You Can't Win Me Back, Ex-husband

CLAIRE'S POV,Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed, casting a brief, eerie glow through the dark bedroom. Rain hammered against the windows, but it wasn’t the storm that had pulled me from sleep.It was a sound I’d come to dread—the special ringtone my husband Leonard had set just for her so that he’d never miss a single call.The ringtone that always meant he’d leave.Leonard stirred beside me, reaching for his phone before the sound even had a chance to finish. I didn’t need to check who it was. It was always her. Charlotte Spring, Leonard’s childhood best friend.Leonard’s voice was soft and comforting as he sat up in bed. “Charlotte? What happened?” he asked, the grogginess slipping away as he spoke. His whole face changed, shifting from sleep to focus, like he’d been waiting for this moment.“Don’t cry. I’ll be there soon,” he murmured into the phone, his tone gentle and reassuring.Before I could process it, he threw back the covers and stood, already gettin

CLAIRE'S POV, I stood at the entrance, frozen, unsure where to go or what to say. For minutes, no one noticed me. I lingered, feeling like a ghost, a silent witness to a life I didn’t belong to. Finally, Charlotte’s eyes flickered in my direction. A slow, pitying smile curled onto her lips as she said, in that sweet, saccharine voice that made my skin crawl, “Oh, Claire is here.” “What?” Leonard’s mother’s voice rang out in sharp, cold surprise, her glare like a dagger. “What is she doing here? Who invited her?” A small smile tugged at Charlotte’s lips, a look of pure, practised innocence on her face as she gazed up at Leonard. “I’m so sorry. I know today is your anniversary,” she said with an apologetic sigh. “But we just got some wonderful news, and Leo was so excited to share it with everyone.” A chill spread through my body, cold and unrelenting. I felt as though the ground was slipping from beneath me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at her

CLAIRE'S POV,I had never seen Leo look at me like this. His eyes were burning. A part of me had thought he would trust me—that he would hear me out, believe that I’d only been trying to help. “Leo, the wheelchair got stuck on a stone,” I eagerly explained. “I squatted down to fix, but—”“Move away,” he snapped, cutting me off with a glare as he stepped between me and Charlotte.My chest tightened a wave of nausea washing over me as I stumbled backwards, the world spinning for a brief, terrifying moment. I was still catching my breath from running, and my legs were too weak to hold me. I fell to the ground, my hands instinctively covering my stomach as fear clawed its way through me. My child! I thought, terror tightening around my heart.But Leonard didn’t notice. He lifted Charlotte into his arms, his expression softened by worry as he cradled her against his chest, and carried her back toward the house. He didn't even look at me. However, I knew I couldn’t let him walk away fr

LEONARD'S POV, The first time Claire walked into my office, I felt a strange flicker of familiarity. It was the eyes, something about them—like I’d seen them before. But I brushed it off, drawn instead to the focus she brought to her work and the way her professionalism quickly made her invaluable. As we settled into our roles, I forgot about that fleeting feeling. We worked together seamlessly. Her quiet determination and her ability to anticipate my needs before I even voiced them—made her stand out. Then one day, after a long call with my parents urging me to find someone and settle down, I felt the familiar pressure settling in. I was tired and a headache started to make its way. I had relationships before with women who were wonderful and who had genuinely cared for me. But each one ended the same way, as soon as Charlotte came into the picture. None of them could accept the attention I gave her or the special bond we shared. They wanted me to distance myself from her, t

CLAIRE'S POV, I stared at Leonard in disbelief, his words echoing in my mind. Apologize? To Charlotte? “Leo, how long have you known me?” My voice wavered, trembling under the stress of my suppressed emotions. “You know I would never purposely hurt anyone.” My chest started to feel tight, my nose stinging as I fought back tears. Yes, Charlotte’s constant intrusion into my marriage bothered me—how could it not? But I would never stoop so low as to harm her. I would rather have talked to Leonard and found a way to fix things between us if that was even possible anymore. But he didn’t believe me. Not fully. His attitude was like a blade slicing into my heart, sharp and unforgiving. “But she was hurt,” Leo repeated once again. His eyes were steady, as though that single fact overrode everything else. “And at that time, she only had you by her side.” I closed my eyes, feeling the absurdity of the situation rise like bile in my throat. Of course, I fell into her trap. Charlotte’s