Dear Ex Wife Please take me back novel Chapter 78

ATHENA

Two days later….

“I don't know how it came to this, my dear. But always know that you're welcome and this is your home.” Giana pulls my hands into hers.

Today marks four months since I got divorced from Alex, and this is the first time I'm facing his grandmother. I had no idea what to say to her, especially since it felt like it was my fault.

I lost the baby, and I have no way of proving otherwise.

“I'm sorry I robbed you of the chance to see Rayen grow.” I whisper as tears roll down my face.

My wounds have never healed, and every day is harder.

Giana's grip on my hands tightens, her warmth a stark contrast to the cold emptiness inside me. Her eyes, filled with a depth of understanding I don’t deserve, shimmer with unshed tears.

“My sweet girl,” she murmurs, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You didn’t rob me of anything. Life is cruel, and sometimes, it takes more than it gives. But you… you are still here.”

I shake my head, the weight of grief pressing down on my chest. “It doesn’t feel like I am.”

She sighs, pulling me into a hug. For a moment, I let myself lean into her, let myself pretend that the ache in my heart can be soothed by someone’s touch.

But nothing helps.

Nothing makes the nightmares go away.

Nothing stops the phantom feeling of tiny kicks that will never come again.

Giana pulls back, her hands cupping my face. “I know you think you have to carry this alone, but you don’t. You still have people who love you, Athena. And you are still family.”

A sob escapes me before I can hold it back. “I don’t know how to keep going.”

She presses a kiss to my forehead. “One day at a time, my dear. Just one day at a time.”

And God, I want to believe her.

But how do you move forward when your heart is still trapped in the past?

When you're already living in the shadow of yourself with a part of you missing.

“Can you please help me convince Alex to let me see him? Even just a photo of the grave. Please, granny.” I'm desperate. This is wrong, and it could trigger her weak heart, but I'm on the last stroll.

I couldn't ask Ariana because of how much she's already doing. I told her I didn't need anything from him, but she insisted on getting half of his wealth to give to me.

Half?

Alex is filthy rich!

What am I supposed to do with billions?

“That little brat! He assured me he would allow you right before the funeral. Did he lie to me? I'm so sorry. I thought you had seen your little angel. I would never have allowed this!”

Giana’s outrage is noticeable, her grip on my hands tightening as her face darkens with frustration. I see the betrayal flash in her eyes, the same pain I’ve been drowning in for months now.

I shake my head, voice breaking. “He won’t even talk to me. I begged, I pleaded, but he acts like I never existed. Like Rayen was never mine too to begin with.”