Get the APP hot
Home / Romance / Ex Husband Wants Me Back
Ex Husband Wants Me Back

Ex Husband Wants Me Back

5.0
5 Chapters
1 View
Read Now

About

Contents

Blurb: Three years ago, Aria Westwood walked out of a marriage that felt more like a contract than a union. Her husband, Damien Westwood-New York's most elusive billionaire-was cold, emotionally unavailable, and impossible to read. Their marriage had been built on expectations and appearances, not love. And though Aria had once dreamed of a life filled with passion and partnership, she was left chasing echoes in a mansion where silence answered more than words ever did. Leaving Damien was the hardest thing she'd ever done. But staying would've destroyed her. Now, Aria has built a quiet, beautiful life for herself. She's no longer the timid wife trying to make a man notice her-she's a woman who's learned how to stand alone, love herself, and finally breathe. Her world is filled with color, freedom, and peace... until a cruel twist of fate ties her back to the man who once broke her heart. A business merger. A contract she can't refuse. And Damien, standing across the boardroom table like a storm she thought she'd already survived. But Damien isn't the same man she left behind. Or at least, he swears he isn't. He says he regrets pushing her away. That he never stopped watching her from a distance. That he wants her back-not as a wife by name, but as a woman he's ready to fight for. Aria doesn't know whether to believe him-or run before old wounds become new scars. Because beneath the sharp suits and the carefully calculated charm, Damien is still a man who doesn't say what he feels. And Aria is still the woman trying to stop herself from falling for a heart that once didn't beat for her. But love is rarely black and white. And when buried emotions begin to surface, so do secrets from their past-ones that could either bring them together or tear them apart forever.

Chapter 1 Saying Goodbye

The clinking of wine glasses, the soft hum of jazz, and the low chatter of polished people floated around Aria Bennett like an out-of-body experience. She sat still, her posture elegant and composed, wearing a deep emerald dress that hugged her like an old secret. Her fingers tapped the side of her wine glass absently, her gaze unfocused on the shimmering skyline just beyond the rooftop's glass balustrade.

It was a benefit gala. Another one. Another night of pretending that she hadn't once been the woman every eye watched because of the man standing across the room.

Damien Westwood.

Three years apart, and still, her heart betrayed her at the sound of his voice-even now, muffled in conversation with someone in a navy tux.

He hadn't changed. If anything, he had grown more devastating. His jaw was still a weapon-sharp and clenched with restraint. His black hair was a little shorter than before, his shoulders broader, his posture more commanding. The world still bowed around him. And Damien, as always, bowed to no one.

Aria sipped her wine, wishing it were strong enough to dull the ache in her chest.

She shouldn't have come.

But the gallery she managed was a recipient of the Westwood Arts Grant, and this event had been pitched as a professional opportunity. Nothing more. She'd convinced herself she could handle it. Handle him. She was over it-wasn't she?

Except that every time she saw him, she was reminded of the life she once had. The woman she used to be. The girl who thought love was enough.

Three years ago, she walked away from their marriage with nothing but a duffel bag and a broken heart. No alimony. No settlement. Just her pride, and even that felt paper-thin some days. The tabloids had speculated everything from infidelity to infertility. None of them guessed the truth: Aria had left because she couldn't recognize herself anymore.

Because in loving Damien, she had lost herself.

"Aria?"

She turned, her spine straightening before she could help it.

Maddie. Her best friend, her chaos partner, her reluctant emotional compass. Tonight, she wore blood-red heels and carried herself like a woman ready to burn the world down for Aria if given the chance.

"I've been looking for you," Maddie said, looping an arm around Aria's. "You okay?"

Aria nodded. "Fine."

"You're not. You're in the corner with a thousand-yard stare while the man who broke your heart breathes the same air as you."

Aria smiled wryly. "That dramatic, huh?"

"Worse," Maddie said. "He keeps looking at you."

That forced a breath out of her. "Let him look."

But even as she said it, her body betrayed her again-turning ever so slightly, her eyes flickering to the side of the room where Damien stood.

He was looking at her.

His gaze held no apology. No arrogance. Just quiet intensity. Like he saw her. Like he always had. Like he always would.

Aria turned away.

"I shouldn't have come," she whispered.

"You came because you're stronger than you think. And because this gallery deal matters."

She exhaled, nodding slowly. "Yeah. That's why."

Maddie leaned in. "You want to leave?"

Aria hesitated.

And that's when she heard it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed through the speakers. "Please welcome the man behind tonight's cause-CEO of Westwood Enterprises, Mr. Damien Westwood."

Applause erupted.

Aria froze.

Damien walked onto the stage with practiced ease, the perfect portrait of calm and command. He didn't speak for a moment, letting the crowd settle. Then his eyes found hers-and stayed there.

"I don't usually make speeches," he began. "But tonight is different. Tonight, I'm not here as a CEO. I'm here because someone once taught me that art... isn't just about beauty. It's about truth. The kind that stares back at you when you're too afraid to look. The kind that cracks you open."

A long pause.

"I lost that truth once. And I've spent years trying to remember it."

Aria's stomach dropped.

He didn't mention her name. He didn't have to.

Everyone in that room knew exactly who he was talking about.

The spotlight dimmed. The applause returned. But Aria didn't hear it. She stood up, heart racing, body burning with a thousand emotions she couldn't name.

She walked out.

Down the corridor. Past the waiters. Into the elevator.

When the doors closed, she let her back hit the wall, closing her eyes against the memories clawing their way back to the surface.

She had healed. She had rebuilt. But Damien Westwood had always been the wound that never quite scarred over.

And now, he was back.

Not just in the same room.

But in her orbit.

Again.

Continue Reading
img View More Comments on App
MoboReader
Download App
icon APP STORE
icon GOOGLE PLAY