Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart
Chapter 34

Richard's POV.

I sat on the edge of the bed in my hotel suite, staring blankly at the wall. My mind was racing, my heart felt heavy.

Wesley had blown up everything in front of Sarah. The truth, it wasn't even a secret at that time. But now it was and it had come out in the worst possible way. He only married you because of his inheritance.

God, I hated Wesley for that. I hated him for saying it out loud, for ruining whatever tiny chance I had left with her.

He had no right to do that. But what stung even more was seeing the look on Sarah's face. The hurt, the betrayal-it was like I'd shattered her all over again. My fists clenched on the bedspread as I replayed the scene in my head, over and over.

Every time, it felt like a punch to the gut. How could I have let it get this far? Why didn't I realize I loved her soon?

The phone on the nightstand buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the screen-Martin.

I hesitated for a second, then picked it up. I needed to talk to someone who wouldn't judge me-someone who'd give it to me straight, but also not make things worse. "Hey," I answered, my voice sounding more drained than I intended. It was a video call.

"Richard," Martin's voice came through the phone, calm but questioning. "How'd it go with Sarah?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "It didn't go, Martin. It crashed and burned. Wesley opened his big mouth and told her why I married her."

He stared at me in silence before speaking. "He told her? About the inheritance?"

"Yeah," I said, running a hand through my hair, frustration boiling over. "He just threw it out there, like it was nothing. Right in front of her." Martin sighed. "That's rough, man. How'd she take it?"

"How do you think she took it?" I snapped, then immediately regretted it. It wasn't Martin's fault.

I leaned back against the headboard, closing my eyes. "She was devastated. She looked at me like I was the worst person on the planet."

Martin stayed silent for a moment, thinking. Then he shrugged. "Well, it's out now. So what's your next move?"

I stopped pacing and stared at him. "What do you mean, 'next move'? There is no next move, Martin. She hates me."

I ruffled my hair in frustration. "She thinks I used her, that our whole marriage was just some... some business deal." My voice dropped, feeling the sting of those words all over again. Martin looked at me calmly, like he was trying to figure out the best way to say something I didn't want to hear. "Didn't you?"

I froze. "What?"

"You married her because your will required it, right? To secure your inheritance. So, technically... you did use her. At least in the beginning."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open, but no words came out. I hated that he was right. I hated it because it made me feel even worse. "Yeah, maybe," I finally muttered, sinking back down on the bed. "But that's not why I stayed. I loved her, Martin. I still do."

Martin nodded. "Okay, so tell her that. Explain it. She might be mad now, but she's smart. She'll listen... eventually."

I leaned back, running a hand through my hair. "I don't know, man. I think I blew my chance."

But before I could reply, my phone buzzed again, this time with Susan's name flashing on the screen.

"Hold on," I said to Martin. "Susan's calling. Let me deal with this."

"Good luck with that," Martin muttered before I switched over to Susan's call.

Her voice hit me like a slap. "Richard! Where the hell have you been? You haven't called me in days! What's going on? Are you in Madrid?"

I winced. She didn't even give me time to respond before she continued. "Don't think I don't know what this is about. You went there to see her, didn't you? After everything we talked about, you still-" "Susan," I cut in, trying to keep my voice steady. "Calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down?" she shrieked, her voice getting higher with each word.

"You've been avoiding me for days, and now I replace out you're in another country chasing after Sarah? Do you have any idea how this makes me look?"

I felt the anger bubbling inside me again. This was the last thing I needed right now. "Susan, this isn't about you."

"Of course it's about me!" she snapped. "We're engaged, Richard. We're supposed to be getting married. And you're running around with your ex-wife like-" "Susan, I'm done."

The words slipped out before I could stop them, but as soon as I said them, I felt a strange sense of relief.

The kind you feel after a long, exhausting day when you finally get to sit down and breathe.

There was silence on the other end of the line, like she hadn't quite processed what I'd just said. "What... what did you just say?"

"I said I'm done," I repeated, more firmly this time. "I can't do this anymore, Susan. I went to Madrid for Sarah, and I'm ending our engagement."

There was a beat of silence, and then she exploded. "You what? You're ending our engagement? Just like that? After everything I've done for you? After everything I've put up with?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the familiar headache starting to throb. "Susan, I'm sorry. But this isn't working. It's not fair to you or to me."

"Not fair to me?" she spat, her voice filled with venom. "You're right, it's not fair to me. You're a selfish, ungrateful-"

"You can keep the ring," I said quietly, cutting her off. "Sell it, keep it, whatever you want."

"Fuck you Richard," she hissed. "Don't think I'm just going to let you walk away from this without consequences. I'll ruin you. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

I switched back to Martin's call.

"How'd it go?" Martin asked, though his tone already sounded like he knew the answer.

"I ended it," I said, the words still feeling strange in my mouth. "I told her I'm done."

Martin let out a low whistle. "Wow. Didn't think you'd actually do it."

"Yeah, well," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "It was long overdue."

Martin was quiet for a moment, then said, "So... now what?"

I stared out the window of my hotel room, the city of Madrid sprawled out before me, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. "Now? Now I figure out how to fix things with Sarah." "And how exactly are you going to do that?" Martin asked, his tone skeptical.

"I don't know," I admitted, leaning back against the headboard. "But I have to try."

Martin sighed. "Look, man. I get that you care about Sarah, but this isn't going to be easy. She's hurt. And Wesley... well, let's just say he didn't make things any easier."

"I know," I said, the anger flaring up again at the thought of Wesley. "But I'm not giving up. Not this time."

"Alright," Martin said, sounding resigned. "Just... be careful, okay? You've already lost her once. Don't screw this up again."

I hung up the phone. I would replace a way to connect back with Sarah.