Dear Ex Wife Please take me back novel Chapter 61

ATHENA

A thick, suffocating darkness surrounds me.

Cold. Wet. Heavy.

I can’t breathe.

Water clings to my skin, soaking through my clothes, and weighing me down. My legs kick, my arms thrash, but there’s no solid ground beneath me. Only the endless, inky abyss swallowing me whole.

I try to scream, but the moment I open my mouth, water rushes in. It burns. It fills my lungs, dragging me deeper, deeper until all I can hear is the muffled roar of my heartbeat and the distant echoes of my own cries.

Then suddenly,

A hand.

It grips my shoulder, fingers digging in painfully. Not to save me. Not to pull me up.

To push me further down.

“No,” I choke, bubbles escaping my lips. I claw at the hand, at the unseen force keeping me trapped in this nightmare, but it’s too strong.

The water is cold, but my chest burns, and my body convulses, desperate for air.

I see shadows above me. A towering figure watching. Laughing.

And then I’m falling…

Not through water, but through darkness.

An endless void.

Wind rushes past me, howling in my ears, but the ground never comes. I fall and fall and fall….

Until a sharp jolt rips through me.

I wake up gasping, my body drenched in sweat, my fingers clawing at the sheets like they’re the only thing keeping me tethered to reality.

My throat aches, and my breaths come in ragged, uneven gulps. The weight in my chest is still there, pressing down like I never truly escaped.

The room is dark, but a dim glow filters through the curtains.

I’m not in the water. I’m not falling.

I’m in Sloane’s apartment.

Before I can get my thoughts together, the door bursts open and an angry-looking Alex storms in.

My pulse is still racing, my body still trembling from the nightmare, but now there’s another storm standing before me and this one comes in six feet two form with jade green eyes and blonde hair.

"Where the hell is Sloane?" he asks, scanning the room.

I swallow hard, my voice is still hoarse from my nightmare. "I don’t know. I just woke up."

His jaw ticks, “She left you alone with the door open?”

“She's not my babysitter, Alex. Stop making her sound like my nanny.” I bite.

His eyes narrow slightly, taking in my tone, my expression. "You look upset," he says, stepping closer.

"I'm not," I lie, gripping the blanket tighter around me.

His jaw tightens. He doesn’t believe me.

“Did something happen?”

He takes another step forward, but I hold up a hand.

"Stay away from me."

His jaw ticks, his entire body going rigid. He hates being told what to do.

But that’s too damn bad.

Because I know a few words I'd like to use and I doubt he'll like any of them.

His nostrils flare as he glares at me.

"Why didn’t you at least text before you fell asleep? So I didn’t have to worry about you and the baby?"

A scoff escapes my lips before I can stop it. I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head.