Forgotten Wife My Ex-Husband Regrets It After I Left (Clara and Liam) novel Chapter 217

I slid my hands into my pockets as I strolled down the sidewalk. My fingers lightly drummed on my phone, a habit whenever my mind felt cluttered. The sound of my steps merged with the swaying of branches moved by the breeze.

Away I noticed my vehicle. The illumination from the parking area lights created extended shadows around it resembling pathways leading me onward.

However the nearer I came the more something changed within my chest. Not regret, no. Instead a form of understanding.

Emily was no longer mine.

For the time, in many years I no longer felt guilty for at last acknowledging that

I drew in a breath allowing the evening air to fill my lungs soothing whatever turmoil had been stirring within me before.

My pace decreased upon reaching the parking lot. The lights of another vehicle flashed as its owner opened it, a noise that briefly resonated like a signal that the world beyond awaited. A realm, unlike the hospital room filled with too many echoes of the past.

I pushed the car remote while releasing my breath.

My phone buzzed the moment I unlocked the door.

Sienna’s name showed up on the display. A brief text,heartfelt as usual.

[You’re going directly to the office aren’t you? Noah has finished eating breakfast.]

I shut the car door. Rested against the seat. A brief pang of guilt gripped my chest. I despised causing her concern, particularly following the few months since Emily’s unexpected return had shaken everything up.

Without hesitation I pressed the call button.

“Liam?” She spoke quietly tenderly. Beneath it lay a vigilance that only appeared when the topic concerned Emily.

“Yeah it’s me ” I answered, attempting to sound as calm as I could. “I have to head to the office now. I’ve already used up half the morning. I might get home a little late.”

There was a silence but not one filled with doubt. It was more as if Sienna was organizing her ideas.

“Right then, take care while driving. Noah and I are okay,” she said softly.

“Thanks.” I gazed at the steering wheel letting out a breath. “Have you reached Noah’s school yet?”

“Yes I’m about to step out of the car. Are you still at thehospital?”

Her tone held no blame, a fact she sought to verify. Yet still a subtle tension gripped my chest.

“No,” I replied swiftly yet composed. “I’m currently in the car on my way to the office. Emily is being looked after.

Her manager has shown up.”

“Oh, alright ” she whispered. “I won’t trouble you. Perform well at work alright?”

Her voice held a warmth that calmed me immediately. It was a reminder that coming home was about returning to a genuine home, not revisiting the past.

“Sienna.” I shouted right before she ended the call.

“Yes?”

“I truly value your comprehension of the circumstances.

She was unpredictable indeed. I was familiar with her.. At least I once was. Whenever she desired something she pursued it without hesitation. She never let her tasks collapse. She never permitted herself to appearvulnerable, in front of anyone.

Something surely occurred.

I exhaled deeply, staring up at the car roof as though the solution could be found there.

My phone buzzed more with only a work notification. I chose to disregard it. The external world seemed like an intrusion I wasn’t ready for, at this moment.

My fingers tapped a restless beat on the steering wheel indicating that my thoughts were swirling aimlessly without any course.

Should I inquire further with Willy? Should I consult the doctor? Should I simply allow everything to progress without intervening?

The vision of Emily gripping my arm moments ago trembling and frightened returned so clearly that a slight pain stirred in my chest. Not affection. Not now. Merely humanity. Compassion. Something basic and unavoidable.

“What exactly occurred to you Emily?” I whispered, my tone almost lost amidst the drone of the car’s air conditioning.

A touch of night breeze entered through the window I left open. Its moist aroma brought a quietness that heightened my self-awareness. My life was different now, I had marked a boundary. Yet strands of the past still attempted to slip in.I grasped the keys holding the metal firmly. This minor gesture anchored me pulling my mind back to the present.

My eyes gianced at the rearview mirror, the dim image of my face staring back appearing more exhausted than I actually was. Perhaps it was because today had reopened scars that should have remained sealed for years.

I shook my head. Turned on the engine. No, I wouldn’t allow my mind to wander much. I had decided on a life with Sienna and Noah. That was the straightforward undeniable fact I had at this moment.

Taking a deep breath, I shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Whatever happened next, l would no longer let the past sabotage the home l’d only just begun to rebuild.