Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 345

She had always been there.

She watched as the girl’s silhouette faded into the distance.

The darkness that had clouded her vision dissolved, replaced by a bracing chill in the air. Overhead, the sky shimmered with a river of stars. She tilted her head back and laughed, refusing to let the tears fall.

The Milky Way was dazzling.

Unable to contain herself, she stretched her arms wide, filling her lungs with the crisp, free air, and burst into laughter. She ran, nimble and wild, over the scattered stones of the hillside, her deep red cloak whipping in the wind, vivid and alive beneath the starlit sky, blazing like a phoenix in full flame.

Her soul soared. Mila laughed, and as she laughed, tears spilled down her cheeks—tears of irrepressible joy.

“Ha… haha…”

“Hahaha! I’m Mila! I’m Mila—did you hear me? I am Mila!”

She ran through the empty fields, shouting her name into the night.

The wind roared across the land, tugging gently at her hair and cloak as if answering her—her laughter chased by the wind, echoing across the hills and valleys.

…

“Cousin!”

“Where are you, Mila? Where did you go? You scared me half to death! I woke up and you were gone—my soul nearly left my body! We came here together, you know—you can’t just go back alone! My parents would kill me!”

…

Mila grabbed the boy spinning circles around her, cutting off his panicked ramble.

“Do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

—

In the dining hall—

Archie watched Mila devour a plateful of ribs, elegant yet quick, and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“Your head doesn’t hurt anymore?”

Mila shook her head, too busy eating to answer.

“Your appetite’s back, too?”

He stared as she demolished one beef rib after another. In the past few days, Mila had barely been able to eat the bare minimum, always looking pale and sickly. He’d never seen her like this.

Mila nodded. “Just got back from a run. I’m hungry.”