Dear Ex Wife Please take me back novel Chapter 104

ATHENA

“22nd October.” The words echo in my mind like a depressing song on a loop.

My baby was born on the 22nd of September.

Which means… Rayen isn’t mine." Not biologically. Not by blood.

God, I feel like such a fool.

I shouldn’t have come. I should’ve stayed away like I promised myself I would. But I saw the ambulance that day, saw the way Alex held him, panic written all over his face. Something broke in me. Something deep and aching.

Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was that stupid glimmer of hope I’ve been secretly nursing like a wound that never healed.

And that damn birthmark.

“We even have the same hair color!” Rayen's happy voice rings at the back of my head, making my eyes sting.

I wrap my arms tightly around myself.

I was so hopeful.

I'm so sure there was a reason I felt that pull to Rayen every time I saw him. The way he’d cling to me. The way I knew how to soothe his cries like I’d done it a hundred times before.

But it was just in my head. It's just a cruel coincidence.

Wishful thinking.

And Alex... the way he looked at me, the way he held me... it messed everything up.

Because no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop loving the man who tore me apart.

The jealousy in his eyes and how he looked like he wanted to rip Noah's head off reminds me of that night I danced with Zayan.

I don't know why he behaved like that.

“I can hear you thinking.” Noah's deep voice pulls me back to his car.

“Am I that obvious?” I sigh, not having the strength in me to pretend.

“What were you doing with Alex, Athena?”

I stare out the window, the sun glowing over the city, making me jealous of how beautiful and well put it looks.

“Athena?”

I swallow, blinking back the tears burning at the corners of my eyes.

“I don’t know,” I admit softly. “Making a fool of myself, I guess.”

Noah doesn’t respond right away. The silence stretches, heavy with the weight of words unspoken.

“Do you still love him?” He asks, making me realize that he's misinterpreted my statement, but that sounds better than what actually happened.

“No.” I respond with confidence, but my heart jumps as if calling me out on the lie.

“You don’t owe him anything, Athena,” Noah says finally. “Not your thoughts. Not your pain. And definitely not your love.”

His words are soft, but they hit hard, like gentle truths dressed in armor.

I look down at my hands, fingers twisted in my lap.

Another pause.

Then his hand reaches across the console, brushing lightly over mine.

“I hate seeing you like this,” he murmurs.

“How long do you have until your next shift?” He asks.

I grab my phone to take a look at the time before responding to him,