No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 208

AUREN’S POV

I stepped out of my car, the wind brushing against my skin as I took in the sight before me. The prison facility stood tall, cold, and unwelcoming, just as I had imagined it would be. Fences with razor wire stretched around the property, and men in uniform stood guard at several points. I had never been here before, never thought I would need to be but today was different.

I sucked in a deep breath and walked toward the main entrance. Even though I tried to calm my nerves, I couldn’t help but stare at everything around me. It was brutal, bleak, and far from the life I had come to know in the past few days.

Once inside, a guard led me to the warden’s office. The warden was an older man with graying hair and a stern expression. He looked up from his desk as I approached, and when I told him I’d like to see Ethan Black, his eyebrows shot up. Shock was written all over his face, almost as if he couldn’t believe I was here. I didn’t need to read his mind to know he was wondering why I’d want to see Ethan after everything he’d done to me.

But he wouldn’t understand, and explaining myself wasn’t something I cared to do. So I pretended not to notice his disbelief.

He cleared his throat and told me the procedure. “You’ll have fifteen minutes,” he said. “That’s all the time we can give.”

Fifteen minutes. That was more than enough. I wasn’t here for a heartfelt reunion. I was here so Ethan could say whatever it was he had begged Tessa to get me to hear. I wasn’t planning on talking. Just listening.

I followed one of the guards to the visitation area and took my seat behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass. A ghost of my old life was about to walk into view. I crossed my legs, sat upright, and stared straight ahead. My pulse was steady. My face unreadable.

A few moments passed. Then a buzzer sounded, a harsh echo in the cold, stark room. A metal door on the opposite end opened, and Ethan was escorted inside.

He looked nothing like the man I once knew. His hands were cuffed in front of him, and even his ankles were chained. His orange prison uniform hung on him like a burden. He moved slowly, like the shackles weighed a hundred pounds. His once proud, confident eyes were now dull, tired, hollow.

When he reached the booth, he picked up the phone on his side, and I picked up mine. There was a thick glass partition between us, but even without it, I doubted there would have been any warmth.

“I’m surprised you actually came,” he said.

I didn’t answer. I just stared at him. Blankly. Coldly. My silence spoke volumes.

He cleared his throat and looked down. But the silence stretched too long, and he couldn’t take it. “So… how have you been?” he asked, like we were old friends catching up at some coffee shop.

I couldn’t help it. I raised an eyebrow. Was he really asking me that? A few days ago he had kidnapped my daughter, threatened my life, and now he wanted to play normal? Pretend none of that happened?

“You have no right to ask me that question, Ethan,” I said, my voice steady and ice cold. “Your time is counting. What do you want? Why did you request that I come see you?”

1/2

He pressed his fingers to his temples, closing his eyes for a quick moment. I could see it now, prison had already begun to break him. He looked like he hadn’t slept. Like the walls were closing in. Like he couldn’t breathe.

“I’ll go straight to the point,” he said, dropping the pretense. “I’ve never been in here before. I don’t know how to handle this. And honestly, if I stay here for even fifteen years, I don’t think I’ll make it.”

“So?” I asked, completely unmoved. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I need you, Lauren,” he said, locking eyes with me. “I need you more than I’ve ever needed you before.”

I almost laughed. How many times had I heard that line from him? How many times had he used that word ‘need ‘to manipulate, to control?

But I held back. Part of me wanted to see where this was going. I let him continue.

“My lawyer said there might be a way,” he said. “If you could… write a statement. To the parole board, or the governor. Something saying you forgive me. That I’ve changed. They might consider releasing me early. You’re the key to me leaving this place early, or possibly forever. That’s why I need you now. I need you to help me.”

That was it. I couldn’t hold back anymore.

A sharp, loud laugh escaped me. I shook my head slowly. “Wow, Ethan. You really know how to crack a joke. Is that what you’re doing here now? Entertaining the other inmates? Making them laugh? You’ve truly found your calling.”

“This is serious, Lauren,” he said, leaning toward the glass. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I know it might be hard for you to forgive me. But you will. I know you. No matter how tough you act right now, you’re still the woman I married all those years ago. You’re still my Lauren.”

“Stop.”

I raised my finger, telling him with just one gesture that he’d crossed a line.

“First of all, I’m not your Lauren,” I said, my voice low but sharp. “I’m not the woman you dumped and pushed away for someone else. Whatever fantasy you’re holding onto about the past, let it go. I’m not her. Not anymore. Not after everything, I’m sure you would have realized that after all these years.”

His eyes flickered.

He knew I meant every word.

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