The Billionaire Regretted Losing His Invisible Wife novel Chapter 418

Chapter 418 On the terrace

Mia’s POV

Someone draped a towel over my shoulders.

One of those enormous white ones. Hotel quality. Thick enough to fee! heavy. Warm.

I pulled it tighter. My dress was ruined. The fabric clung to my skin. Water dripped from the hem. Pooling on the marble beneath

my feet.

Sophie appeared beside me. She had another towel. Smaller. She wrapped it around my hair without asking. Started squeezing the water out with quick efficient motions.

“You scared us,” she said quietly.

Her voice had lost that bright theatrical quality. Just flat. Real.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. You almost drowned.”

“I didn’t-”

“You fell in a pool in heels and a dress that weighed ten pounds when it was dry. You would have drowned if Kyle hadn’t—” She stopped. Her hands stilled in my hair.

I looked up at her.

Her face was tight. Eyes red. Like she’d been crying. Or trying very hard not to.

“You scared us,” she said again.

Scarlett appeared on my other side. She had clothes. Dry clothes. A simple black dress. Flat shoes.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you changed.”

The bathroom was marble. Everything was marble. White with gray veins running through it.

Scarlett shut the door behind us. Locked it.

The sound of the party disappeared. Muted. Like someone had turned down the volume on the entire world.

I stood there dripping on expensive tile.

My hands found the zipper of my dress. Or what was left of it. The zipper was stuck. My fingers were shaking too much to work it properly.

Scarlett’s hands replaced mine. “Let me.”

She got it down. The dress fell away. Peeling off like dead skin.

I stood there in my underwear. Shivering. Not from cold. From something else.

Scarlett handed ine the dry dress. I pulled it over my head. The fabric was soft. Warm. Clean.

The difference was immediate. Overwhelming.

I sat down on the closed toilet lid. My legs giving out.

Scarlett knelt in front of me. Started working on drying my legs with another towel. Gentle. Careful.

“You need to talk to him,” she said.

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“I know.”

“He almost killed himself diving for those rings.”

“I know.”

Her hands stilled.

I looked at her.

The door opened. Sophie came in without knocking. She had two glasses. Steam rising from them.

“Mulled wine,” she announced. “Medicinal purposes.”

She handed one to me. One to Scarlett.

The glass was warm against my palm. The smell hit first. Cinnamon. Cloves. Orange. That particular spicy sweetness.

I took a sip. The wine was hot. Almost too hot. It burned going down. But in a good way. Warming everything from the inside.

Sophie leaned against the sink. Her red dress still perfect.

Scarlett stood. Smoothed down her dress. “I’ll go tell kids mommy’s fine. That she’s just changing clothes.”

“Thank you,” I said.

She nodded. Squeezed my shoulder once. Then left.

The door clicked shut behind her.

Sophie and I sat in silence. Just the sound of wine being sipped. Steam rising from both our glasses.

“He loves you very much,” Sophie said finally.

“Don’t.”

“What? I’m simply stating a fact.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Love is always simple. Humans make it complicated.” She took a sip of her wine. “He dove underwater. Twice. While dying. To retrieve your wedding rings. What part of that is complicated?”

“The part where we’re divorced.”

“Paper,” she said dismissively. “Just paper. What is paper compared to this?”

She gestured vaguely. At me. At the bathroom door. At the whole situation.

I finished my wine. The warmth spread through my chest. My limbs. Making everything feel slightly less sharp.

“I need to see the kids,” I said.

I stood. Checked my reflection in the mirror.

My hair was still damp. Tangled. But better than before The dress fit well enough.

My face looked pale Eyes too wide. But alive

That was something

Sophie opened the door. Music and voices rushed back in. That overwhelming sensory assault of five hundred people celebrating.

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The children were exactly where I expected them to be. At the same table. Sophie must have told them to stay put.

Alexander saw me first. He jumped up. His face lighting up.

“Mama!”

He ran toward me. His small body colliding with my legs. His arms wrapping around my waist.

“You’re okay! Auntie Sophie said you were okay but I wanted to see!”

Ethan was right behind him. Slower. More controlled. But his face showed the same relief.

Madison hung back. Her hands twisted together. Eyes wide.

I knelt down. Gathered all three of them close.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I promise. I’m completely fine.”

“You fell in the pool,” Alexander said. His voice muffled against my shoulder. “With your dress on. And your shoes.”

“I know.”

“Why didn’t you take them off first?”

Despite everything, I smiled. “I didn’t mean to fall in, buddy. Someone bumped into me.”

“Who bumped into you?” His voice turned fierce. Protective. “I’ll tell them they can’t bump people!”

“It was an accident.”

“But accidents can hurt people.”

“You’re right. But I’m okay. See?” I pulled back. Let him look at me. “Not hurt.”

His eyes moved over my face. Serious. Checking. Making sure.

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