Beyond the Divorce

Chapter 8 Unexpected Company

I forced myself out of bed the following day. The dark circles around my eyes were horrible, and Matthew noticed them. He asked in surprise, “

The following day, I forced myself out of bed. My dark circles were horrible.

Matthew saw my haggard face and asked in surprise, “Are you sick, Coco? Why do you look so pale?”

“You kept me up all night,” I retorted, not in the mood for pleasantries.

He was stunned but hugged me with a shy grin. “No more drinking for you. Exercise is better instead since it helps with sleep.”

when I heard his

back. “What’s wrong with you? Maybe I should take you to

away and lied, “It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well. You should take Ava to kindergarten. I’ll be fine once I rest a

me. “Then get some sleep while I send Ava to school. If you don’t feel well, just call me, okay?”

my husband and daughter’s chatter get softer as they left. Finally, they closed the door behind them, and I left the bed to run to the window. I watched Matthew enter the car with my excited daughter.

look away until Matthew drove out of the gated community. My eyes teared up as I wondered if only everything could return to how it was before. Afterward, I changed into my jeans and t-shirt and tied

strategic spot facing the entrance. I knew

because I overlooked one crucial detail. He often used the underground parking, which had a direct passage to the

realized this on

the building with his phone. He seemed to be

he wasn’t going far. He crossed the road at an intersection ahead and entered a cafe with quaint decorations and

was the perfect palace for elites in the surrounding commercial district to hang out and

meeting someone there and glanced at the