath from my dash from the car. "Under Alvarez."Mrs. Martinez looks up, her weathered face crinkling into a warm smile. She's been handling our family's garments for decades, or so Eleanor tells me. "Ah, my little swan." She shuffles into the back room. "I just finished pressing it myself. Such beautiful work – French tulle, isn't it?"She emerges with a garment bag. The gossamer white fabric peeks through the plastic."Make sure la princesa doesn't get any more chocolate on this one, yes?" Mrs. Martinez's eyes twinkled. "Though I must say, the last time she had quite the artistic vision with those stains."I laugh, remembering Ari's last dress rehearsal when she decided her costume needed "improvements" via chocolate-covered fingers. "I'll try my best, but you know how four-year-olds are
