No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 86

CHAPTER 086

LAUREN’S POV

While still sitting there on my couch, lost in a spiral of thoughts, I felt the soft brush of a small hand against my hair. My head tilted almost instinctively, and when I looked up, there she was Aria. Her big curious eyes gazed at me, her tiny fingers smoothing my hair as though she could fix whatever was wrong inside of me. My chest tightened, and for a second, I almost forgot about everything else.

I turned my head slightly, my eyes catching her plate on the dining table. It was empty. I frowned in disbelief. Aria never finished her food unless I sat with her, coaxed her, and made sure every last bite was gone. If I didn’t supervise, she’d always push her plate aside halfway through. Yet tonight, she had finished.

That told me everything. She had noticed.

“Are you alright, mummy?” she asked softly, her voice filled with the same worry I used to hear from Elena whenever I was down. That same gentleness, that same awareness far beyond her years, it pierced through me.

I forced a smile, though my heart was heavy. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m very much okay. My mood just got ruined by work, that’s all.”

The words left my mouth easily, but I could hear the hollowness in them. She probably could too. Children always sensed more than adults gave them credit for.

As I stared at her, a new thought pressed against me. We were leaving tomorrow. The decision had been made, whether I liked it or not. But how could I tell her without shattering her small sense of stability? She was still so little. Would she understand? Would she even care? Or would she carry this unspoken sadness, the way I carried Elena’s absence?

“Why don’t you take a seat here,” I said gently, patting the spot beside me on the couch. “Mummy wants to tell you something.”

Aria tilted her head, curious, before climbing up. Her little legs struggled, but she managed, plopping down beside me with a tiny grin

I inhaled deeply, steadying my voice. “So… mummy is going to a new country, and you’re going to come with me. That’s where we’ll be living now. It means we’ll stay in a new house, and you’ll be starting a new school. So you won’t be going to school tomorrow. Are you okay with that?”

Her eyes blinked at me slowly. For a moment, she said nothing, and my chest tightened in dread. Then, she gave me a small nod. Just one.

Relief trickled in, though not entirely. Part of me felt better that she wasn’t bursting into tears or clinging to what we were leaving behind. But another part of me ached. She was too young to fully grasp what this meant. Right now, it was just an adventure in her little mind something new, something exciting. But I knew better. Leaving behind a place, uprooting a life, it left marks. She was still too young to notice, but one day she would.

If she were older, she would be fighting me on this, complaining about friends, crying about leaving her room, her toys, her school. But for now, innocence shielded her.

“Alright,” I said, ruffling her hair softly. “Now you need to go to bed, because we’re waking up really early

tomorrow.”

She nodded again, her small arms wrapping around me in a hug before she slid down from the couch. I watched her walk toward the stairs, her curls bouncing with each step. My heart ached again, but this time with love. She trusted me so completely. And I was determined not to let the world take that away from her.

When she disappeared upstairs, I let out a long sigh. The silence of the living room pressed down on me, and heavy. I had no time to waste, I needed to start packing.

thick

Unlike the last time I was forced to move, I wasn’t bound by restrictions anymore. Back then, I had no choice but to leave with what I was allowed to carry. But now, things were different. I could afford to take as much as I wanted. I could pay for luggage, I could pay for comfort. Still, the bitterness in my chest remained. It wasn’t about money. It was about being uprooted again.

Before I started packing, though, there was something else I needed to do. I needed to call Tessa. She deserved to know, and honestly, I needed her voice right now. If anyone would understand my frustration, it was her.

I reached for my phone on the table, dialing her number with a shaky breath. She picked up almost immediately, like she’d been waiting for me.

“Hey, what’s up? You finally remembered to call me back today.” Her voice was teasing, but I could hear the faint chewing in the background. She was eating, as usual.

Despite my mood, the corners of my lips lifted slightly. “Come on, you know I’ve been really busy. It’s not like I was doing it on purpose.”

There was a pause, then a thoughtful hum. “Hmm. Your voice…” she said slowly. “We’ve been friends long enough for me to know when you’re in a bad mood. So what happened today? Let me guess, the manager again?”

I leaned back against the couch, closing my eyes. “Yes. But this time, it’s on a different scale.”

“Spill it.”

“To put it short,” I said, my voice low, “headquarters have requested for me to come back to America.”

“What!” Tessa’s voice shot through the phone so loudly I had to pull it away from my ear. “Are you kidding me? How can they do that? After everything they did to you the last time?”

“Apparently, they can,” I muttered bitterly. “And they want me to leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Are they insane?! You have a life there now, Lauren. You’ve built something stable for you and Aria. And they think they can just uproot you overnight like you’re some kind of… disposable employee?”

“I know. Believe me, I went through the same storm of emotions when I first heard. Shock. Anger. Even denial. But in the end, what choice do I really have?” I said

“You do have a choice! You could refuse, Lauren. You don’t owe them a damn thing, Do you even remember the months you struggled just to survive with Aria while they all pretended you didn’t exist?”

“I remember every second of it, Tess. But… It’s different now. I have more power than I did before. I won’t be begging anymore, and this time I’m going on my own terms.”

“…And what about Aria? She’s just a child, Lauren. Do you know what this could do to her? New country, new school, no familiar faces she won’t even understand why her whole world is being ripped apart overnight.”

Her words echoed my own earlier fears, the same ones I’d been wrestling with since reading that damned email. I sighed heavily. There was no point repeating myself. I had already accepted the inevitable. Crying over spilled milk wouldn’t change anything.

“I need your help instead,” I said, shifting the conversation. “I’ll send you some money. Can you get a nice duplex ready for Aria and me before we arrive tomorrow? Somewhere comfortable, secure. Something we can walk into without stress.”

She let out a small sigh before she replied knowing very well she wasn’t going to change my mind “Well, you know I don’t really have a job anymore, so I’ll be glad to help out.” Her voice softened then, warm with sincerity. “I really do admire your hardworking spirit, Lauren. I don’t think I would have done this if I were in your shoes. Anyways, on the bright side… I get to see you again after so long.”

Her words lingered, a small comfort in the middle of all the chaos.