Chapter 14: Ex-Husband Drama

The doorbell rang like a gunshot through the quiet house mid-afternoon, jolting me from the laptop where I’d been tweaking one final client approval graphic—paid in full, inbox flooded with praise, the money finally breathing easy for the first time in months. I padded barefoot to the front door in nothing but Derek’s oversized jersey that still carried the faint musk of last night’s creampie eating session, the hem barely skimming the tops of my thighs. My stretch marks peeked proudly beneath it now, kissed raw and worshipped until they felt like badges instead of scars. Ethan was at a team film session with Mike keeping him occupied for hours, the perfect window Derek and I had carved out with the guys’ silent blessing.

I opened the door and the past walked straight in.

Mark—my ex-husband—stood on the porch in his pressed button-down, holding a manila envelope and wearing that same half-smile that once made me believe forever was possible. Two years gone, yet the sight of him still punched the air from my lungs. “Laura. You look ... different. Good different.” His eyes flicked down, lingering on the jersey, the bare legs, the way my nipples had tightened instantly against the fabric. “Ethan said you’ve been glowing lately. Thought I’d drop off the last of the divorce papers in person. And maybe talk.”

My stomach dropped through the floor. Behind me, the basement door creaked open downstairs—Derek had slipped in through the side entrance minutes earlier, already waiting exactly where the planning had always led us. I forced a brittle laugh, stepping aside to let Mark in while my pulse hammered between my legs. “Kitchen’s fine. Ethan’s out, but he’ll be sorry he missed you.”

I led him toward the back of the house, every step making Derek’s earlier load shift warm and slick inside me. The second we passed the basement stairs, Derek’s hand shot out, silent and lightning-fast. He yanked me down into the cool concrete shadows, the door clicking shut behind us before Mark could even sit. My ex’s voice floated faintly from the kitchen—”Laura? You okay?”—but Derek already had me lifted.