The Stand In Wife's Revenge novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

There was a soft knock at the door, firm and insistent, and I knew it

was Alexander even before I forced myself out from under the

blankets. My body felt like it weighed a ton, and my heart weighed

even heavier, but I forced myself to move. I lurched across the room,

pausing for a split second with fingers poised on the doorknob before

twisting it open.

He stood there, dressed in a button–down and dark–washed jeans, his

expression blank. His sharp eyes flicked over me, scanning my face

before shifting past me into the dimly lit room.

“May I come in?” His voice was soft, carrying a quiet authority.

I nodded and stepped aside, letting him in. He entered slowly, his

gaze flicking around the room before settling back on me. Avoiding

his eyes, I turned and sat on the edge of the bed, gripping my hands

tightly in my lap.

Silence stretched between us. I could feel his gaze on me, studying

1. me. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke.

“Ava, have you been crying?” His voice was even, but there was a

thread of concern beneath it.

1/7

Chapter 27

I swallowed, shaking my head quickly. “No,” I lied, my voice quieter

than I intended.

Alexander didn’t push, but I knew he didn’t believe me. He let out a

quiet sigh and took a step closer. “I did some research,” he said,

pulling his phone from his pocket. “On Liam.”

My breath caught. Just hearing his name sent something unfamiliar

through my chest–a mix of trepidation, curiosity, and something else

I couldn’t quite name.

Alexander continued, his voice steady. “Your ex–husband lives in

downtown New York City. He owns three businesses in Chicago and

two here. He’s successful and well–known.” He hesitated before

adding, “And he announced his engagement last month on

Instagram.”

My head snapped up. “Engaged?” The word felt foreign on my tongue.

He nodded and turned his phone toward me. “See for yourself.”

I hesitated before taking it. The screen lit up with a photo–a man

standing beside a beautiful woman, both smiling at the camera. My

fingers tightened around the phone as I stared at him.

Liam.

217

Chapter 27

His name echoed in my mind, but the memories wouldn’t come. I

searched his face for something familiar–anything that would bring

me back to the past I had lost. His sharp jawline, his intense eyes, the

way he held himself–it all felt like a dream from long ago. A whisper

of something just out of reach.

I tried to force it.

I needed to remember.

Something–anything.

Then, suddenly–pain.

A sharp, splitting pain shot through my skull, forcing a gasp from my

lips. I pressed my fingers to my temple as flashes of something-

someone–flickered through my mind.

A man’s laughter.

A warm hand holding mine.

A voice–deep, soothing–calling my name.

A wedding ring glinting in the sunlight.

317

Chapter 27

The memories were like shattered glass, flashing briefly before

vanishing into the fog. I clenched my jaw, trying to hold onto them,

but they slipped away too fast, like sand through my fingers.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to stop, willing the

memories to stay.

“Ava?”

Alexander’s voice cut through the haze, his hand gently resting on my

shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I forced a nod, though my breath was shaky. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I’m

fine.”

But I wasn’t fine.

I had spent so long trying to rebuild myself, to move forward without

a past, and now–now it was catching up to me. And I didn’t know if I

was ready.

I looked back at the picture, my eyes lingering on Liam’s face.

Had I loved him?

Had he loved me?

417

Chapter 27

Did he think about me now, the way I was thinking about him? Or had he moved on so completely that I was nothing more than a distant

memory?

Or worse–was I someone he wanted to forget?

My chest tightened.

I couldn’t remember how it ended. I didn’t know if we had been happy

or if we had broken each other’s hearts. I had lived in this fog for so long, but tonight, for the first time, I wanted to remember.

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

“I don’t understand,” I murmured, more to myself than to Alexander.

“Why does it hurt so much if I don’t even remember him?”

Alexander exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “Sometimes the

heart remembers what the mind forgets,” he said quietly.

I let out a shaky breath. “The heart remembers.”

I glanced at the phone again. The woman in the picture–Liam’s

fiancée–looked perfect. Stunning, poised, the kind of woman who

belonged on magazine covers. They looked happy. At peace.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify