Reclaimed By My Ex-husband

Nathaniel's mouth opened, then closed again. No sound came. The silence between them stretched, only to make the tension heavier.

"What happened tonight has made everything clear," Zara added, her voice turning colder. "I see now that I've been fooling myself for years. I'm awake to the truth—and I don't want to be with you anymore."

A tremor rippled through him. "No…" He reached for her hand, his fingers curling tightly around her wrist. "You can't say that. You promised you'd give our marriage a chance. How can you turn your back on that?"

"I meant it." Her voice splintered as she fought to keep her tears at bay. "I wanted to believe in us. I wanted to try. I really did…" Her throat tightened, but she pushed through. "I thought we could build a future together. But on what ground? You don't trust me. You don't love me."

The ache in her chest pressed upward, threatening to shatter her composure, but she forced the tears back, standing tall. "Without love or trust, there is nothing worth saving. So we should end this—quietly, cleanly – and walk away before we destroy each other completely."

She twisted her wrist and slipped free from his grip.

A sudden chill swept through Nathaniel, seeping not just into his hand but deep into his heart. The emptiness in his chest had grown vast enough to swallow him whole. As he glanced at his open palm, he felt as if everything was slipping away.

When Zara faced away from him, his heart ached. He felt as if he were isolated in a barren landscape, utterly devoid of life. It was the same sensation he felt while receiving the news of Nora's death.

That same crushing loneliness pressed in. A realization sank in. Somewhere along the way, she had taken hold of not just his heart but the very core of who he was. The thought of a life without her felt like stepping into an endless void.

As she stepped away from him, he became frantic. His breath came fast and uneven, every nerve screaming to act, to stop her from escaping.

He had already lost the one who had once been his entire world. He couldn't bear to lose Zara, who had brought light into his colorless, stagnant days.

Urgency seized him. In two long strides, he closed the distance, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Don't leave me," he said. "We can take time to build trust. Love can grow. Please…"

At that single word, Zara froze. It was the first time she had ever heard him say it to her. Against her will, her heart gave a sudden, startled leap.

'Disobedient heart,' Zara muttered under her breath with self-reproach. Why couldn't she hate him? He had given her every reason—shattering her trust, wounding her pride, leaving her heart in pieces. And yet, something in her still ached for him.

Anger and disappointment burned in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to sever every tie, to walk away and never see his face again. But beneath that resolve was a stubborn part of her that still wanted to hold on, to love him despite it all.

"Can you let this go?" Nathaniel's voice cut into her thoughts. "Let's focus on us. Forget Riya." He stepped closer, cupping her face. His eyes held hers with quiet intensity. "When we are together, I want you to see only me. Don't let anyone else come between us."

A bitter smile appeared on her face. The request was absurd. There were already so many between them. His first love. His family. His dear sister. His heart was already full of others, leaving her nowhere to belong.

"There are already people between us," she snorted scornfully. "You still carry Nora in your heart. And your sweet sister. Tell me—where is there room for me?"

Nathaniel's mind went blank. Of course, Nora would always live in a corner of his heart. He could never forget her. Those memories with her couldn't be erased. But that didn't mean he wasn't willing to begin again with Zara.

Why couldn't she see that?

And Riya… she was his sister, his family. Naturally, she mattered to him. But her presence in his life didn't make Zara any less important.

The things Zara was saying felt so irrelevant, so off the mark, that he didn't even know where to start.

Still, he didn't want to argue further. "That's not true," he said evenly. "If you weren't important, I wouldn't have given this marriage a chance."

"Really?" Zara laughed humorlessly. "Have you forgotten it was you who wanted a divorce? If I mattered so much, how did you suggest ending it?"

Her eyes turned cold. "You don't want a wife. You want a caretaker—someone who never questions you, never pushes back, and nods at everything you say."

His expression darkened. "Why are you always so negative?" he shot back, irritation flaring. "Yes, I wanted to end it before. But people change. Decisions change. I've told you—I want this marriage to work. We agreed to give it another chance. Why drag us back into this same fight again?"

The whole exchange felt exhausting to him, a loop they couldn't escape, replaying like a broken record.

"It's true, I loved Nora," he admitted. "But she is gone. That's a hard truth I've learned to live with. And I'm ready to move forward with you. Isn't that enough?"

Those words from Nathaniel might have filled Zara with joy before. But after what had happened tonight, her trust in him was shaky. Before she decided whether to stay, she needed answers.

"Tell me honestly…" She stepped closer, tilting her head slightly, her eyes searching his face. "If Riya and I are in trouble at the same time, who will you choose?"

She posed that question deliberately, wanting to see the truth in his reaction. Riya's confident taunt still rang in her ears—that Nathaniel would always take her side, no matter what. And it wasn't just an empty claim.

Zara had witnessed it. Nathaniel had trusted Riya, defended her, and even pushed Zara toward an apology. The memory still stung, and Zara refused to endure that kind of injustice again.

"What kind of question is that?" Nathaniel snapped, his patience thinning. "You are my wife. Riya is my sister. You are both important. Forcing me to choose is cruel."

A storm started to manifest itself behind his eyes. In a sudden movement, he caught her hand and pulled her against his chest, his grip firm, his voice edged with warning. "Don't let your anger blind you to reason."