Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Elena: POV

My hand stilled. “Marie, I’m willing but I can’t. I can’t give it a happy life. It’s living a much easier and more comfortable life with

you.”

“I know, I know. You’ve said this before. But honey, the way he looks at you…” She shook her head fondly. “Just think about it,

okay?”

She walked away, leaving me alone with Milo and my thoughts.

Adopt him.

God, I wanted to. More than anything, I wanted to take this sweet, gentle creature home. Wanted to come back to the mansion and

have him greet me at the door. Wanted to curl up on the couch with him and pretend I wasn’t so fucking alone.

But Julian hated animals with fur. “Too messy, he’d said once, dismissively. “Too much maintenance.”

And now… now I was pregnant. Pregnant with a baby he didn’t want, in a marriage that was falling apart.

I couldn’t add a cat to that disaster.

Milo stretched in my lap, his claws gently kneading through the fabric of my dress. I looked down at him, at his half–closed eyes and

contented expression.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” I whispered. “I wish things were different.”

He purred louder, as if to say he understood.

I sipped my tea, letting the warmth spread through me. Around us, the café was quiet. A couple in the corner was laughing softly as

a black cat batted at their phone. An older woman sat by the window, a calico curled in her lap while she read.

This was peace. This was normal.

This was everything my life wasn’t.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Long enough for the tea to go cold. Long enough for Milo to fall asleep in my lap, his weight

warm and comforting.

Marie had only checked in once to refill my cup. The other customers drifted out one by one until it was just me, the cats, and

Marie dozing at the counter.

14:38 Fri, Jun 12 #

Chapter 12

I should go home. Back to that cold, empty mansion. Back to waiting for Julian to maybe show up, maybe fuck me, maybe remind me again how little I meant to him.

But I wasn’t willing to move.

My hand rested on Milo’s back, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing. In my other hand, my phone buzzed.

Julian: [Are you done at the hospital?]

I stared at the message. He’d remembered. He’d actually remembered to check on me.

It shouldn’t have made my chest ache the way it did.

Me: [Just finished. Everything’s fine. Just a stomach bug like I said.]

The lie tasted bitter even through text.

Julian: (Good. Get some rest. I’ll be home late.]

Home. As if the mansion was a home. As if we were a real couple who said goodnight and meant it.

set the phone down and buried my face in my hands.

What am I doing?

I was pregnant with his baby, I was lying to him about it. I was sitting in a cat café at ten o’clock at night because I couldn’t face my

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