The Billionaire's Ex-wife is a Brilliant Lawyer

x's

running longer th

ough. The rain had settled into a thin, steady drizzle, soft enough to blur the streetlights but persistent enough to seep into eve

ndow wa

ssed a light switching off, a shadow moving behind the curtai

y against the wheel. The leat

reached for t

d been dull all morning. I didn't lock the car immediately. I stood there for a seco

was a

took the first step

nt an

ke air that had been sitting too long without movement. My footsteps ec

er door, my hand hovered

There were marks I recognized-faint scratches near the handle, a dent just below eye

ifted and

down the hallway.

movement inside. A footstep or the soft fri

again, hard

ell

uld stop it, quieter than the knock

e press

oximity might pull something through. Still nothing. No movement, n

w tigh

st the dim hallway, her name sitting there like it had every other time

ssed t

eyes fixed on the door like it might open mid-call, like she might stan

d and half s

ne kept

hroat dry despite the r

r my breath, the words slip

nued, then stop

followed felt he

een for a second longer before it dimmed. My re

a, I know you're-" The

wasn't here. Or she was, a

hair, pushing the damp strands away from my face. My ches

door one last tim

as the space had shifted without me noticing. By the time I reached the street, t

car without hesi

d, sealing me back into someth

rt the engine

nd, her name still at

ared

and leaned back, closing my eyes for a seco

ted the

t offering anything solid to hold onto. My hands moved on instinct, turning, braking, and accelerating

y, the rain had slowed again, settling

se light

r harder than necessary. The sound echoed briefly bef

hit immediately, b

s in the l

apping lightly against the floor in a rhythm that wasn't quite steady. He

ted the momen

e were

he space, controlled in a way th

e by the door, the metal hitting

teppe

h, something close to a la

epeated, slower this time

ing off my jacket, the fa

yn, pl

opping to her sides. "Please don't ask the obvious quest

respond im

d feel her watching me, waiting fo

this right now," I sai

ted, something tight

eresting because I seem to remember today being

ting my jacket down on

now, E

e control she'd been holding onto. "Because it's never now with you. It's always lat

st her towar

Al

t I didn't tur

ice steadier, quieter, but carrying more wei

hen, meetin

that look like t

arly in the morning without saying where you're going. It looks l

lightly. "You're re

loser. "Because from where I'm stan

not,"

xplain i

mouth, then c

id would lead somewher

tion. "You went to her," sh

dn't

s if confirming so

you se

word came

ched mine. "Sh

aze for a sec

again, quiet

reath, her shoulder

ve stayed if she

ed away

elieving sound that carried mor

know," she

ack toward

Al

hand resting lightly

d. "You don't get to walk upstairs an

er at her. "I'm not pret

at are yo

wer that would make s

handle things,

s pressed tog

she repeated.

e line between the two felt t

ent, then shook her head slight

out which one it i

k and started

me. I could feel it,

should have, the house quieter

top, I paused, my hand st

down. Saying something that might close

hall and into the bedroom, shutting the do